Onpointsales blog: April 2016

Dr Kathleen Egbuna on Monday in Lagos said that balanced diets, nutritional supplements, exercises and proper stress management could reduce hypertension in patients.

Egbuna, a nutritionist at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Yaba in Lagos State, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that, “Hypertension is a condition where the pressure in the bloodstream of a person is consistently raised above normal.

“When the systolic is consistently above 140millimeters of mercury and the diastolic is consistently above 90 millimeters of mercury, the person is in a state of hypertension.

“Severely elevated hypertension may result in headaches, increase in heart rate, and a general feeling of ill-health.

“Hypertension is an indication for the risk of stroke, coronary heart disease, heart attacks, kidney disease, and other related disorders,” she said.

Egbuna said that lifestyles and aging process could also serve as key components of the scourge.

“With the passage of time, the blood vessels gradually lose their elasticity and this may lead to a rise in systolic pressure when the heart contracts.

“Hypertension may also be the consequences of medical conditions, and when hypertension is precipitated by other disease conditions in the body, it is called secondary hypertension.

“Secondary hypertension includes; adrenal gland tumor, blocked renal artery, obstructive sleep, apnea, kidney diseases, endocrine diseases, obesity and nutritional causes.

“Environmental factors contributing to hypertension include: smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, as well as eating of high-fat diets, high-salt diets, caffeine and tobacco,” she said.

She also said that anti-hypertensive drugs would not cure hypertension but could only reduce blood pressure and control the condition.

Egbuna said that the nutrients that could help to control hypertension include; potassium, calcium, magnesium, selenium, the antioxidant vitamins (A,C and E) and omega-3 fatty acids.

She said that nutritional research had identified some natural agents and herbs that could provide a support for hypertension such as: garlic, green tea and Hawthorne berry.

The nutritionist said that the root of bitter-leaf plant had a diuretic effect that can help in the management of hypertension.

news credit:thenationonlineng.net

- 06:30:00

Balanced diets, nutritional supplements, exercise reduce hypertension

Dr Kathleen Egbuna on Monday in Lagos said that balanced diets, nutritional supplements, exercises and proper stress management could r...

Nigerian U 23 striker Ubong Ekpai remains a bonafide player of Akwa United FC, according to a release made available to the press by the media officer of the club Uwem Ekoh.

The release stated that at no time did Akwa United negotiate the signing or the release of the player to Macaibi Haifa, not to talk of the payment of transfer fees and so on.

Quoting club chairman Paul Bassey, the release stated that after undue pressure from the club and the player, the club consented to his visiting Israel to ” see things for himself before deciding on whether he wants to play in Israel or not”.

“This came after we personally advised Ubong to have patience that as a key member of Sia Sia’s National U -23 squad to the Rio Olympics in August he is most likely to attract better offers especially from European clubs,” Mr Bassey was quoted as saying.

It is even on record that the chairman told Ekpai’s agent that the timing of the visit was wrong as Akwa United is in the fore front of the quest of returning to Africa through the league, but was assured that though the star striker will miss the Lobi Stars match that he will return in time for the Enyimba clash in Uyo in week 13.

“Should we decide to let Ekpai go to Israel or any other club for that matter, you can bet that it will only be after the current league season,” the release said.

“You can therefore imagine our shock when were told that Ubong Ekpai has signed. Is that how it is done? Have we entered into any agreement? Has a contract been formalized, have they paid? Ridiculous to say the least.

“As a club we will never stay in the way of a player who decides to move on in life by seeking greener pastures elsewhere but we owe it to our youth to advice them properly as the lure of the dollar can sometimes be deceptive. Meanwhile we take exception to the unprofessional behavior of Ekpai’s agent and the Israeli Club in declaring that Ekpai has signed with them, whereas nothing of such has been formalized and agreed by us.

news credit:thenationonlineng.net

- 06:21:00

Ubong Ekpai not Macaibi Haifa player

Nigerian U 23 striker Ubong Ekpai remains a bonafide player of Akwa United FC, according to a release made available to the press by th...

Osibanjo resumes in office

VICE President Yemi Osibanjo, has said the Federal Government is set to spearhead investment in solar technology, both at utility scale and solar-to-home solutions.

Osibanjo, who stated this at the Nigeria Energy Forum, NEF, in Lagos, also said that government will provide exciting opportunities for private investment in solar technology and product manufacturing.

“This will also create developments in the country that will attract private investors in the privatized generation and distribution segments of the electricity supply value chain,” he said.

Osibanjo, was represented by his senior special assistant on power privatization and acting head, advisory power team, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo.

He also said: “Currently, 14 Independent Power Plant, IPP utility scale projects, from 100 megawatts that will go to the grid are being negotiated, nine are actually ready to go in terms of documentation, so they can proceed to their financing.

“There are also the challenges of overstretched infrastructure and poor delivery networks resulting in poor services over the years which we also have inherited. Nigeria has four petroleum refineries, despite the increase in population and in the demand for refined petroleum products, there has not been any increase in the capacity of the refineries (last capacity upgrade was in 1988 (about 28 years ago). The existing capacities are also not performing optimally thereby necessitating the importation of refined petroleum products.

“There are also the challenges of inadequate infrastructure to transport the available gas to the power plants and vandalism of existing infrastructure to transport the available gas to the power plants and vandalism of existing infrastructure.

“Just recently a portion of Shell’s Forcados Export Terminal pipeline got ruptured just about the time a portion of Escravos–Lagos Pipeline System, ELPS, was also destroyed by vandals. For those reasons, power plants in the western axis, like Ughelli, Egbin, Omotosho 1, Olorunsogo 1, Omotosho National Integrated Power Solution, NIPP, now generate far below optimum. The reported gas constraint as at April 10, 2016, was about 2.8GW,” he said.

Also speaking, the Director, United States Agency for International Developments, USAID’s, Economic Growth Office in Nigeria, Mr. Mathew Burton, said that two out of three people in sub-Saharan Africa lacked access to electricity, which limits access to quality health care, education, and economic opportunities for over 600 million people.

According to him, “In Nigeria, efforts to diversify the economy are frustrated on a daily basis by the lack of reliable and affordable electricity. The cost of electricity eroded firm level competitiveness by driving up production costs and narrowing margins. As such, many sectors are simply not viable let alone competitive at a domestic, regional, or global level. “The growing call for greater domestic resource mobilization in Nigeria misses the point that for firms and entrepreneurs to contribute more in the form of taxes, these businesses must first be profitable. It is for these reasons that I view access to electricity as the largest binding economic constraint facing Nigeria today,” he stated.

news credit:www.vanguardngr.com

- 06:13:00

FG canvasses investment in solar

Osibanjo resumes in office VICE President Yemi Osibanjo, has said the Federal Government is set to spearhead investment in solar tech...

Google’s massive book-scanning project cleared its final legal hurdle Monday as the US Supreme Court denied an appeal contending it violates copyright law.

The top US court denied without comment a petition from the Authors Guild to hear the appeal of a 2013 federal court ruling seen as a landmark copyright decision for the digital era.

In a decade-long case, authors and their backers claimed Google was illegally scanning and digitizing millions of books without compensation to the copyright holders.

But the ruling by federal judge Denny Chin, backed by an appellate court panel, said the colossal project in which Google allows users to search books and see snippets of text was “fair use” under copyright law.

Google said in a statement after Monday’s decision, “We are grateful that the court has agreed to uphold the decision of the Second Circuit (appeals court) which concluded that Google Books is trans-formative and consistent with copyright law.”
The statement added: “The product acts like a card catalog for the digital age by giving people a new way to find and buy books while at the same time advancing the interests of authors.”

The appeals panel last October rejected the arguments of the Authors Guild, several prominent writers and leading publishers that the Google Books program and its Library Project would eat into their earnings potential by allowing readers free access to the books.

Backers of Google contended that digitization offers numerous public benefits for researchers and others.
– Win for ‘fair use’ –

The decision “reflects what we have long said: that fair use is a powerful and flexible doctrine that enables not only new works, but also innovative uses of existing works,” said Raza Panjwani of the consumer group Public Knowledge.

“Although we are glad to see this 12-year saga come to an end, the real shame is that we’ve had to wait so long to achieve legal certainty about something so beneficial to the public. This denial will hopefully lead to new efforts to expand our access to culture and knowledge through digital formats.”

Krista Cox of the Association of Research Libraries hailed the ruling, tweeting, “Win for #fairuse.” Nancy Sims, a University of Minnesota copyright librarian, said in a blog post, “This is a pretty great outcome for libraries and the public.”

The Authors Guild said it was disappointed. “Blinded by the public benefit arguments, the Second Circuit ruling tells us that Google, not authors, deserves to profit from the digitization of their books,” said Mary Rasenberger, executive director of the authors group.

The ruling, she said, “misunderstood the importance of emerging online markets for books and book excerpts. It failed to comprehend the very real potential harm to authors resulting from its decision. The price of this short-term public benefit may well be the future vitality of American culture.”

In the October appellate ruling, Judge Pierre Leval wrote that the longstanding interpretation of copyright law has for 300 years been that authors do not have “absolute control” over their works, and that there are important exemptions for “fair use,” including news reporting, historical analysis, parody and other “transformation” purposes. The court said that the snippets made available by Google were not a viable substitute for the works and that it was immaterial if Google made a profit from its search business using the books. In the original ruling, New York judge Chin said what was originally called the “Library Project” preserves books, gives “new life” to forgotten editions, sustains “print-disabled” users and benefits authors and publishers by finding them new readers. The case, which dates back to 2005, centers on a Google program started in 2004 to create an electronic database of books that could be searchable by keywords.

news credit:www.vanguardngr.com

- 06:02:00

Google wins long US court battle book-scanning

Google’s massive book-scanning project cleared its final legal hurdle Monday as the US Supreme Court denied an appeal contending it viol...

Celebrity blogger, Linda Ikeji released a statement on Monday after meeting with StarBoy CEO, Wizkid with the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Oweseni over their longstanding feud.

Read Ikeji’s full statement:

So, I am going to write about this Wizkid matter for the very last time. Anything else after this will no longer concern me. So Wizkid and I met with the Commissioner of Police today and when the Commissioner asked me what I wanted them to do with the case… I told him that I wanted peace. And the reason why I insisted on peace and not to drag the matter further i.e go to court, is because Wizkid and his lawyers have been apologizing since Friday, up until today! I spoke with Wizkid through his lawyer on Friday April 15th where he tendered an apology to me and said he wasn’t a violent person, that he didn’t mean what he said, that it was just an emotional outburst. And then he asked for forgiveness. Please continue… But despite forgiving him, he still had to show up at the Police HQ to officially apologize and write an undertaken which he did today. I see a lot of negativity has come out of this case with Wizkid – with many folks bashing me for reporting a threat on my person. But here’s my consolation and why I am glad this happened. I promise you, especially the ladies, Wizkid will never threaten you with harm again. At least not in public. I believe I am the last bus stop. He will think twice before threatening another human being again on social media. A police file has been opened for him, and he has been cautioned. The day he threatens another human being again with harm, then… Having said that, I turned down taking a photo with him and the police commissioner this afternoon. One of his people took a pic of him and the commissioner with me in it and my people insisted they delete it. Not because I haven’t forgiven him, I just don’t need the extra drama. I wish Wizkid all the best and will continue to celebrate him. God bless us all.

new credit:www.vanguardngr.com

- 05:50:00

What happened-meeting-wizkid-Lagos-police-commissioner-linda-ikeji

Celebrity blogger, Linda Ikeji released a statement on Monday after meeting with StarBoy CEO, Wizkid with the Lagos State Commissioner o...

Many heaved sighs of relief when on Wednesday, April 6, the House of Representatives submitted the details of the controversial N6.06 trillion 2016 budget to the Clerk of the National Assembly (CNA), Salisu Maikasuwa for onward transmission to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Observers had thought that finally, the controversies around the 2016 Appropriation Bill was slowly coming to an end and President Buhari would sign the 2016 Appropriation bill into law. Followed by a hoard of reporters who had waited for hours for the outcome of the meeting of the joint Committee of Appropriations, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, Abdulmumin Jibrin walked into the office of the CNA at about 4.54 PM, on the day, with the 1, 800-page document.

Jibrin made a show of the submission, probably to assuage the feelings of the public, majority of who felt extremely disappointed when the president said he hadn’t assented to the budget because he didn’t have its details. The lawmaker had admitted on Wednesday March 30, seven days after the National Assembly passed the 2016 Appropriations Bill, that the National Assembly was yet to transmit the details of the budget to the Executive.

He argued that the president could have gone ahead to sign the budget as a former leader, President Olusegun Obasanjo had done same in the past. But right after a private visit to President Buhari, the former president vehemently denied this. Not a few were bemused that Obasanjo had proven the lawmaker wrong just days after he had confidently asserted that the president wouldn’t have broken the law or tradition by signing the budget, while its details are sent to him shortly after.

Another issue that made Nigerians anxious even after the House’ submission of the budget details was the fact that President Buhari stated that he would not sign the budget until he scrutinized it’s details. This is even as he hinted that he would only append his signature to the budget if it tallies with the version he sent to the National Assembly.

Even with the anxiety over what the outcome of the presidential scrutiny would be, not too many expected an exposition that the National Assembly had tampered with the budget in a way that made it quite unrecognizable to the Executive.

Penultimate Sunday, the country was awash with a rush of negative reactions to stories that Buhari may not assent to the 2016 Appropriation Bill soon as he had noticed that some key infrastructural projects in it were removed by the National Assembly.

The president had before leaving for China, directed that the ministers review the provisions for their respective ministries. However, the ministers soon noticed that some important projects were jettisoned and the monies slated for them, applied elsewhere.

One project which it’s alleged cancellation drew heavy criticism even among lawmakers in both chambers, is the Lagos-Calabar rail project for which the president had earmarked N60 billion. This is even as the National Assembly allegedly approved the Lagos-Kano rail project, which had a proposed budget of N100 billion, and then took N40 billion from the Lagos-Calabar rail project and added it to the Lagos-Kano rail project to make it N140 billion.

Even before southern senators stated that the Lagos-Calabar rail project must be included in the budget, judging by the comments that followed media reports, the belief was that the North was hugely favored to the detriment of the South as the balance of N40 billion was then distributed to projects located in the region, mainly roads – many of which are supposedly located in the constituencies of the Appropriation Committee Chairmen in the Senate and House of Representatives. While Senate’s Danjuma Goje is from Gombe state, Jibrin comes from Kano State. Also Jibrin was accused of allocating about N4 billion worth of projects to his Bebeji/Kiru Federal Constituency.

As the revelations trickled in, commentators adjudged both chairmen to have almost frustrated President Buhari’s move to diversify the economy by taking money away from agriculture to fund rural health facilities and boreholes for which provisions had been made elsewhere.

Suffice to say that the deluge of harsh reactions from the public put the National Assembly on the defensive. Quickly, it denied that it did not remove the Lagos-Calabar Rail Project from the 2016 Budget as such a project was not part of the documents submitted to the National Assembly.

Jibrin was first to respond. In a series of tweets penultimate Sunday, he cited Sections 4, 80 and 81 of the Constitution in stating the powers of National Assembly to appropriate, even as he insisted that the National Assembly was wrongfully accused of padding the budget. The lawmaker maintained that the negative perception of the National Assembly made it easy for the public to believe that a project that wasn’t included in the budget was removed.

He argued that rather than commend the National Assembly for handling what he described as a controversial budget, the Executive was whipping up sentiment to turn the public against lawmakers.

The lawmaker also responded directly to reports that money meant for vaccines and AIDS treatment in the Health ministry budget was reallocated to the Code of Conduct Bureau, saying there was no allocation for vaccines in the first place.

The tweets from Jibrin probably weren’t enough as the House went on the offensive accusing the Executive of attempting to portray the National Assembly as being anti-South by allegedly removing a major project such as the Lagos-Calabar rail.

Penultimate Monday, Speaker Yakubu Dogara also didn’t mince words on his Twitter handle. He squarely dubbed the removal of the rail project a lie.

Speaking with House Correspondents hours after Dogara’s tweets, Chairman of the Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazak Namdas reiterated that the Lagos-Calabar coastal rail project was not part of any of the versions of the budget submitted by President Buhari to lawmakers.

Speaking with the Daily Sun on the issue of re-allocating provisions for important health interventions such as the purchase of polio vaccines and drugs for AIDS treatment, chairman House Committee on Health Services, Chike Okafor described the stories as incorrect.

On the allegation that the House Appropriations Committee caused disaffection among heads of Committees by hand picking those who were showed the details of the budget before submission, chairman, House Committee on Public Petitions, Nkem Abonta said the situation has been blown out of proportion.

When the House resumed from its two week Easter break last Tuesday, it was expected that Dogara would go beyond tweeting to speak on the burning issue in the chambers. But he didn’t. Rather than further clarify the position of the House, the Speaker in his welcome address reminded his colleagues on the importance of oversight.

The Speaker also disclosed that the House will soon commence on sectoral debates, adding that the resolutions from the debate would act as guidelines for crafting laws. And with the tone finality that characterized Dogara’s words, it seemed that the House had moved on from the budget. But by the next day, it made a u-turn with the Speaker announcing after an executive session that members agreed to re-examine the document, dropping it’s earlier position that the only option left for President Buhari was to send any omitted project he considers important to the National Assembly as part of the supplementary budget.

Dogara who though wasn’t the choice of the APC for the office of the Speaker but has become more cooperative with the Executive than the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said in resolving to take another look at the budget, the House bowed to public sentiment. He maintained that an implementable budget would be useful in dealing with the nation’s struggling economy and its negative effects on millions of people.

Daily Sun gathered that during session which lasted for two hours, lawmakers from both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the major opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) expressed displeasure over the controversy around the budget and the manner the House Appropriations Committee headed by Jibrin handled the confusion over the Lagos-Calabar rail project.

Lawmakers accused Jibrin of making provocative statements on the budget that could have pitched the House against the president. He was also asked to refrain from making comments on the budget.

Interestingly, as at last week Friday, the president who was in China had not written the National Assembly, though it was speculated that Dogara met with Vice-President Yemi Osibajo and the presidency had commenced the submission of sections of the budget it wants to be corrected by the House.

But House Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, who spoke to Daily Sun blamed the federal government for the controversy, describing the inclusion of Lagos-Calabar project as an afterthought.

According to him, the controversy generated by the project which he described as very important could have been avoided if it was included in the budget from the start.

However, Ogor said members had to adopt a bipartisan approach in resolving the issue as the continued delay in signing the budget was causing hardship among majority of the public.

news credit:sunnewsonline.com

- 05:42:00

Budget 2016: Reps move to redeem image

Many heaved sighs of relief when on Wednesday, April 6, the House of Representatives submitted the details of the controversial N6.06...

Troops successfully repelled terrorists, says army

Senator Iroegbu in Abuja with agency report

Boko Haram fighters Monday attacked Nigerian soldiers near the border with Niger in the Jihadists’ North-east heartlands, the army has said.

The militants struck as the troops were on their way to the border town of Damasak, a military source said.
According to Reuters, the army took the area back from Boko Haram last year but has struggled to hold it.

The group allied to Islamic State (is) had been fighting to carve out an Islamist caliphate in the region for at least seven years in a conflict which has displaced more than two million people and killed thousands.

“Boko Haram terrorists attack troops of 113 Battalion,” army spokesman, Colonel Sani Usman, said in a statement.

He added that: “The troops have been battling the insurgents since (the) early hours of today (yesterday).”
The troops had been trying to establish a permanent base in Damasak as Boko Haram remains active in its hinterland, the source said.

No further information was immediately made available from the remote area which is largely disconnected from mobile phone networks.

Boko Haram controlled a swathe of land in North-east Nigeria around the size of Belgium at the start of last year but was pushed out by Nigerian troops, aided by soldiers from neighboring countries.
The group has since stepped up cross-border attacks and suicide bombings against markets, bus stations and places of worship.

Meanwhile, a statement by Usman said the troops successfully repelled an attack by the terrorists.
He noted that the timely response of the troops involved air cover as more reinforcement was deployed
Usman also said reinforcement was sent to support the battalion, adding that normalcy had been restored.
“The attack has been repelled. Reinforcement sent. Everywhere is cool and calm,” he added.

Usman, who was earlier silent on the number of casualties either on the part of the military or Boko Haram, later confirmed that the troops did not suffer any loss during the fierce battle.
However, military insiders disclosed that the terrorists took them by surprise with sophisticated weapons beyond their firepower.

According to some sources who spoke to THISDAY, there were likely heavy casualties on both side, despite the fact that the military were able to quickly reinforce and take control of the situation.
“The men came with some kind of new weapons we have never seen before and there were likely casualties but we cannot confirm for now,” a source said.

news credit:www.thisdaylive.com

- 05:35:00

Boko Haram Attacks Soldiers in Borno

Troops successfully repelled terrorists, says army Senator Iroegbu in Abuja with agency report Boko Haram fighters Monday attacked...

The National Industrial Court in Lagos on Tuesday fixed May 17 to hear a suit by an ex employee of Newswatch Times Ltd, against the media outfit, over unpaid salary.

The claimant, Mr Francis Iwuchukwu, had dragged Newswatch Times Ltd (former Newswatch Newspapers Ltd), before the court, over unpaid seven months salaries.

The date was fixed for hearing after the claimant had regularized his processes before the court.

In his statement of fact filed by his counsel, Mr Yemi Omodele, Iwuchukwu averred that he was employed by way of a letter of appointment dated October 1, 2012, by the defendant.

He averred that Newswatch did not issue a letter of confirmation of his appointment, after being qualified for same in spite constant demands for it.

He said that he was only told at the registry of Newswatch that “you have been employed, carry on with your work’’.

Iwuchukwu averred that upon noticing the indifferent attitude of the defendant’s management to its workers’ welfare especially the non payment of outstanding salaries, he tendered a letter of resignation on May 28, 2015.

He averred: “that in spite of his constant visits and demand for his outstanding salaries, the defendant refused and neglected to pay same.

“This refusal prompted the claimant counsel, Mr Yemi Omodele to write a letter dated Aug. 17, 2015 to the defendant demanding for the payment of all outstanding salaries of the claimant,’’ he averred.

According to the Plaintiff, the defendant claimed that it deducted some money and remitted it to Lead-way Pension Ltd, which claim the plaintiff said was false.

The plaintiff added that he visited the office of the Lead-way Pension Ltd and requested for a copy of his retirement savings account statement, and was shocked to realize that the defendant did not pay a kobo to the said company.

Iwuchukwu stated that the defendant’s action was fraudulent and constitute a clear intention to defraud, adding that he had suffered great loss due to non payment of his seven months salary.

The claimant prayed the court to declared that he is entitled to be paid salary for the months of October, November, December 2014, as well as January, February, March and April 2015.

He also sought an order declaring Newswatch action as a breach of trust and a wilful intention to defraud him.

Iwuchukwu also sought an order, directing the defendant, its servants, agents and or privies to pay forthwith the sum of N700, 000.00 to him, being salaries for the months in arrears.

He further sought an order, directing the defendant, to pay 21 per cent interest on the sum, until judgment is delivered and executed.

However, the defendants were yet to enter a defense.

news credit:thenationonlineng.net

- 05:27:00

Industrial Court fixes May 17 to hear suit against Newswatch

The National Industrial Court in Lagos on Tuesday fixed May 17 to hear a suit by an ex employee of Newswatch Times Ltd, against the me...

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Dr Jonathan, who was represented by a former Minister of State for Works, Prince Dayo Adeyeye apologised for Jonathan’s inability to be present for the award.

Adeyeye said “he is unable to come and personally receive this award because as many of you may know, today is the burial of Dr Alamiyeseigha, the former governor of Baylesa State, who was at one time, his boss. Therefore, he sent his unreserved apology particularly to Uncle Sam and to the management of Vanguard newspapers.” Speaking further, he said: “He has asked to me also congratulate his fellow recipients particularly President Muhammadu Buhari and other recipients. President Ebele Goodluck Jonathan is a man of history and I believe that whatever we are celebrating now, is not the final verdict, we will leave that to history because all these emotional things that we display, when a man is in office or after leaving office, are better judged by history. I believe Jonathan will be given a better verdict by history. “He says I should tell everybody that he is not yet finished with his good works in Nigeria, he has left office but he is not tired and therefore, he said I should announce to this audience that very soon, he will be launching his foundation. That foundation will enable him render services, not only to the people of Nigeria but to humanity. His view concerning this award, to those who are his friends on Facebook, he has a message.” Reading Jonathan’s Facebook message, he said “I thank the editorial board of Vanguard newspapers for honoring me as their Personality of the Year 2015. I believe that the people of Nigeria are more deserving of the honour than me. I am thus dedicating this award to my country men and women, may God bless Nigeria.” National leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Aiswaju Bola Tinubu, represented by Mr Dele Alake expressed gratitude for the award bestowed on him but expressed optimism that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

His words: “first of all, I must express my gratitude to Vanguard for choosing to recognise him for this award. He has asked me to express apologies and extend all courtesies to those who deserved them, for his inability to be physical present here for circumstances beyond his control because he is not in Nigeria at the moment. He actually sent a message to me saying that he knew that he should be here as a member of the Vanguard family and as an associate of Uncle Sam himself, who is one of our icons in the journalism profession.” Alake, a former Commissioner for Information in Lagos State, said Tinubu saw the award as a challenge for him. Jonathan, a national hero–Amuka Chairman of Vanguard Media Limited, Mr. Sam Amuka commended President Jonathan for conceding the 2015 presidential election describing him a national hero. Amuka said “This is an interesting occasion. This award is special in the sense that it represents one singular action which has changed a man’s state. Whatever one may say of Dr Goodluck Jonathan, that moment during the elections, when he decided to call President Buhari and congratulate him conceding defeat, made him a national hero.” Recalling the tension that preceded the 2015 general elections, Amuka commended Jonathan for helping to avert crisis. He said: “Many of us would have forgotten the tension that this country was in during the elections, we have also forgotten the bitterness of the election but before the election itself, this country was almost in turmoil.

A slight fight could have ignited fire and blood-letting but for many of us, it was divine intervention that caused President Goodluck Jonathan to do what he did and that is what we are recognizing here tonight for a man who deserves to be acknowledged by Nigerians as a national hero. That has made him a statesman.”

news credit:http://www.vanguardngr.com

- 03:08:00

I’m not finished with my work for Nigeria

Dr Jonathan, who was represented by a former Minister of State for Works, Prince Dayo Adeyeye apologised for Jonathan’s inability to be ...

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - Melissa McCarthy’s star power lifted “The Boss” to an estimated $23.5 million opening weekend despite bad reviews and rough word-of-mouth for the R-rated comedy.

If those projections hold, it will be enough to narrowly topple “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” from first place at the weekend box office. As it stands, the superhero match-up fell just short of retaining the top slot, earning $23.4 million and bringing its total after three weeks to $296.7 million. Given that this is essentially a statistical dead heat, it is possible that those positions could shift once final numbers roll in on Monday morning.

With “Spy,” “Identity Thief” and now “The Boss,” McCarthy has become one of the most reliable comic draws in the movie business.

“She has a hot streak going like no other comedian, male or female, working today,” said Jeff Bock, an analyst with Exhibitor Relations. “You have to consider the lineage of Eddie Murphy in the ’80s, Jim Carrey in the ’90s and Adam Sandler in the aughts. She is their heir apparent.”

Despite McCarthy’s popularity, “The Boss” could have trouble showing endurance. The film’s middling C+ CinemaScore signals that audiences agree with critics that the picture is flawed. The film is a collaboration between McCarthy and her husband, the director and co-writer Ben Falcone, who previously teamed on 2014’s “Tammy.” It centers on a business icon who is brought low after she is convicted of insider trading. Universal distributed the $29 million production across 3,480 theaters.

McCarthy is the film’s big draw, with 76% of ticket buyers surveyed reporting that they turned out to see the comedian. Women comprised 67% of the audience, with 51% of the opening crowd clocking in over the age of 35.

“She is absolutely a bankable movie star,” said Nick Carpou, president of domestic distribution at Universal. “It’s another number one opening for her.”

The weekend’s other new release, STX Entertainment’s “Hardcore Henry,” struggled to break through, earning a feeble $5.1 million from 3,015 theaters for a fifth place finish. The studio acquired the point-of-view thriller in a bidding war at last year’s Toronto Film Festival, paying a reported $10 million for the rights. The opening weekend crowd drew heavily from the gamer set, with 72% of ticket buyers saying they played first-person shooter video games such as “Call of Duty” and “Halo.”

Disney’s “Zootopia” scored a third place finish with roughly $14.5 million, bringing its total to $296.2 million after six weeks in theaters, while Universal’s “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” nabbed fourth place with $6.4 million, taking its total to $46.7 million after three weeks of release.

“Batman v Superman” has been something of a disappointment, given that it is likely to fall short of hitting $1 billion globally — the line that truly elite blockbusters have to cross to join a rarefied club. However, it has done better than some major comic-book movies. This weekend, it eclipsed “Man of Steel” ($291 million) on a domestic basis and it should pass $300 million stateside at some point this week.

“We’re on track to win the week three weeks in a row,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. distribution executive vice president.

Whatever the final outcome, neither “The Boss” nor “Batman v Superman” seem likely to extend their rule into next weekend. That’s when Disney releases a live-action version of “The Jungle Book.” Bolstered by good notices and Disney’s marketing prowess, the fresh spin on Rudyard Kipling’s story of the man cub, should hum “The Bear Necessities” all the way to the bank.

news credit : http://www.reuters.com

- 01:43:00

Box Office: Melissa McCarthy and ‘The Boss’ Narrowly Beat ‘Batman v Superman’

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - Melissa McCarthy’s star power lifted “The Boss” to an estimated $23.5 million opening weekend despite bad r...

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Box Office: Melissa McCarthy and ‘The Boss’ Narrowly Beat ‘Batman v Superman’

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