Ministers without portfolios

Now that President Muhammadu Buhari has had his 36 ministers confirmed by the Senate for him to fulfil the constitutional requirement, fulfil all righteousness and assuage people’s agitation, he can still go ahead to merge the ministries and reduce the number to 15 functionally, while maintaining 36 nominally.

He should give his top 15 minister-designates portfolios that meet his need to cut cost and then give the remaining 21 persons portfolios as ministers for special duties on diverse matters and then pay them their basic salaries without other perks of offices that are not written in the books.

He should also give them one room office, equipped with only a laptop and printer without even a secretary or attendant. Anyone who is dissatisfied can resign. We must learn to cut cost of governance in Nigeria.

punchng.com

From 'feeling fat' to Twitter hearts: 5 most hated social media changes

Dislike!!

People don't like change. And when the change involves their social media profiles, they outright hate it.

Whenever the likes of Facebook and Twitter come up with a new feature, a backlash follows.

Users are angry and confused. They start petitions and call for the changes to be reversed. Step-by-step guides of how to get rid of the new feature emerge.

And then, a few days later, they get used to it. Here are some of the most despised changes to remember:

Facebook messenger

Facebook introduced the standalone messenger app in 2014, as part of its plan to become a mobile communication player -- the same plan that saw the social network spend $22 billion buying the messaging app WhatsApp.

A lot of users really hated the move. The Facebook Messenger received over 50,000 negative reviews on iTunes, and the company was forced to issue a statement debunking some of the myths about the feature.

The Twitter heart

Twitter ditched its stars and favorites for hearts and likes on Tuesday. The company said it adopted the change to make itself easier for newbies to understand and use Twitter.

But users don't seem to like the change too much. Tens of thousands criticized the move, pushing #TwitterHeart into trending topics.

"Feeling fat" emoji

When Facebook decided to roll out a "feeling fat" emoticon that users could post as part of a status update, it sparked a huge backlash.

More than 16,700 people signed a petition demanding Facebook take the emoticon down. They said it is making fun of people who might suffer from eating disorders.

Facebook got rid of it just a couple of days later.

Google Buzz

Google's attempt to launch a microblogging element to its Gmail service was a massive flop. It was launched in May 2010, and killed off only 20 months later.

Facebook news feed

When Facebook rolled out its newsfeed feature in 2006, more than 740,000 of its users joined a group called "Students Against Facebook News Feed." They were concerned about privacy and didn't like the idea of everyone being able to track their Facebook activities.

Facebook recognized the problem, rolled back on some of the features, and strengthened its privacy protection settings.

CNNMoney (London) November 4, 2015: 12:58 PM ET

MTN bows to pressure, agrees to pay N1.04trn fine

While pleading for staggered payment model, MTN has finally bowed to pressure as it has accepted to pay the N1.04 trillion fine slammed on it last week by the telecoms regulatory authority, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Accordingly, the telecoms operator was fine for violating its directive on SIM deactivation.

This follows series of meeting held between MTN management team from South Africa and Nigeria with the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

The telecoms operator which has largest subscriber base in Nigeria, it was gathered, may have agreed to pay the fine to sustain the interest of its telecoms business.

Industry sources who confirmed the new arrangement, disclosed that the federal government is already yielding to the plea, which according to him, was part of the agreement reached at the series of meeting held at the weekend in Nigeria.

“There have been series of meeting at the Presidency between the Vice President Osinbajo and MTN team both from South Africa and the Nigerian arm. MTN wanted a waiver considering their level of investments in the country, but government did not buy the idea of waiver. Instead, I think there will be concession, but certainly not a waiver. At the conclusion of the meeting, the MTN people negotiated on how to stagger the payment. The Presidency is even angry because MTN was a signatory to the regulation, but they are failing to comply with rules.”, the source added.

It would be recalled that NCC had said that MTN would not escape the fine, owing to the enormity of its implication to national security.

Although NCC had hinted that the issue is being handled by the federal government, the telecoms authority also noted that MTN would risk withdrawal of its licence if its fails to comply with the fine.

Even with the widespread calls for the intervention of the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), on the N1.04 trillion fine, Chief Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had last week called on the NSA not to intervene in the matter, adding that NCC regulation must take its course.

NCC said it had consistently engaged Mobile Network Operators, (MNOs) to strictly adhere to the regulations and its business rules in the registration of their subscribers.

Following several engagements, the Commission had confirmed various cases of violations of the regulations and sanctioned appropriately.

Vanguardnewsonline.

“I did it because I didn't have a choice" Story of a Self-Made woman

They say the secret of men, or in this case a woman, is in their stories. Read Chinwe's story and see if you can share yours too…

"I had thought that being a graduate would mean all my worries were over, but to my surprise it was as though jobs were running from me. Just when I was about to give up, an old friend recommended me for a job; to replace her colleague who was going on leave. I was hungry to make it, and determined to prove to people that I could be something after all. My employers saw it in me - the career drive that can send an innocent lady to do anything possible - and that’s how I felt.

Now it dawns on me that although I had risen in my career, I feel like I've fallen so low.

I didn’t have a choice- it was either that… or nothing. “You have to go the extra mile to get more out of life”, my boss used to tell me. Other times he would say “sacrifices are part of business… prove to me you are worthy of this promotion; that you can do anything, no matter what it takes, to get what you want.”

He never cared about the repercussions as he saw us as tools that can be sent out and used all because of an extra client in his pocket. I simply couldn’t see it, as I was blinded by pressure and the desire to prove myself.  Sometimes I would return home with tears in my eyes, unable to let people know what I went through to get to where I was. That’s how my life has been. I had to grow, I had to be relevant, I had to do it because I didn’t have a choice.”

That’s all she said before she was overcome with tears- you wouldn’t need a soothsayer to tell you sexual harassment is more prevalent than you can possibly imagine. Chinwe’s story echoes the experiences of several others who are taken advantage of at work just because they are women and are desperate.

This why the SBA Group is organising a conference titled Sexual Harassment in Sales; seeking to answer the question - “Is the Nigerian Business Environments Conducive for Nigerian Female Professionals?

With renowned Keynote Speaker FolukeDaramola, who is a top filmmaker and activist and founder of 'Passion Against Rape in Africa' (PARA), a PAN World Global rape foundation aimed at fighting rape in Africa andPanellists carefully selected from the professional and business sectors, the conference would be one of it’s kind.

The conference is planned as a forum for discussions with professional women, providing them a platform to interact and share their experiences and survival tactics in a very demanding world. Another objective is to provide support for vulnerable female professionals. It would be an excellent networking opportunity for all delegates.

Participation fee is NGN10,000 (Ten Thousand Naira).

If you’re ready to join the cause, let’s hear your story and contribution… Don’t underestimate what it can do!

Contact

SegunAkande: 07036695005

Joseph Edgar 08051000195

Twitter: @Shconference

Facebook: Sexual Harassment Conference

Julius Agwu Opens A Christian Night Club In Lagos

 

 

“It’s God’s calling. God spoke to me do it. We have unbelievers going to clubs, popping champagne and all that, so we want to have a club where believers can hangout too and pop nonalcoholic drinks.  It’s basically an assignment from God. The club is located at Lekki and we are taking it everywhere. God also told me to raise young ambassadors that will fight his battle” he said.

He also told NET he is now on a mission to bring people back to Christ. Hear him,

 

“I was recently declared dead. I realized that I actually died but God brought me back. He is giving me a second chance and people rarely get this opportunity of having a second chance.

 

“He saved my life and I have decided to dedicate my life to him. I have a Christian group now called CEO, Christian Entertainers Outreach through which we will bring back many people who devil has taken away” he said.

Nigerian Army releases photographs of 100 wanted Boko Haram terrorists

The Nigerian Army has released photographs of 100 top suspected Boko Haram terrorists it declared wanted on Wednesday.

The Army Spokesperson, Sani Usman, a colonel, said the release of the photographs of the suspected terrorists was to enable the public to assist with information on the suspects.

“The military is therefore asking members of the public with information about any of them to report to security agents,” Mr. Usman said.

The Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, had on Wednesday in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, launched the circulation of large posters carrying photographs of wanted Boko Haram terrorists including the supposed leader of the insurgents, Abubakar Shekau.

The large posters, with inscription written in various languages of Nigeria, also had phone numbers which the public could easily call or text to indicate which of the characters in the numbered photographs they know or have information of.

The photo posters was launched as part of the counter terrorism material packaged by the Directorate of Army Public Relations.

Mr. Usman had said Wednesday that most of the faces on the poster were those of kingpins of Boko Haram still at large.

He said “members of the public that have any credible information on any of the wanted terrorists should call any of the phone numbers printed on the posters. Mr. Usman said the information given would be treated discreetly and professionally.

PRINCE ADEYEYE OGUNWUSI IS NEW OONI OF IFE

A new Ooni of Ife has emerged. He is Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.

Ogunwusi is of the Giesi Ruling House.

The appointment of the new Ooni was contained in a statement late on Sunday by the Secretary to the Osun State Government, Alhaji Moshood Olalekan Adeoti.

The appointment was ratified by the Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

Adeoti said in the statement: “This choice follows the completion of the due process by the kingmakers and the communication of their decision to the Government.”

Ogunwusi succeeds Oba Okunade Sijuwade who died on July.

Until his appointment wasannounced by Aregbesola, Prince Adeyeye Ogunwusi from the Ile Opa family compound has been involved in real estate, manufacturing and finance.

lagostoday.org