GSM tax: Labour, CLOs fume, threaten showdown August 27,

GSM tax: Labour, CLOs fume, threaten showdown August 27, 2016 Share on Facebook Tweet on Twitter Labour movements and civil rights organisations are on a collision course with the President Muhammadu Buhari administration over the proposed communication tax. Groups, including the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, Civil Liberty Organisations, in separate interviews with Saturday PUNCH in Abuja on Friday, vowed to shoot down the GSM bill. The bill, which has been submitted to the National Assembly by the Ministry of Communications, will empower the Federal Government to impose nine per cent taxation on all calls, texts and data packages if passed into law. The General Secretary of the NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, described the planned telecommunications bill as a bad policy with potential to deepen poverty in the society. “If they go ahead with it, we will also, through the National Assembly public hearing, before passage into law, make our input to it, by submitting a memorandum,” he said. Ozo-Eson said that the tax was regressive as it would have more adverse effects on the poor than the rich. He said that the poorest segment of the society needed telecommunication to run their lives and their small businesses. Ozo-Eson stressed that while the NLC believed that the Federal Government should come up with taxation to raise revenue, the burden should not be on the poor. He said, “We believe it is a bad policy, it will visit more hardship on Nigerians by the very nature of the tax, it is a regressive tax because even the poorest require communication to run their lives. “Even the small traders depend of communication via GSM to be able to transact their businesses and therefore the tax that is imposed across board is regressive. “And the burden is higher on the poor. While we agree that the government should design taxes that should raise revenue, we believe that progressive taxation would be the best way to do that.” He urged Buhari’s administration to focus on the rich in the drive to regenerate revenue through taxation. He said, “We always insist that you must do a tax system that does not put unnecessary burden on the poor. We need a tax system that is progressive, not regressive. “When you have a tax system that is regressive, it means you are placing undue burden on the poor in the society. A progressive tax system gives relief to those at the very bottom of the income ladder so that they are not taxed, or are even placed on minimal taxation. That is how other societies function. “And then, of course progressively, you tax those that are more capable, and who have more income and more wealth. This is what we think Mr. President must strive to put in place, to target the rich and the wealthy.” Ozo-Eson, who also commented on the claim by the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi, that the current administration had created millionaires through the sale of foreign exchange, urged the monarch to provide more facts on the issue. The Trade Union Congress also condemned planned tax The group, in a statement by its President and Acting Secretary-General, Messrs. Bala Kaigama and Simeso Amachree respectively, wondered how the government would expect workers in a country with a minimum wage of N18,000 to pay such a tax in the face of aggravated economic difficulties. They said that the policy, which according to them, was designed to exploit the impoverished masses, would discourage investments and cause job losses. The unionists warned the Federal Government to suspend the bill as the masses expected to cough out the tax were already over-burdened with multiple taxation. Kaigama and Amachree said that it did not make economic sense to initiate policies that could stifle businesses and worsen the woes of the citizens. The TUC leaders faulted the claim of the Minister of Communications, Chief Adebayo Shittu, that the country could earn as much as N20bn monthly from the passage of the proposed bill, and could help to alleviate the economic challenges facing the country and fund budget deficit. Also, the President of Civil Liberties Organisation, Igho Akeregha, said the planned GSM tax by the Federal Government would amount to excessive oppression of Nigerians who had been severely burdened by the government’s “warped economic policies.” According to him, it is either the All Progressives Congress does not articulate a sustainable political and economic development plan for the country or President Muhammadu Buhari is insensitive and bereft of ideas on how to govern. Akeregha said, “The CLO shall resist the obnoxious and tyrannical plan to further impoverish Nigerians by way of foisting devious tax on them. We have a great tradition in the CLO of standing with the people and defending their rights when the need arises. “The CLO will definitely join forces with our allies in labour and the CSO’s to resist the GSM tax which clearly is an extortionist agenda. Enough is enough of this undemocratic assault on Nigerians.” Akeregha said although the CLO had deliberately refrained from joining issues with the current administration, it had become irrational to be silent in the face of the unprecedented suffering that Nigerians were going through. He asked, “How can any sane person propose a bill to tax Nigerians for use of GSM when the people are already too poor to feed themselves? This idea is criminal as it seeks to abort and significantly infringe on the rights of citizens to freely receive and impart information as provided and guaranteed in the constitution. “Already, Nigerians are paying so much for the use of GSM as all kinds of taxes and levies are hidden in recharge cards while the network providers rip citizens off through unsolicited network services amid poor quality service. “It’s only in Nigeria that citizens have remained docile and complacent while being daily subjected to inhuman and degrading policies by the same government they elected to govern them. It is the inalienable right of all Nigerians irrespective of status, creed or tribe to enjoy democracy dividends.” On his part, the Board Chairman, International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, Emeka Umeagbalasi, said that Nigerians were already over-burdened. He said, “People are passing through challenges in the hands of the Buhari administration. Nigeria under him has already graduated into a jungle. Big businessmen and importers of consumable goods have shut down their importation businesses and are divesting outside the country. Exchange rates are acutely unsteady, unavailable and unaffordable. “Even if you are able to source for foreign currencies locally, then how will you remit them to your foreign business partners or factories? The worse is that 95 per cent of imported items in Nigeria cannot be manufactured locally. Recent media reports have it that 272 major industries have shut down their industries in Nigeria and relocated beyond the shores of the country and 180,000 jobs lost in the process. “Imposition of GSM tax on consumers or network users will have no meaningful effect on the embattled economy. It will go the same negative way of payment of the forceful lodgment duty of N50.00 imposed on every cash deposit and the Treasury Single Account; yet nothing meaningful has happened.” Umeagbalasi said that the economy would only thrive where government’s credibility among its people was positive. He stated, “Unless Buhari’s administration reverses itself in all the areas of its governance blunders, the country will continue to rigmarole in intractable absurdities and confusions. “We totally oppose any form of the so-called GSM tax. Nigerians are already over-taxed, yet nothing to show for it. This is eight months into the 2016 fiscal year, still Nigerians are yet to feel any positive impact of public governance except mass hunger and poverty, falsehood, deceit, propaganda, violence and bloodletting. It saddens our heart!” Faulting the proposed tax, a constitutional lawyer and Chairman, Egalitarian Mission for Africa, Dr. Olukayode Ajulo, said the proposed bill was absolutely anti-people and a sure way of “killing” the telecommunications industry in Nigeria. He added, “The bill, if passed into law, will be impracticable due to the social, political and legal irregularities imbedded therein that would embarrass the government of President Buhari. Politically, almost 110 million people in Nigeria have access to mobile services that is about two-thirds of Nigeria’s population. With two-third of the population without a mobile connection, you can imagine the consequence.” On what the group will do, he said, “We are playing down the option of street protests as we believe that once premium is given to superior arguments at the National Assembly public hearing on the proposed bill, the bill will find its rightful place in the dustbin of history.” Shittu, had at a private sector dialogue session organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Lagos last week, said that the planned tax, which had passed first reading in both chambers of the National Assembly, would help the Federal Government develop the ICT sector and implement its policies and plans in an integrated manner. According to him, the country will earn as much as N20bn monthly if the bill is passed into law. In his reaction, Special Assistant, Media, to the Minister of Communications, said, Mr. Victor Oluwadamilare, said, “The bill in the National Assembly is not an executive bill; it is a private member bill. “What the minister has told those against the bill is to aggregate their views and present them to the National Assembly. “The government is doing its best to address the recession in the country. If there is no money to run the government, the government can look into all the sectors. “There is need for all stakeholders to get involved and address their positions to the National Assembly.” Copyright PUNCH.

GLOSTARZ: Argentina coach hoping to ease Messi workload

GLOSTARZ: Argentina coach hoping to ease Messi workload: Messi. Messi. New Argentina head coach Edgardo Bauza said on Tuesday that he wants to see his side rely less on Lionel Messi, after the B...

Argentina coach hoping to ease Messi workload

Messi. Messi. New Argentina head coach Edgardo Bauza said on Tuesday that he wants to see his side rely less on Lionel Messi, after the Barcelona forward’s brief retirement from international football. Messi said that he was going to quit playing for his country in the aftermath of their second successive Copa America final defeat on penalties to Chile two months ago. But former Sao Paulo coach Bauza persuaded the five-time world player of the year to continue his international career, after taking over as boss from Gerardo Martino. He will oversee his first matches in charge in 2018 World Cup qualifying against Uruguay and Venezuela next month. “Do not always give it to him to make a play or score a goal, but create conditions that mean that it is not down to Messi to solve everything,” Bauza told Argentine daily La Nacion. “Depend on the team. I want to stop everything from depending on him… We all know that when the ball goes through him something different can happen, but we need help from the team. “Having the best player in the world does not guarantee that you will win games, but it does guarantee that there will be fear in the opposition.” Argentina, the top-ranked team in the world, are currently third in South American qualifying for the next World Cup in Russia after six matches. Bauza’s first game in charge sees his new side host Uruguay, who lead the qualification table, on September 1, before a trip to Venezuela on September 6. Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/08/argentina-coach-hoping-ease-messi-workload/

N96 Trillion Oil Revenue: How Nigeria short-changed oil producing areas Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/08/n96-trillion-oil-revenue-nigeria-short-changed-oil-producing-areas/

N96 Trillion Oil Revenue: How Nigeria short-changed oil producing areas On August 21, 20163:38 amIn NewsComments *Deprived of N36 trillion derivation, got only N12.3 trillion *2500 killed in 25years *No derivation from Gowon, Murtala/Obasanjo regimes *Why Niger Delta region, others want restructuring, resource control BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE, Deputy Political Editor LAST week, we published the first part of our exclusive story on how much Nigeria earned from crude oil since exploitation started in 1958 at Oloibiri, in present day Bayelsa State, and June 2016. Today, we serve you the concluding part of the story detailing how the oil producing areas have been short-changed in the sharing of the N96.212 trillion crude oil earnings, effects of oil exploitation and why calls for restructuring, resource control and fiscal federalism are unceasing. leaders Of the N96.212 trillion, which accounts for about 80 per cent of the country’s federal revenue, only N12.3 trillion has been paid to the oil producing areas as derivation. The figure is N35.848 trillion less than the N48.106 trillion the oil-bearing regions should have got as derivation if 50 per cent derivation had not been jettisoned few years after crude oil became the chief revenue earner. The First Republic civilian administration of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1960-1965) was faithful with the 50 per cent derivation principle. Of the N91.4 million crude oil earning of the period, it paid N45.7 million derivation. A derivation of N11.5 million was also paid during the General John Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi military regime of January to July 1966. Thereafter, the oil producing areas got no derivation for a period of 14 years (1967 to 1981) during the first oil boom era of the 1970’s under the Generals Yakubu Gowon and Murtala Mohammed/Olusegun Obasanjo military regimes. Among the over 13 administrations/regimes that have ruled the country since 1960, former President Goodluck Jonathan, paid N6.63 trillion derivation, the highest and more than 50 per cent of the N12.3 trillion paid so far to the oil producing areas (see table) – although it should be started that the Jonathan administration got the largest chunk of revenue from crude sales (N51trillion) However, the huge earnings since 1958, arguably, have translated to little or no improvement on the welfare of the citizenry, especially the people of the oil producing areas, whose environment – land, water and air – has been adversely contaminated and, in many cases, devastated and polluted. Effects of oil exploitation In the last 25 years, about 2,500 persons have been killed in pipeline-related explosions and accidents in the region. Indeed, a World Bank report warns that 40 per cent of habitable terrain in the Niger Delta area would disappear in 20 years if strong-willed re-mediation was not carried out. And the Federal Government admitted that more than 40,000 oil spills had occurred in the past 58 years of oil exploration. In the report, the World Bank claimed that the palm groves, shorelines, creeks and other habitable areas would be washed away by erosion as well as spills due to vandalism, system failure and crude oil theft. Apart from effects of oil spills, gas flaring constitutes a veritable hazard. It causes acid rain which acidifies the lakes and streams and damages crops and vegetation. It reduces farm yields and harms human health; increases the risk of respiratory illnesses, asthma and cancer and often causes chronic bronchitis, decreased lung function, blindness, impotence, miscarriages and premature deaths. Constant heat and the absence of darkness in some communities have done incalculable damage to human, animal and plant life in affected areas. Gas flares also cause affected places to be covered in thick soot, making even rain water unsafe for drinking. A United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report, in 2011, criticised how the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) deals with the environmental damage it has caused in the Niger Delta, especially in Ogoniland. UNEP said Ogoniland needed the world’s largest ever oil clean-up, which would cost an initial $1billion or N160 billion and could take 30 years. The Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has started the process of cleaning up Ogoniland but how far the clean up would go is a matter of conjecture. Mention is yet to be made of other affected communities. Women deliver deformed babies, go barren Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Niger Delta Affairs and Co-ordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brig-Gen Paul Boroh, rtd, raised the alarm, last month over the increasing trend of women giving birth to deformed children who look like dwarfs, while others have become barren and suffer stillbirth because of crude oil pollution in the troubled region. Advising militants to stop bombing of oil facilities in the region, which he said had worsened the already bad situation, he said: ‘’There is information now that women in Niger Delta have started experiencing stillbirth, some of them cannot even take in normal anymore and even kids that they deliver these days are having biological issues. Some of them look like dwarfs.” With oil revenue going down, whether or not the Ogoni clean-up will be done is to be seen. By projection, Nigeria currently crude oil reserves of about 37.2 billion barrels, which at the current rate of exploitation (2.2mbp) may be exhausted in the next 40 years unless new deposits are discovered. Like most oil-bearing areas of the world, the Niger Delta has a tough terrain, which needs huge funds to be developed. Often times, oil producing areas are marshy or arid and most of the is marshy. The devastation of the region has been attributed, among others, to pipeline vandalism and failures of policy in spite of the government’s efforts to pay special attention to the area. Till date, no city in the region has been mapped out for a special development as the government did in Lagos and Abuja. In 1958, before crude oil became a critical factor in Nigeria’s development, Sir Henry Willink’s Commission recommended that the Niger Delta region deserved special developmental attention by the Federal Government because of its difficult terrain. In response, the government established the Niger Delta Development Board (NDDB) in 1960 to tackle the developmental needs of the region. The board in its seven years of existence achieved little or nothing. It was consumed by the military coup of 1966 and the outbreak of the civil war in 1967. Before and shortly after Nigeria’s independence in 1960, the federating units (regions) retained 50 per cent of revenues derived from their areas and contributed the rest to the central pool. It was on this basis that the regional governments led by late Chief Obafemi Awolowo (West); Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe (East); Sir Ahmadu Bello (North) and later Dennis Osadebey (Mid-West) unleashed unparalleled development in their respective areas. However, the 50 per cent derivation principle was kicked aside by the military in 1967 as earnings from crude oil sky-rocketed. First, part of the proceeds was used to prosecute the Nigeria-Biafra civil war of 1967 to 70. After the war, the military rulers refused to return to the status quo and chose to disburse funds to the states as they deemed fit. Distorting Nigeria’s structure In 1914, when the Southern and Northern protectorates were brought together by Lord Lugard, the North was just a protectorate without divisions. At independence in 1960, there were three regions – Northern, Eastern and Western. In 1963, the civilian regime created a fourth region, Midwestern, out of the Western Region. Then Northern Region had 14 provinces; Western Region (7 provinces), Midwestern (2) and Eastern Region (12). In essence, the North had one region and 14 provinces while the South had three regions and 21 provinces. However, things started tilting in favour of the North when in 1967, and by military fiat, the regions were replaced with 12 states; six in the North, and six in the South. All through the military era, series of state and local council creations were made such that by 1996, the North, which trailed the South in terms of number of regions, provinces and divisions, was further divided into 19 states (and, with the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, became 20 in a manner of speaking) and 414 local councils. Conversely, the South that had six states and 55 divisions in 1967 was divided into 17 states and 355 local councils. The military funded the numerous states and local councils it created with oil money. The oil producing areas were short-changed in the series of state and councils creation sprees. With crumbs coming from the centre as allocation and their primary occupations – fishing and farming – inhibited by oil pollution, Niger Deltans embarked on vigorous agitation to save their lives and environment. In response, the President Shehu Shagari Administration set up a Presidential Task Force (popularly known as the 1.5 per cent Committee) in 1980; and 1.5 per cent of the Federation Account was allocated to the Committee to tackle the developmental problems of the region. This committee could not achieve much. There were doubts if the government actually disbursed 1.5 per cent of the revenue to the committee. And most of the funds released were allegedly looted. Discontent in the area was to continue. So, when General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida came to power, he set up the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Commission (OMPADEC) in 1992 and allocated 3 per cent of federally collected oil revenue to it to address the needs of the areas. Like its forebears, the OMPADEC, which initially raised hopes, also failed to deliver as it perceptively became inefficient and corrupt. When General Sani Abacha took over, he set up the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) headed by Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd). The PTF did not meet the yearnings of Niger Deltans as its mandate covered all parts of the country. With critics saying that the PTF carried out more projects in northern parts of the country, restiveness in the Niger Delta assumed a higher gear. Abacha convened a National Constitutional Conference (NCC) in 1994, where conferees agreed on at least 13 per cent derivation. Abacha did not live to implement the recommendation. His successor, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, included it in the 1999 Constitution which he handed over to President Olusegun Obasanjo on May 29, 1999. On his part, Obasanjo scrapped the PTF and established a special body, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), to undertake rapid development of the impoverished oil region. He foot-dragged on the payment of the 13 per cent derivation until the oil producing states got a court judgment, which forced him to pay the proceeds beginning from June 1999. At the National Political Reforms Conference (NPRC) convened by Obasanjo in 2005, South-South delegates insisted on 25 per cent derivation and had to walk out on the gathering when the other parts of the country said they could not approve anything more than 18 per cent, which was later recommended. However, this recommendation did not see the light of the day and died with Obasanjo’s controversial third term ambition. And the agitation for enhanced welfare continued. On succeeding Obasanjo, late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua established the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, to offer more palliatives to the region. When militancy took the upswing in the area and knocked down oil production to about less than one million barrels per day, he also offered amnesty to the militants, a progamme that has gulped billions of Naira. President Goodluck Jonathan inherited and implemented the programme, which was meant to lapse in 2015. However, a host of the ex-militants and new ones want the programme to continue and the Niger Delta area is turbo charged now with the militants on an unceasing bombing spree of critical national assets in the oil and gas sector with the attendant socio-economic drawback. Looking at the situation, recently, former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, said there is need to practice fiscal federalism with the federating units controlling their resources and making contributions to the centre. According to him, the fear of the oil producing areas is that other parts of the country would abandon the Niger Delta to swim in her inhabitable environment after exhausting the oil resources. Crude oil earnings and derivation 
Crude oil earnings and derivation since 1958 YEAR REVENUE (N) DERIVATION (N) 1958 0.2 million 0.1 million 1959 3.4 million 1.7 million 1960 2.4 million 1.2 million 1961 17 million 8.5 million 1962 17 million 8.5 million 1963 10 million 5.0 million 1964 16 million 8.0 million 1965 29 million 14.5 million 1966 45 million 22.5 million 1967 30 million 15.0 million 1968 15 million ———————- 1969 75.4 million ———————- 1970 167 million ———————- 1971 510 million ———————- 1972 764 million ———————- 1973 1.016 Billion ———————- 1974 3.724 Billion ———————- 1975 4.272 Billion ———————- 1976 5.368 Billion ———————- 1977 6.081 Billion ———————- 1978 4.556 Billion ———————- 1979 8.881 Billion ———————- 1980 12.354 Billion ———————- 1981 8.564 Billion ———————- 1982 7.815 Billion 117.9 million 1983 7.253 Billion 108.795 million 1984 8.264 Billion 123.96 Million 1985 10.915 Billion 163.725 Million 1986 8.107 Billion 121.6 Million 1987 19.027 Billion 285.05 Million 1988 20.934 Billion 314.01 Million 1989 39.131 Billion 586.96 Million 1990 55.216 Billion 828.24 Million 1991 60.314 Billion 904.71 Million 1992 115.392 Billion 3.462 Billion 1993 106.192 Billion 3.204 Billion 1994 160.192 Billion 4.830 Billion 1995 324.548 Billion 9.736 Billion 1996 369.190 Billion 11.076 Billion 1997 416.811 Billion 12.504 Billion 1998 289.532 Billion 8.686 Billion 1999 500.00 Billion 32.5 Billion 2000 1.34 Trillion 174.23 Billion 2001 1.708 Trillion 221.91 Billion 2002 1.231 Trillion 160.017 Billion 2003 2.074 Trillion 269.659 Billion 2004 3.355 Trillion 436.124 Billion 2005 4.7624 Trillion 619.112 Billion 2006 6.109 Trillion 794.17 Billion 2007 6.70 Trillion 871 Billion 2008 3.96 Trillion 514.8 Billion 2009 2.225 Trillion 289.307 Billion 2010 9.15 Trillion 1.190 Trillion 2011 5.561Trillion 722.91 Billion 2012 12.5 Trillion 1.625 Trillion 2013 12.6 Trillion 1.638 Trillion 2014 11.891Trillion 1.546 Trillion 2015 6.945 Trillion 903.85 Billion 2016(June) 1.499 Trillion 194.87 Billion TOTAL 96.212 Trillion 12.258 Trillion Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/08/n96-trillion-oil-revenue-nigeria-short-changed-oil-producing-areas/ 

WHAT A ROMANTIC FEELINGS OF 20YRS VS 60YRS WHAT O YOU THINK?

20 year old girl finds love in her father's 60 year old friend 20 year old Leah Senibaldi is head over heels in love with a 60 year old man who used to be in a music band with her father. Leah and 60 year old appliance salesman Ress Benson have been dating for two years after they met at her father's band practice 3 years ago. The couple are so in love that they don't care about the disapproval from family, friends and even strangers as they are talking about tying the knot. Leah from Nashville, Tennessee said when they met for the first time three years ago at her father's band practice, the attraction was “instant', She knew then and there that she had found her soulmate and their feelings for each other grew stronger, but they did not get romantically involved until 12 months after Leah confessed her feelings. In an interview with Dailymail.com

She said: “We get a lot of stares, but we’re never offended, we play up to it and have a lot of fun by giving people something to stare at. Quite often if we know people are staring we will kiss to try and wind them up, it shocks them but we don’t care because we’re not doing anything wrong.” Their feelings for each other grew stronger as they saw each other at her father’s band practice: “When we first met three years ago, our eyes just locked and I don’t know why but I ran up and hugged him – it just felt right. “After my parents found out I was talking to Ress online, they assumed the worst, they didn’t want us talking and thought he was just trying to groom or use me. I was forbidden from talking to him, but after a year my feelings towards him hadn’t changed and we started chatting again.” When they again met in person, Leah says she knew instantly they were supposed to be together: “I knew I loved him and since then nothing’s changed, my feelings have only grown with time. It was obvious that we had feelings for one another, we were meant to be together and since we started dating last year we’ve been completely inseparable.” The pair’s family and friends were resistant to their love at first and Leah says her parents are still refusing to acknowledge they are serious about each other. Ress, who works as an appliance salesman, is nine years older than Leah’s mother. But he is 18 years older than her father. Calling his meeting with Leah a “spiritual encounter” he said they faced serious opposition, revealing: “Her parents tried everything in their power to scare Leah away.” Meanwhile Leah, a student, says she doesn’t worry about being a young widow and believes they will have a chance to enjoy each others company for many years. And she believes many women are just jealous of her “attractive” man: “When we went out to dinner for my 20th birthday, one older woman kept turning around and looking at us, once I realised, I leaned over and kissed Ress on the cheek, I think they’re just jealous. I think a lot of older woman are jealous of me, because I’ve got such an attractive boyfriend and they can’t have him.”

WHY BREAD COME THEY RUN WATCH VIDEO

I once worked as a bricklayer to survive – Reekado Banks DO YOU HE WAS ON SUCH STORY BEFORE

I once worked as a bricklayer to survive – Reekado Banks On April 23, 20155:01 pmIn EntertainmentComments As a prominent young Nigerian artiste, Reekado Banks has worked with the cream of the Nigerian music industry including Don Jazzy, Illbliss, Tiwa Savage, Olamide, Korede Bello, Di’Ja and Wale. The story of his rise to prominence however, has not been smooth, as the Mavin Records recording artiste disclosed during a #MySuperStarStory interview. Reekado-Banks Reekado-Banks Born Solomon Ayoleyi Hanniel, the Ondo State indigene revealed that after informing his parents of his intention to pursue a career in music and getting their blessing, he had to hawk blenders in traffic and work as a manual labourer at a construction site in a bid to earn some money to use to record. He also revealed that at one point, a lecturer at the university told him that he will never make it after preventing him from retaking a test he missed. His turning point came with the Mavin Records audition where he was picked out of over 5,000 hopefuls. The dreadlocked act, now popular for his ballad “Katapot” credited this triumph to God. In his words, “There is no amount of sacrifice that was enough to get me something this big.”

Why I Kiss Girls On Stage, Kiss Daniel

Top singer, Kiss Daniel, has revealed that he once got carried away while kissing a girl on stage. The Woju hitmaker says he gets to kiss at least one girl at every show. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter pop singer, Kiss Daniel pop singer, Kiss Daniel “On one occasion in Warri, some of the female fans got so excited to see me perform live that they literally tore my shirt to shreds. I get kissed on stage a lot. Most of the time, when I go to shows, I already know I am going to kiss a girl or more. There was this show I attended in Ibadan. A girl came up to dance with me. While we were dancing, she kissed me and I got carried away for a few moments,” he told Punch. READ ALSO: SO SAD! Kiss Daniel Suffers Great Loss He dismissed online reports that he endorsed gay marriage. “I don’t know where people got that information. I have never supported gay marriage. Why would I do that?” Daniel said his music talent can be attributed to his background. READ ALSO: NEW MUSIC: Kiss Daniel – Woju (Remix) ft. Tiwa Savage & Davido “I come from a family of artists. My late dad was a painter who also did a bit of songwriting on the side. My sister works with Cool FM as a presenter and my brother is a fashionista. You can see that my family is well grounded in creativity. Besides, dad always encouraged us to be self-employed. He would tell us to use our God-given talents to make a living for ourselves. So when I was starting out as a music artiste he supported me.” The Woju coroner said his greatest regret in life is not fulfilling his promise to buy his father a new car on his birthday and admitted that Woju’s huge success brought him financial benefits but maintained that he is “successfully comfortable”. Kiss Daniel became famous off his hits Woju and Laye. Read more: https://www.naij.com/485035-why-i-kiss-girls-on-stage-kiss-daniel.html

80-year-old woman arrested with dead baby in Lagos

An 80-year-old woman, Kuburat Ayinde, has been arrested by the police after she was caught with a dead baby boy in the Oshodi under bridge area of Lagos State. The woman had allegedly abducted the baby alive from Abeokuta, Ogun State, and strapped him to her back. The infant, however, died before she arrived in Lagos. The octogenarian was arrested on Sunday. PUNCH Metro gathered that Ayinde wanted to board a bus to Ikorodu from Oshodi at about 2pm on Sunday when a commuter noticed that she was fidgety. The man and other passers-by were said to have asked her about the whereabouts of the baby’s mother, but she could not give a convincing reply. It was learnt that the baby was discovered to be dead after the octogenarian was forced to remove him from her back. A witness, Tunde Aruna, told PUNCH Metro that Ayinde would have been mobbed but for her old age and the intervention of some elderly

Six-man gang nabbed in Ikoyi while sharing loot

Share on Facebook Tweet on Twitter Scene of the incident Olaleye Aluko Six suspected burglars have been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command in the Ikoyi area of the state. Our correspondent learnt that the suspects were sharing their loot when they were arrested by police operatives. PUNCH Metro gathered that the men, identified as Friday Eze, Stanley Ejiofor, Femi Miracle, Raphael Ijoha, Emmanuel Omojuwa and Daniel Thomas, were arrested by men of the Ikoyi Police Division on Tuesday, August 9. The police said the gang, which was notorious for breaking into houses and stealing valuables, had other members who escaped arrest. Our correspondent learnt that around 10pm, the gang members allegedly burgled some houses on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, and drove away in a car to a junction in the area to share the loot. A source said operatives, who were on patrol, observed the suspects sharing the stolen items in the car and arrested them. He said, “They are notorious in the Ikoyi area for burglary. They don’t rob to avoid raising suspicion. They only wait for their target houses to be deserted before they strike. “We were on a ‘stop-and-search’ in the area when we observed them sharing some goods inside a car around 10pm. When we arrested them and searched the car, we found four laptops, three purses, 13 mobile phones and four iPads. They confessed that they were returning from an operation. The six of them have been transferred to the Special Anti-Robery Squad, Ikeja.” Speaking with PUNCH Metro, Eze, a father of two, said he went into burglary to make ends meet. He said, “It was frustration that drove me into burglary. The situation was very critical for me and my family. I have a wife and two kids to cater to. I am not the gang leader. A friend brought all these men for the operation. We stole several laptops. I took two laptops and two iPads. I have gone for only two operations. “I was formerly living in Lekki with my family. But when things became difficult, my in-laws took my wife and children to Ikorodu. I am the firstborn of my parents. My sisters have been sent out of school and I have to fund their studies.” Another suspect, Thomas, said, “Friday (Eze) introduced me to the gang. We are friends. I do not rob; I only burgle houses. It was hard times that led me to this.” The state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said the suspects would be charged to court at the end of investigation. “Members of the public should continue to cooperate with the police in tackling crimes in Lagos State. The suspects will be arraigned in court at the end of investigation,” he said.