Duncan Mighty, other celebs in solidarity march for Akas Baba's release
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Mark Wright and fiancée Michelle Keegan enjoy a sunny day out with their parents
They recently returned home from a romantic trip to Dubai.
But Mark Wright and his fiancée swapped the sun-drenched beaches of the United Arab Emirates for the paved streets of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk on Sunday.
The couple headed out for some retail therapy with her mother Jacqueline and her father Michael, while Mark also brought his parents, Carol and Big Mark Wright along for some family bonding.
Michelle showed off a hint of her tanned midriff in a gorgeous white crop top, but covered up the rest of her slim figure in a pair of
blue jeans and nude shoes.
Mark, 27, opted for his trademark attire of a black T-shirt together with a pair of blue jeans and a black leather jacket.
The Coronation Street actress – who plays Tina McIntyre in the ITV soap - had her raven-coloured tresses up for the day in a cute white bow.
But Mark Wright and his fiancée swapped the sun-drenched beaches of the United Arab Emirates for the paved streets of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk on Sunday.
The couple headed out for some retail therapy with her mother Jacqueline and her father Michael, while Mark also brought his parents, Carol and Big Mark Wright along for some family bonding.
Happy families: Mark Wright (second right) and Michelle Keegan (left) enjoyed a day out with their parents in Bury St Edmunds
Michelle showed off a hint of her tanned midriff in a gorgeous white crop top, but covered up the rest of her slim figure in a pair of
blue jeans and nude shoes.
Mark, 27, opted for his trademark attire of a black T-shirt together with a pair of blue jeans and a black leather jacket.
The Coronation Street actress – who plays Tina McIntyre in the ITV soap - had her raven-coloured tresses up for the day in a cute white bow.
Amid return to X Factor Cheryl Cole pitches new format suggestion to mentor one person from each category
Saturday, March 15, 2014
She might’ve only just announced her come-back to the X Factor, but it looks like Cheryl Cole is determined to make her mark on the new series.
The Sun have reported Cheryl is keen for the show to have a major overhaul, involving getting rid of the original group categories and dividing the contestants in a different style.
The 30-year-old believes judges ‘should mentor one girl, one boy, a group and one person from the overs category’.
A source said: ‘Cheryl has been very vocal about ideas and changes that could liven things up.’
Another added: ‘It’s far too early to say what, if any, changes might be made – all aspects of the format are being looked at to make the best show possible.’
Only last week did X Factor boss Simon Cowell and Cheryl, once dubbed nation’s sweetheart, reveal they were both returning to the show.
The Sun have reported Cheryl is keen for the show to have a major overhaul, involving getting rid of the original group categories and dividing the contestants in a different style.
The 30-year-old believes judges ‘should mentor one girl, one boy, a group and one person from the overs category’.
Overhaul: Cheryl Cole's reportedly told ITV bosses she thinks judges in this year's X Factor should mentor one person from each nominated group
A source said: ‘Cheryl has been very vocal about ideas and changes that could liven things up.’
Another added: ‘It’s far too early to say what, if any, changes might be made – all aspects of the format are being looked at to make the best show possible.’
Only last week did X Factor boss Simon Cowell and Cheryl, once dubbed nation’s sweetheart, reveal they were both returning to the show.
Miley Cyrus rolls a suspicious-looking cigarette as she reveals new 'sad kitty' tattoo on inside of her lip
Miley Cyrus set tongues wagging on the internet on Friday as a photo of the star rolling a suspicious-looking cigarette was posted on Instagram.
The snap originally shared by Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne shows the 21-year-old seated inside of a recording studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as she packs a rolling paper.
But the Wrecking Ball singer was apparently in need of a bit more exhibitionism as she shared another snap on Instagram of the inside of her lower lip that now features a new brightly coloured tattoo.
The photo posted by Coyne was captioned: 'Yup...... Recordin with Miley... High as f***.... #flaminglips #theflaminglips #tulsa #lovemoneyparty'.
The former teen star wore a jumper in the photo as she used her right index finger to pack her rolling paper.
And while Cyrus' newest inking is tucked into a place that would never see the light of day on most people, it will most certainly be getting it's fair share of attention on the orally fixated star.
The snap originally shared by Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne shows the 21-year-old seated inside of a recording studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as she packs a rolling paper.
But the Wrecking Ball singer was apparently in need of a bit more exhibitionism as she shared another snap on Instagram of the inside of her lower lip that now features a new brightly coloured tattoo.
Suspicious: Wayne Coyne posted a picture of Miley Cyrus on Friday with the caption 'Yup...... Recordin with Miley... High as f***'
The photo posted by Coyne was captioned: 'Yup...... Recordin with Miley... High as f***.... #flaminglips #theflaminglips #tulsa #lovemoneyparty'.
The former teen star wore a jumper in the photo as she used her right index finger to pack her rolling paper.
And while Cyrus' newest inking is tucked into a place that would never see the light of day on most people, it will most certainly be getting it's fair share of attention on the orally fixated star.
Iraq Set To Pass New Law That Will Allow Girls As Young As 8 To Be Married
A contentious draft law being considered in Iraq could open the door to girls as young as nine getting married and would require wives to submit to sex on their husband's whim.
The draft law does not set a minimum age for marriage. Instead, it mentions an age in a section on divorce, setting rules for divorces of girls who have reached the age of 9 years in the lunar Islamic calendar. It also says it's the age girls reach puberty.
Also under the proposed measure, a husband can have sex with his wife regardless of her consent. The bill also prevents women from leaving the house without their husband's permission and would restrict women's rights in matters of parental custody after divorce and make it easier for men to take multiple wives.
Already, government statistics show that nearly 25 percent of marriages in Iraq involved someone under the age of 18 in 2011.
The bill has provoked outrage from rights activists and many Iraqis who see it as a step backward for women's rights.
A prominent Iraqi human rights activist Hana Adwar told The Associated Press that, ‘’The law represents a crime against humanity and childhood. Married underage girls will be subjected to physical and psychological suffering,’’ he said.
Photos: Seven Dead, Many Wounded During Immigrations Recruitment In Abuja
At least seven people have died and several others injured after thousands of panicked job-seekers stampeded during a government recruitment drive at the national stadium this morning, Saturday, March 15, 2014.
Thousands of youths gathered to apply for jobs with the immigration department before the tragic incident occurred. One witness said the stampede broke out as applicants surged towards a central stage. See more pictures after the cut.
Badoo! OLAMIDE celebrate his 25th birthday today.
The hit Hip-Hop/Rap Artist ADEDEJI OLAMIDE a.k.a Badoo, Who was born March 15 1989 celebrate his 25th birthday today.
We wish him Congrat for his success in life!
Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria
Remember I told you guys that Mercy Johnson went with a popular producer to beg marketers to lift her ban?! Read the News Here., Now the ban has been lifted, heard with some condition tho. Video Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria,FVPMAN’s spokesman, Mr. Norbert Ajaegbu said, The disagreement between producers/marketers and Mercy Johnson finally ends following the FVPMAN’s national working committee meeting, held on Sunday, March 9, 2014. Mercy having diligently concluded all the jobs in dispute leaves us with no choice than to accept her apology. She is one wonderful personality we would not want to join issues with. She knows when to say sorry. She has concluded all that we asked her to do. Any insistence on penalizing her, will then infer prejudice. We have directed our members to resume all the previous existing relationship with her. She has fully resumed all location activities without interruption. We are quite hopeful that circumstances such as the very one that caused the last disagreement will not repeat itself.”
Malaysia Airlines plane
The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak today announced that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 which has been declared missing left its planned route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing as the result of deliberate action by someone aboard. He also said search efforts in the South China Sea had been ended, and that technical experts now believed the aircraft could have ended up anywhere in one of two zones; one as far north as Kazakhstan in Central Asia, the other crossing the southern Indian Ocean.
The conclusion was based on a final signal from the plane picked up on satellite at 8:11 a.m. on March 8, nearly seven hours after ground control lost contact with the jet, he said.
House Wife Loses Right Eye For Refusing Neighbour’s Sexual Advances
Mrs Amaka Ohanwe, a mother of two and house wife has lost her right eye because she refused her neighbours sexually advances. According to her, she was a very good friend of Kingsley Ohanwe, her neighbour who assaulted her, but when she noticed he was desperate to have sex with her, she started avoiding him. He became aggressive and attacked her shortly after she started avoiding her. Doctors have said I can’t see again with my right eye, she said. Below is how Pm News is reporting it. Completely sad!
A 35-year old man, Arinze Kingsley, has left a married woman, Mrs Amaka Ohanwe, partially blind when she allegedly refused his sexual advances. Amaka was seriously injured in her right eye when she was allegedly beaten up by Kingsley at a beauty salon.
She said after undergoing several operations, the doctors at Apapa General Hospital confirmed that she cannot see with the eye again.
Following the assault, the police at Area ‘B’ Apapa arrested Kingsley and charged him with assault before Apapa Magistrate’s Court after which he was remanded in Kirikiri Prisons in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria.
Both Amaka and Kingsley, who is still single, admitted that they were friends but Amaka said they were just friends not lovers.
She said she stopped relating with Kingsley when she discovered that he was desperate to have sex with her despite the fact that he knew that she was married and had two kids.
She said after several attempts by him to sleep with her failed, he became aggressive and when she noticed that, she started avoiding him.
Amaka said Kingsley eventually traced her to a salon at Pen Crescent, Apapa, Lagos where she went to have her hair done and attacked her in front of the beauty shop.
“He waited for me outside the salon. When he saw me, he started abusing me after I refused his advances. I replied him and he hit my eye and threw me on the floor. He started hitting his head on my eyes until I started bleeding,” she told the court.
Amaka said it was their neighbours who came to her rescue and took her to the hospital, while Kingsley immediately started his motorcycle and rode off after attacking her.
She alleged that after the attack, Kingsley boasted that nothing would happen to him because he has money to bail himself out of any difficult situation.
Amaka reported the case to the police but alleged that she was asked to collect N30,000 for her eye operation in order to settle the matter out of court.
Amaka said she had spent over N200,000 on the surgeries but they were not successful.
She called on the state government to come to her aid and ensure justice was done in the matter. Meanwhile, when Kingsley was contacted, he admitted attacking Amaka but said he wanted to settle the matter out of court but she refused.
When he was arraigned, he pleaded not guilty.
The presiding magistrate, Mrs O.A Adegbite, granted him bail in the sum of N50,000 with two sureties in like sum.
He was, however, remanded in prison custody pending when he will fulfill his bail conditions
The matter was adjourned till 24 March.Marriage Is My Priority Now And Nothing More- Filmmaker, Peju Ashaye
'It baffles me when i see marriages crash especially in Nollywood and wonder what kind of message this will send to our fans and admirers in the society. I think, it’s time for me to settle down and I’m due for marriage. I can categorically tell you now that marriage is my priority for now and by God’s grace, I will get engaged this year', she said.
Photo: KaySwitch and his girlfriend welcome baby
The Baby look so cute!
Finally Chris Brown was Jailed After Being Thrown Out of Rehab ... Again!
Source TMZ
Texas A&M Star Mike Evans SIGNS WITH CASH MONEY SPORTS
Macy Gray I See Your Stupid Question ... and Raise You a Nonsensical Response
Friday, March 14, 2014
Stress, longer period in traffic increase heart diseases – Ihejieto
Dr, Justine Ihejieto, General Medical Practitioner speaks on the medical and health implications that arise from spending long hours in traffic.
What are the health hazards of spending long hours in traffic?
The health hazards affect virtually every aspect of human life – physically, socially, psychologically and mentally. When you’re stuck in traffic, you are exposed to all sorts of health risks that arise as a result of inhaling fumes from vehicles and exhaust pipes and dust on the road. The longer the period you spend in traffic, the more you’ll be exposed to these health hazards.
For those who are already suffering from some diseases like asthma, stroke and hypertension, it also worsens their situation especially in emergency situations where urgent medical care is needed. If an ambulance is stuck in traffic, the consequences could be very dire, as it will take the sheer grace of God for a patient or victim to make it.
Does it increase the risks of chronic diseases?
As roadways choke on traffic, it is suspected that the tailpipe exhaust from cars and trucks – especially tiny carbon particles already implicate in heart disease, cancer and respiratory ailments may also injure brain cells and synapses, the key to learning and memory.
To be sure, cars and trucks today generate one-tenth the pollution of a vehicle in 1970. Still, more people are on the road and they are stuck in traffic more often. Drivers annually spend an average of 140 hours, or about the time spent in the office in a month, idling in traffic, a new analysis reported. Long-term stress increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Research on the precise level of cardiovascular risk is limited.
Does it have a lasting effect on the brain?
No one knows whether regular commuters breathing heavy traffic fumes suffer any lasting brain effect. Researchers have only studied the potential impact based on where people live and where air-pollution levels are highest. Even if there were any chronic cognitive effect on drivers and commuters, it could easily be too small to measure reliably or might be swamped by other health factors such as stress, diet or exercise that affect the brain.
Recent studies show that breathing street-level fumes for just 30 minutes can intensify electrical activity in brain regions responsible for behaviour, personality and decision-making, changes that are suggestive of stress. Breathing normal city air with high levels of traffic exhaust for 90 days can change the way that genes turn on or off among the elderly; it can also leave a molecular mark on the genome of a newborn for life. And older men and women long exposed to higher levels of traffic-related particles and ozone are often prone to memory and reasoning problems that effectively reduce their mental abilities. The emissions may also heighten the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and increase the effects of Parkinson’s disease.
How does it affect an individual’s productivity and relationship with others?
Apart from the physical hazards that they are exposed to, there is also the psychological damage too. A lot of people get agitated, angry and disoriented. Even when they get to work, they can’t perform their duties normally due to the stress they underwent on the road. Long delays in getting to and from work is another result leading to less productivity from employees and family crises. There are more cases of accidents because people become frustrated or angry due to the traffic jams. Pollution in the city centre worsens as a result of car emissions. The stress of waiting in gridlock can get intense if you’re in a hurry, leaving you feeling frustrated and anxious about the traffic. That stress can translate into deeper health hazards.
What can be done to curtail these risks?
There is really nothing much for one to do. You can wind up the glasses of your car if it is air- conditioned and listen to soothing music to help relax the brain and nerves. Also, the government and traffic management authorities should help check and reduce some of the causes of these gridlocks.
Kim Kardashian puts her slimmed down figure on display as she gives her hair the chop
She's been accused of using a slimming ap to make her selfies look skinnier.
But Kim Kardashian proved she doesn't need digital trickery to look good as she strutted down the street on Friday.
The 33-year-old Keeping Up With The Kardashians star had jaws dropping when she stepped out in Los Angeles wearing a body-hugging outfit.
Kim left no line of her hourglass figure unseen in that sleeveless, halterneck mini-dress that was made of a clingy orange material.
Her waist was so slim that fiance Kanye West could have spanned his hands around it, while the short hemline provided an excellent view of her toned and shapely legs.
A pair of strappy gold stilettos added such pizzazz that jewelry or other accessories were unnecessary.
The brunette beauty - who ditched the blonde and returned to her natural colour a few weeks ago - sported a sharp, newly layered hairdo.
But Kim Kardashian proved she doesn't need digital trickery to look good as she strutted down the street on Friday.
The 33-year-old Keeping Up With The Kardashians star had jaws dropping when she stepped out in Los Angeles wearing a body-hugging outfit.
Kim left no line of her hourglass figure unseen in that sleeveless, halterneck mini-dress that was made of a clingy orange material.
Her waist was so slim that fiance Kanye West could have spanned his hands around it, while the short hemline provided an excellent view of her toned and shapely legs.A pair of strappy gold stilettos added such pizzazz that jewelry or other accessories were unnecessary.
The brunette beauty - who ditched the blonde and returned to her natural colour a few weeks ago - sported a sharp, newly layered hairdo.
2015 elections will be better – Jega
The mistakes
INEC had a new register in the 2011 elections but that posed many challenges and so, we have to put that aside for a new biometric register in 2015 general elections.
By September this year, continuous voter registration, CVR, for 2015 general elections will commence. There was CVR before the Anambra gubernatorial election and we are doing same in Osun and Ekiti governorship elections. We couldn’t do continuous voter registration in Edo and Ondo because in Edo, there was a controversy and that required our putting that aside.
We have commenced the distribution of permanent voters cards in Ekiti and Osun for the forthcoming governorship elections in the two states. We will also do same in all the states before the 2015 elections to avoid the kind of challenges we had in Anambra.
The mistake in Anambra was caused by our staff posted to Idemili North and the case is in court today. For effectiveness in elections, we customized result sheets but things still got mixed up.In some wards in Idemili, there were agitations and people suspected foul play and prevented us from distribution of voting materials.
Jega
We ended up postponing the election to the next day with the agreement of the people but that also became another issue because the next day was Sunday and we always try to ensure elections don’t take place on religious days. But we made that mistake and the matter is in court. There was so much media hype over Anambra election and I can tell you that even though there were mistakes on the part of INEC official, the conduct of that election was good enough.
Out of the 21 Local government areas in the state, there was problem in just one and even in that one, it was only in three wards.
But people had other complaints:
• People claimed they were disenfranchised but it was not true because going by my understanding of the meaning of disenfranchisement, what happened in Anambra was not disenfranchisement because it was not willful.
•Electoral details got missing because hoodlums made away with them.
•Equipment crashed in other places
•There were multiple registrations in Anambra. Most of the people whose names were not in the register were those who did multiple registration and hence their names were removed.
•Many peoples names were missing because they used cards of 2007 and their names were not in the 2011 register.
A new approach
But things have changed now. We have cleaned the register. It’s electronic biometric register and compares favourably with others in the world. But we must understand that in terms of multiple registration, there is no software in the world that removes that 100%.
We have scheduled the time for continuous voter registration in Osun and Ekiti states and we hope that people would come out to register.
We have commenced serial numbering of ballot papers so that in distribution, you’d know what serial numbers are going to a particular polling unit and this approach will enhance accountability.
All ballot boxes are also serially numbered and we also numbered result sheets. So, you cannot fraudulently alter results or swap result sheets. We have customized result sheets in such a way that every result sheet is specified to a particular polling unit.
But in Anambra, the officials made a mistake of randomly distributing result sheets and that caused problems.Before we realised that, it was already too late.
We have also introduced colour-coded ballot papers so that they are not uniform across the states or even local governments. We also plan to do colour-coding by senatorial districts and constituencies.
We introduced some unique features too. There are somethings you can only read with infra-red and some which only I as Chairman can read and if tampered with, we know who exactly to hold responsible.
We have brought transparency into the collation process. Before, it used to be INEC staff doing everything but we are human beings, not machines. We have changed that. Our staff are no longer collation and returning officers. We got Professors, Vice Chancellors and Senior lectures involved and the process of collation is sanitized and complaints of lack of transparency is reduced.
For 2015, we want to go beyond these class of people to include members of Nigerian Bar Association as collation and returning officers. We want to involve Engineers and the media too.
In the past, we have used members of the National Youth Service Corps and students in tertiary institutions as returning officers.
New communication policy
In 2015, we will come out with a new communication policy. That communication policy will dictate how we will perform better; how we can do mobile education better; the kind of mobile education we can get across.
We often hear that elections are costly. But we need these funds because we use them for allowances, logistics, transportation and feeding. We expect an average of three uniformed policemen per polling unit and we pay them allowances. They have to eat and it’s a lot of money.
In 2015, we are reviewing the number of the polling units. Some polling units in the past elections had as large as 3000 voters attached to each and we have decided to create more polling units. In future, it would be 500 voters per polling unit and it also means more personnel for the new polling units.
After 2011, we did an in-house review and people from independent organizations gave us recommendations. We want to sieve our personnel to ensure that wrong people are not retained as returning officers.
We are rewarding and punishing people at the same time. We are quietly asking people to leave, like the Resident Electoral Commissioner that handled the last Ekiti gubernatorial election. She is no longer with INEC.
Others who committed various categories of offences have also been dismissed and some have taken us to court. We have done a lot of restructuring and re-organisation but you cannot remove people arbitrarily or it becomes a recipe for disaster.
We have been training and re-training our staff. Our adhoc staff in 2011 were given only a three-day training seminar and there were deficiencies. So, we are giving a five-day training programme for 2015.
Our developmental partners are also giving bridge-training for our staff which will add value to what we are doing. Most importantly is putting to use, the permanent voters cards which are embedded chip cards just like ATM cards. The card reader is battery-operated with a 16-hour battery life. So, we don’t anticipate challenges.
Sanitizing the system
Some of the politicians who buy cards from voters cannot do so usefully again. If they buy the cards, they cannot put them to use because we have taken steps to abort that. We are set to bring remarkable improvement in the voting process. You cannot use any other person’s card to vote in any election anymore because we have put steps to check that.
We meet regularly with political parties. We brief them. They raise questions and we address them and it’s a way of building trust as we go towards 2015. We are meant to complement each other.
Again, we said that with good resources, we will be able to get these things done but it will cost money, because we will do radio jingles of about five-minutes programme on prime time. Again, we will also do this in other languages that are not English. We’ll do our best and we believe that other state governments will contribute their best either as social responsibility or as obligation. For example, political parties have an obligation to mobilise the voters. They have to ensure that the voters come out to register and vote. Then, you also have to educate them so that when eventually they come out to vote, they will know how to do so. Otherwise, it will be a wasted time.
The thing now is that political parties are asking INEC to give them money to do voter education. They are supposed to do complementary work and all range of stakeholders can express this work and responsibility. We have uploaded on our websites. We have also gone ahead to establish what we call, INEC Citizens Contact Centre.
You can now call on us, send an SMS or twitter to say what you want to say about INEC. You can ask any question and you will receive a response. We believe also that this is a way that we can use to enlighten the public, giving them the information about what we do in the commission. We want to make sure this citizens contact centre operates virtually 24 hours so that at anytime, people can send comments and they will be able to see our responses.
Of course, again, in order to make information available to the public, in Anambra less than a week before the election, we introduced an express service through which you can actually find out whether your name is on the register or not.
Unfortunately again maybe because we introduced it two months to the election, or maybe there was inadequate publicity, many people did not recognise it. We have again introduced it into Ekiti and Osun.
Infact,about a month ago, we announced the numbers and we shared it to radio and TV stations. It has been part of our enlightenment campaign. All you need do is to text that number, your state, your last name and the last five digits of your pin number on the registration card. You will automatically receive a response that you have successfully registered. They will tell you where you have done the registration. If you can’t find your name on the register after you must have sent this, it means we need to come and renew your status of registration.
We have to do this in the remaining states so that from anywhere, you can send an SMS or you can go through our website. There is a place you can put your details to know where you have registered.
I want to assure you that we in INEC are doing our best and we remain focused.But there are a lot of things out there. Most editorials in newspapers have done a lot of damage by communicating wrong information to the public. The electronic media also do that.
One headline put me into a lot of trouble by giving a headline that I said that elections will not hold in the North Eastern states which I never did. What I said was recorded. I don’t know why people would wake up and do such a headline story. And everybody who was reporting the story was reporting from the headline news. They left me in a difficult condition. The governors of these states now reacted. So I have to react not just to the mis-information, but to the anger of these governors and citizens of these states that there was no way I could say such things. Some corporate bodies did independent reports regarding the Anambra elections. I think we are thinking about reforming democracy and in doing this, we don’t have to undermine the electoral process.
Let me give you another example, recently, many of you must have heard of the reports from a Human Right agency. I don’t know how many of you read that report. They indicted the judiciary and other people. I don’t know about the other organizations but I took the trouble and read what that report wrote about INEC. All the examples they gave were about the 2007 elections but the way the report was made and presented, it was as if it was about a recent election and the preparations for 2015 elections. They quoted one of editorials which I told you and was saying that something was wrong with 2011 elections. How many people have read that report and how many have observed it? Anybody reading that report will think nothing has changed. How can you use evidence of 2007 in 2014?
I am here today I might not be here tomorrow, all I know is to do my best. It is not about Jega, it is about what is good for the country.
Turn-out for elections
In 2011, the largest voter turn-out was 57% and that was for the Presidential election. Low voter turn-out could be a function of many things: lack of sensitization; lack of choice; feeling of apathy by voters that their votes may not be counted.
We have detected a means of detecting multiple registration. We have evidence of detecting that and prosecuting it.
We have prosecuted hundreds of electoral offenders but that also depends on the lawyers handling the case; the policemen handling the investigations and the court processes involved. As it is, INEC is automatically joined in every electoral offence.
Elections in the North-East
I have never said there will be no elections in the North East. I was invited to a senators’ forum and a senator asked a question that in view of the situation in the North-East, whether elections would hold. I answered that we are planning that election would hold everywhere in view of the hope that the issue would be resolved by that time. I went ahead to add that under the circumstance of the rule of emergency, elections would not hold. But I’m an incurable optimist who believe things would be right by the time elections will hold.
I did say that people could be afraid of coming out to vote and these are some of the challenges with conducting election in the North east.
Electioneering campaigns
We have observed that political parties do not comply with the rules about electioneering campaigns. All the parties are guilty of breaking this rule. The specified time for electioneering campaigns is 90 days before the election to end 24hours to the election. Campaigns are meant to start after primaries are conducted and candidates have emerged but we have people putting up posters two years and one year to the election and that is an electoral offence which security agencies should contend with. But political parties can hold rallies.
On political parties also, we have noticed that they lack capacity to dispatch credible agents to polling units and we give agents of political parties copies of results from each unit. We have told partis to bring their agents for training by INEC but till date, no political party has done that. Due to the possibility of the results being changed, polling units and collation centres have what we call stream-lining the results and we have introduced a data base to access results as they come in from polling units. That creates room for people to have parallel tabulation of results as they come in.
Why African Peoples Congress, APC, was not registered
The All Peoples Congress, APC, is a merger of existing political parties and they met the requirements for registration but the African Peoples Congress as a new party seeking registration did not meet some of the requirements for registration. But the law is clear and All Peoples Congress met the requirements. The other APC did not meet the requirements and so was not registered.
Effect of confab on election
We are preparing on the process of existing law and there is a constitution in place. We are asking the National Assembly to be finished with all amendments within six months to the election as stipulated by law. If amendments were not concluded six months to the election, they won’t have effect on the election. But the National Assembly has given its word that amendments in Electoral Act would be concluded six months before the election.
Order of election
In 2011, Presidential election was second after National Assembly election. The third was gubernatorial and State Assembly elections.
Elections in one day is not feasible because of the challenges involved. It would only create more problems and it’s necessary we avoid that. In Kenya, a smaller country than Nigeria, it posed challenges that they said if they have opportunity, they would not have elections in one day.
In Nigeria, elections in one day means five ballot boxes, five ballot papers and with the level of illiteracy in Nigeria, it would create problems.
It is not impossible to hold all elections in one day but we would be biting more than we could chew. There are systemic challenges concerning this.
We in INEC have the capacity to prepare adequately, conventionally and logistically and to create a level playing ground for politicians and we are doing our best to do that well. The electoral process will be fertile as it was in 2011 and we want to ensure peaceful elections next year.
We know that Nigerian politicians are a special breed. We are to communicate to many Nigerians about the attitude with which politicians come for the elections. Our politicians should do something about their language and utterances and about changing the rules of the game.
We will be better than 2011 and we are putting things in place to ensure free, fair and credible elections in 2015.
In planning, we stayed away from things that will require legal amendment. There is prohibition on electronic voting and we have stayed away from that hoping that the prohibition could be amended someday because electronic voting has become worl standard.
Aggrieved workers chase out council boss from office in Kogi State Middle belt of Nigeria
The aggrieved workers who have been on protest have vowed not to allow the chairman return to office until there is a strong assurance that their January salary will be paid in full.
Saturday Vanguard gathered that the protest which started peacefully on Monday turned violent on Tuesday when the chairman, Funsho Ibrahim called security operatives to disband the protesting workers; a development that angered the workers who invaded his office and chased him out of the secretariat.
A source said the embattled Chairman having perceived that the workers could not be pacified or intimidated by the security operatives drafted to the secretariat scampered into the bush leaving his vehicle behind.
The workers on Wednesday took the protest around Isanlu town, the headquarters of the Local Government, visiting the house of Chief Jide Omokore, the political leader of the axis who was said to have nominated the chairman for the position.
The protest also continued on Thursday and yesterday as the workers continued to burn tyres in front of the local government secretariat, vowing not to stop until the chairman issues a word that their January salary and other months will henceforth be paid in full.
One of the workers who spoke with Saturday Vanguard on ground of anonymity said, “We have to resort to this because the chairman is an arrogant man that will not see reasons with us. The salary of his aides and councilors are being paid in full, but can you believe that since May last year when he resumed office, we have been collecting half salary.
“Also, he has stopped promotion saying that it’s only on grounds of work recognition that one can be promoted and not by years of service. He has also recalled all workers who are in school on study leave saying that the Local government is not a charity organization. But he has failed to pay us in full or honour the minimum wage. We have been suffering in silence.”
The source also stated that the chairman who has not initiated any project since he assume office has now arrested the NULGE chairman and other executives on Thursday night, who spear headed the protest and has engage thugs to harass other workers from continuing with the protest.
He however said the protest will continue next week until their demands for their legitimate wages are paid in full saying some of them have been collecting less than N10, 000 naira has monthly take home pay since the introduction of the half salary.
Rihanna & Drake Hardcore Proof They're 100% ... Holding Hands
Catwalk Fashion Designer
If It Has Been 'YOUR DREAM' To Become A Fashion Designer, Or Start Your Own Fashion Line- You Are In The Right Place At The Right Time!
In the fashion Industry, it's not about what you know, but who you know.
Read the transcript below...
In the fashion Industry, it's not about what you know, but who you know.
Read the transcript below...
Annette Corrie- Director - La Mode College of Creative Industries"With over10 years experiencein the fashion industry, I have worked as a Fashion Designer and Ladies-wear buyer and I get to travel overseas 3 times a yeartoTokyo, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Sydney and L.A.
As a Professional Fashion Designer I developed a skill to be able to predictwhat was going
to be in fashion next, and what was going to sell! Fashion isn't about how good you can draw or sketch, or how good you can sew a garment. Fashion Design is all about knowing what people want to wear and developing a garment that will sell at the right price to your customer!
Here are My Top 5 Tips for Getting Into The Fashion Industry:
1. Have Passion (for fashion)
2. Have Knowledge of new trends and emerging labels (know your competition)
3. Know what sells and what customers want to wear…
4. Be Prepared to do what it takes and work your way up
5. Know how the fashion industry and retail industry works.
We have put a fashion course together from people's experiences as a successful fashion designer to help fashionistas like yourself get into the industry and start their careers..Rather than spend years trying to put everything you've learned from the fashion industry- from trend search to product design- through to production...then getting your designs on the shop floor. We have now put all of that information, into a very easy to follow steps. (I just wish that a detailed instructions like this was available when i first started out!- It would have saved me 3 years of full time study!)
You can save your parents/yourself thousands of dollars today!
Even if you did have the money to pay thousands to Study Fashion at College, It makes sense that before you register into a Fashion School, that you learn everything you need to know for a fraction of the Cost!! That way you wont be wasting thousands on college fees, and you'll save your parents thousands too!! (Maybe you could get them to invest the college fees you'll save into your first collection?!!!)
I bet you wanna get your hands on this manual immediately. Just follow this link and you've done yourself the greatest favor you could ever imagine!
How does lady Gaga look in this strange outfit?
She never seems to stop amazing her fans! This was taken at her SXSW keynote address yesterday
Justin Bieber Got a New Tattoo
Another day, another tattoo for heavily inked Justin Bieber - but this time his skin art may land him in some hot water.
On Wednesday, the 20-year-old once again went under the needle during a late night recording session adding his first large piece to his right arm.
Staying with his tattoo theme of adding random prices rather than co-ordinated art, the pop star had an image of a young girl reaching for a heart shape balloon as it drifts away.
Adding to the collection: On Wednesday night Justin Bieber got a new tattoo of the Banksy stencil Balloon Girl
Oscar Pistorius Bloody Photo Shown in Court
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