Censors Board Arrests 6 Distributors Of Unclassified Movies

The National Task Force on the eradication of unwholesome movies set up by the National Film and Video Censors Board has arrested six persons for distributing unwholesome movies.

A statement signed by Martins Etuechere, Head of Public Affairs of the Board said the suspects have been transferred to the Force Headquarters in Abuja for further investigation and prosecution.

The arrests made in Lagos, may have sent out a very strong and clear message to criminal elements in the industry, Industry watchers said.

In a telephone chat with Daily Times, Etuechere said more arrests were being made by the Task Force which is still in hot pursuit of some fleeingerring distributors and that more arrests were expected to be made in the coming days, and their numbers made public.

He revealed that the Task Force which was inaugurated by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed recently has made tremendous impact so far.

It will be recalled that the Executive Director of the Board, Alh Adedayo Thomas, in a press conference recently, emphasised the determination of the Board to rid the movie industry of criminals.

The operations which are being conducted in conjunction with the Nigerian Police are still ongoing.

Source: Daily Times

Buhari’s Health Has Improved Tremendously – Yakubu Dogara

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has spoken on his visit to President Muhammadu Buhari in London.

Mr. Buhari on Thursday met with the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and Mr. Dogara at Abuja House in London.

PREMIUM TIMES published the visit which was initially announced in a Facebook post by presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, who also shared a picture of the meeting.

Mr. Buhari has been in London for over 100 days receiving medical treatment for a yet to be disclosed ailment.

Speaking on Thursday’s visit, Mr. Dogara said Mr. Buhari’s health has improved tremendously.

He said he was glad seeing that the president is doing well and urged Nigerians to continue to pray for the president.

“Today we visited His Excellency, President @MBuhari. I am glad that he is doing well. His health has improved tremendously. @NGRPresident”

“I urge all Nigerians to continue to pray and offer thanks to God for answered prayers and for the safe return of Mr. President @MBuhari.”

The two National Assembly leaders are the latest set of public officials and politicians to visit the ailing president in London amidst protests back in Nigeria demanding his return or resignation.

The president had on Saturday at the Abuja House in London received members of his media team, where he reassured them that there was tremendous improvement in his health.

The presidential media team was led by Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, accompanied by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity and Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity.
Other members of the team on the trip included Lauretta Onochie, Personal Assistant on Digital/Online Media and Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Matters.
Others who have visited the president are Acting-President Yemi Osinbajo, state governors, and the leadership of ruling All Progressives Congress.

The visitors have at various times assured Nigerians that the president was getting better and would return soon.

Celebs React With Disgust To Trump Defending Neo-Nazis

People around the world are outraged by President Donald Trump‘s latest comments, in which he seemingly defended the actions of neo-nazis and white supremacists.

During a press conference on Tuesday (August 15), the President of the United States went back to his original stance on the events in Charlottesville, saying that “both sides” are to blame for the deadly violence at the rally.

“You also had some very fine people on both sides,” Trump said. “You had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists. The press has treated them absolutely unfairly. Now, in the other group also, you had some fine people but you also had troublemakers.”

Trump placed blame in the counter-protestors.

“What about the alt left that came charging at, as you say, at the alt right? Do they have any assemblage of guilt?” He said while making up the term “alt-left.” 

“What about the fact that they came charging with clubs in their hands swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do.”

Read what celebs like Chelsea Handler, Chris Evans, Ellen DeGeneres, Rosie O’Donnell, and more are saying.

Federal Government Appeals To ASUU To Shelve Strike

The Federal Government has urged the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to suspend its ongoing strike in the universities in the interest of the nation.

Recall that the national leadership of ASUU on Monday ordered members of the union to proceed on an indefinite strike over welfare demands and Federal Government’s indifference to negotiated agreements.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, who made the appeal on Tuesday in a statement signed by the Deputy Director, Press in the Ministry, Samuel Olowookere, said there was an ongoing renegotiation of the 2009 agreement between the Federal Government and ASUU by the Babalakin Committee which the Federal Government set up on Monday, February 13, 2017, and which is already addressing the issues raised by ASUU.
According to the statement, though the Federal Government did not wish to apportion blame, “it is important to note that ASUU did not follow due process in the declaration of the industrial action as it did not give the Federal Government, the mandatory 15 days’ notice as contained in the Section 41 of Trade Disputes Act, Cap T8, 2004. In fact, it was on Monday 14th August, 2017 that the Office of the Minister received a letter dated 13th August, 2017 from ASUU, that is, one full day after it commenced the strike.”
It further noted that the letter was to inform the Federal Government that ASUU has started strike and not a declaration of intention to go on strike as contained in the Trade Dispute Act, 2004.
The Minister further said that since the case was being conciliated, it was against the spirit of Social Dialogue and Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for ASUU to embark on strike as enunciated in the ILO Convention.
“The Federal Government therefore wishes to appeal to ASUU to consider students who are currently writing degree and promotion examinations, call off the strike and return to the negotiation table, adding that “the Ministry of Labour and Employment will ensure that a time frame will be tied to negotiation this time around.”
Sen. Ngige added that “Babalakin Committee was ever ready to continue the negotiation, indeed, has all the necessary ingredients for fruitful social dialogue as well as adequate powers to negotiate and make recommendations to the federal government.”
Meanwhile, a mild drama occurred on Tuesday shortly after Senator Oluremi Tinubu who was the guest lecturer at the 12th UNILAG Annual Research Conference and Fair held at the Jelili Omotola Hall, University of Lagos, Akoka delivered her speech and left the hall, as members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) led by the chairman of UNILAG chapter, Comrade Adelaja Odukoya, chanting aluta songs, gained access into the hall to send people out.
This development followed the union’s congress held simultaneously across all public universities in the nation where it was decided that all universities should fully join the strike. The members forcefully gained entrance into the hall where research and fair conference was holding and declare it closed, saying there is indefinite strike in which all universities must comply with.
The security at the gate on hearing their aluta songs quickly locked the gate to stop them from coming into the hall but unfortunately, they forcefully gained entrance and told people in the hall to leave and go home, insisting that ASUU has declared nationwide indefinite strike.
Addressing people in the hall, Comrade Odukoya said the lecturers and other staff of the institution have no business in participating in the conference, knowing well that the union at the national level had declared indefinite strike.
“We also care about the education of Nigerian youths but our union has declared strike in which we have to comply with. Federal Government since 2009 refused to implement our agreement. University of Lagos is trying to put things together but we have to join the strike.

“Therefore, by the power conferred on me as ASUU chairman of UNILAG chapter, I declare the conference closed”, he said.
The conference is expected to end on Thursday 17th of August 2017.
Earlier, the students had lecture in the morning before the conference started.
Reacting to this, the ASUU chairman of the institution said the strike began 12 noon on Tuesday immediately after the universities chapters of the union had their congress.
It would be recalled that the lecturers, members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), announced their decision on Monday morning at a press conference in Abuja, to declare an indefinite strike as a result of government refusal to implement 2009 agreement signed by the federal government.

Senate Will Fast-Track Passage Of Bills On Hate Speech, Jungle Justice – Saraki

The Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has said due to the rising tensions in the polity, the passage of Bills to mitigate against hate speech and jungle justice will comprise a major part of the Senate’s social impact agenda when it resumes in September.

The Senate had earlier outlined agenda on legislative business for the next 22 months, harping on necessity for passage of Bills to enhance the growth of the national economy within the period.
In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki stated that the Senate is ready to give the hate speech bill accelerated consideration when it is presented by the Executive.
“At this point in time, when people are heating up the political and social space with their utterances, the hate speech bill will help to mitigate against verbal attacks or expressions against individuals or groups on the basis of ethnicity, religion, and even gender.

“This will help to send a clear message with accompanying punitive measures to those negative elements in our society that are fond of distasteful comments that hurt, offend and provoke retaliation,” the President of the Senate said.
Saraki also stated that the Anti-Jungle Justice Bill (SB. 109) sponsored by Senator Dino Melaye, (APC-Kogi), will also help to curtail, protect and prohibit Nigerians across the country from meting out extra-judicial justice to perceived offenders without recourse to statutory legal channels.
“There have been many cases of extrajudicial executions across the nation. We all remember the “Aluu four” incident, and several other notorious cases of phone and food thieves being set ablaze. We cannot have a situation where people feel that they can take the law into their hands,” Saraki said, “Therefore, we must put in place careful stopgaps and penal measures to protect the sanctity of our communities.”
The Senate President also stated that the Committee on Judiciary and the Rules and Business Committees of the Senate would work to ensure that Anti-Jungle Justice Bill is quickly passed and sent to the House of Representatives for concurrence.

​Chelsea Treated Me Like Criminal – Diego Costa

Exiled Chelsea star Diego Costa has given a withering assessment of head coach Antonio Conte and accused the Premier League champions of treating him as if he were a “criminal”.

Costa was Chelsea’s top scorer with 20 goals as they secured a second league title in three years last season but Conte has since informed the Spain international he does not feature in his first-team plans.

The manner of this rejection provides a major flash point in the current stand-off, with Costa claiming Conte dumped him via text message when he was away on international duty in June.

Chelsea maintain the 28-year-old forward has been aware of their plans since January, around the time he was heavily linked with a move to Tianjin Quanjian in the Chinese Super League.

The upshot is Costa going AWOL, back to his hometown of Lagarto in Brazil, where a UK newspaper tracked him down at his family home while watching the Blues’ shock 3-2 defeat to Burnley.

A return to former club Atletico Madrid remains the desired option for Costa, who is presently racking up fines as he refuses to return to Chelsea and train with the reserves.

“I wouldn’t be allowed access to the first-team dressing room and I would have no contact at all with the guys,” he explained. “I’m not a criminal! I don’t think it is fair after all I have done to be treated like that.

“They gave me a week extra off at the start of pre-season training but since then its fines all the way.

“They want me training with the reserves. I am not going to do that. I am not a criminal and I am not in the wrong here. So, if they need to fine me, let them fine me.”

Atletico’s player registration ban would prevent Costa from playing for them until January but the forward is willing to remain out of action for as long as it takes his Chelsea ordeal to play out.

Costa claimed to have been on the verge of signing a new contract at Stamford Bridge but accused Conte of “putting the brakes on” and sees no prospect of reconciliation with the Italian, who brought in club-record signing Alvaro Morata as his replacement.

I Do Not Know Who Is Paying For President Buhari’s Hospital Bills, Says Femi Adesina

One of President Buhari’s media advisers, Femi Adesina, has said he has no idea who is bankrolling the president’s medical treatment in London.

Mr. Adesina, however, acknowledged that as a president, Buhari’s medical bill can be footed by Nigeria.

“I do not know who is paying, but as a president, he has a right to be treated by the country,” Adesina, who is Buhari’s special adviser on media and publicity, told Channels TV on Monday night.

President Buhari has been in the UK since May 7 getting treatment for an undisclosed ailment, the second stretch he has spent in the U.K. this year, prompting calls for transparency, full disclosure, and in some cases, his resignation. His first round of treatment saw him out of Nigeria from January 19 to March 10.

Upon his return at the time, he acknowledged that he was very ill, telling his cabinet members that “I couldn’t recall being so sick since I was a young man.” He also said he had “blood transfusions, going to the laboratories and so on and so forth”.

Mr. Adesina, who was among President Buhari’s media aides that visited him at the Abuja House in London on Saturday along with the Informtion Minister, said he still did not know the true nature of his ailment. The president, he said, offered no explanation either.

He, however, insisted that the 74-year old Nigerian leader “had mended considerably.” He also said his Saturday meeting with the Buhari was the first time he would either see or speak with him since May 7 when he left the country.

However, Mr. Adesina’s lack of knowledge of the state of affairs with his principal raises more questions than answers, chief of which is, if the president’s media team are unaware of his condition, then how can Nigerians trust the information that they give us?

Nigerian Government Approves N39 Billion Loan Forr Supply Of Electricity Meters – Fashola

The Federal Government has approved N39 billion loan to Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) for the supply of meters, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has disclosed.

The minister made the disclosure on Monday in Kano at the 18th Monthly Power Sector Stakeholders Meeting hosted by Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO).

He said the gesture was part of power sector recovery programme of the government aimed at ensuring uninterrupted power generation and distribution.

He added that it was also aimed at ensuring that every consumer of electricity is provided with a meter.

“It is also aimed at ending the series of complaints by consumers who applied for meter but were not supplied at the appropriate time,’’ he said.

The minister explained that the successful implementation of the power sector recovery programme would assist in resolving the conflict between distributors and consumers over tariff collection.

Mr. Fashola said power generation improved tremendously in 2017 to 6, 863 megawatts compared to 2016.
He attributed the reason for the increase to government’s efforts to end rampant vandalism of gas pipelines.

“With this development, we have also noticed increase in the distribution of electricity to consumers across the country.’’

Mr. Fashola said presently, the Federal Government is generating electricity beyond the carrying capacity of distribution companies, “which is a serious challenge to our efforts.’’

“It is a serious problem that the distribution companies do not have enough carrying capacity to accommodate more of the generated electricity due to one reason or the other,” he said.

He said that government had embarked on several projects to expand transmission capacity and distribution of power in the country.

In his remarks, the Chief Operating Officer of KEDCO, Raul Zing, said the company had spent over N200 million for the construction of power sub-station at Dakata, in Nasarawa Local Government Area.

He said the sub-station, which was commissioned by the Minister, would create 100 small scale industries and supply electricity to over 10,000 houses in the area.

Source: Premium

Trump Calls Out KKK And Neo-Nazis After Backlash To Charlottesville Remarks

President Donald Trump condemned hate groups including white supremacists in remarks from the White House Monday, after receiving criticism for his initial statement on the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend.

“Racism is evil,” said Trump, two days after a car drove into a crowd of people in the midst of violent clashes over a white nationalist rally. “And those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the [Ku Klux Klan], neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.”

Trump’s immediate response to the violence, which did not label the incident as an act of terrorism, nor include a denunciation of white supremacy, was met with bipartisan backlash. During remarks addressing the rally and subsequent clashes from his golf club in New Jersey Saturday, the president condemned the “egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides.”

A White House official later elaborated on Trump’s comments, indicating that the president was opposed to the “hatred, bigotry and violence from all sources and all sides” and noting that “there was violence between protesters and counter-protesters.”

Trump’s address Monday came after a meeting with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director Christopher Wray. He noted that, on Saturday, the Department of Justice opened a federal civil rights investigation into the incident involving the car, and addressed those who contributed to the violence in the Virginia city.

“To anyone who acted criminally in this weekend’s racist violence, you will be held fully accountable,” said Trump. “Justice will be delivered.”

On Monday morning, Attorney General Jeff Sessions defended Trump’s initial response, telling ABC News that “he explicitly condemned the kind of ideology behind these movements of Naziism, white supremacy, the KKK.”

“That is his unequivocal position,” said Sessions.

The attorney general further said Monday that the attack met “the definition of domestic terrorism.”

The president did not use the term “terrorism” during his speech from the White House Monday.

​Cristiano Ronaldo Suspended For Five Games After Pushing Referee

Cristiano Ronaldo will be sitting out the next five Real Madrid soccer games as he has been suspended following an incident at his latest match.

The 32-year-old soccer player pushed a referee during the Spanish Super Cup first-leg match on Sunday (August 13) at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain.

Ronaldo‘s actions were in response to being given a penalty for supposedly diving in the opponent Barcelona’s box. 

He was also given a yellow card for removing his shirt to celebrate scoring.

Real Madrid has ten days to appeal the ban.