Ace Nollywood Actor, Okhiria Nelson Osadolor in sizzling romance with Brazilian Model

Okhiria Nelson Osadolor as over time struck a name for himself in the Nollywood Industry today with several hit and top budget movies which have claimed him recognition, awards and offers from producers, marketers and directors.

A few days ago he was seen driving to a restaurant with a very fine foreign lady that looked impeccably gorgeous and classy. From our sources we found out both of them have been a major item lately. The girl in question is Brazilian born budding runway model, Angela Maria Alaba.

This love sprung up from both finding themselves at a party fell on each other and grew on forth. 

Drama as Diezani runs after Buhari at airport

There was a mild drama at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja on Friday, as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, ran to catch up with the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari.

Both Buhari and the minister on Friday morning travelled out of the country to London on the same flight. One of our correspondents gathered that they both boarded a British Airways flight that left the airport at about 4.30am on its way to Heathrow Airport, London.

But while Buhari was going to board his flight, a mild drama took place at the airport.

Sources, who witnessed the drama, told one of our correspondents that the minister raced in a bid to catch up with Buhari, who had undergone airport screening before her.

It was learnt that the President-elect, who reportedly arrived the airport before the minister, was cleared first and he went straight into the aircraft.

It was further gathered that when Diezani arrived the airport and got news that Buhari had already boarded the flight, she hurriedly ran to ensure that she entered the plane.

In fact, sources at the airport stated that the petroleum minister left behind her aides while running to catch up with Buhari. A source on the ground, who witnessed the drama, said, “The man (Buhari) was at the front and had already passed the screening team. And immediately the woman (Diezani) came down, it was as if they told her that the President-elect was already inside the aircraft, so she started running. She even left her people behind so that she could board the flight along with the President-elect.

“This happened between 4am and 5am this (Friday) morning and the airline involved was British Airways. The flight was on its way from Abuja international airport to Heathrow Airport, London.”

An online medium, Sahara Reporters,reported on Friday that efforts of the minister, during the six-hour flight, to speak with Buhari failed.

According to the report, the President-elect only greeted Alison-Madueke during the boarding process.

It stated that the minister allegedly tried many times to stir a conversation with Buhari, but the latter shunned her.

The flight was reported to have arrived at Heathrow in London at 2:15pm, but the passengers disembarked at 2:45pm. The Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, refused to comment on the issues when contacted.Calls to the mobile phone of its spokesperson, Mr. Kingsley Agha, were ignored while a text message to him was not replied.

He was asked to explain why the minister travelled and her action at the airport.

But the media team of the President-elect issued a statement saying his visit to Britain was private.

In a statement signed by the head of Buhari’s media team, Malam Garba Shehu, this was the first of such visit outside the country since winning the March 28th presidential election.

The statement, which was issued in Abuja on Friday, partly read, “General Muhammadu Buhari will use the opportunity of the visit to take a much-deserved rest ahead of his inauguration on May 29.

“He is expected back in the country a few days before the inauguration, refreshed and ready to hit the ground running once he is sworn into office.”

Buhari’s ministers, lawmakers to get N9bn housing, furniture allowance

Senators and members of the House of Representatives that will constitute the 8th National Assembly and ministers to be appointed by President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), will on assumption of office receive welcome perks amounting to N9bn.

The perks of office include the housing allowance which each of the incoming office holder is entitled to receive once a year, the furniture allowance which they are entitled to once in four years and motor vehicle loan which they are entitled to once in their tenure.

The perks are some of the non-regular allowances that the political office holders are entitled to as prescribed by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

There are other allowances, both regular and irregular ones, but housing, furniture and motor vehicle are paid at the beginning of the tenure of the office holders to ensure that they settle down appropriately.

Housing allowance for the political office holders is 200 per cent of their annual salaries; furniture is 300 per cent and motor vehicle loan is 400 per cent.

The eighth National Assembly will be inaugurated by Buhari on June 5 after the expiration of the tenure and dissolution of the 7th National Assembly on the same date.

Membership of the eighth National Assembly include 109 senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives elected on the platform of different political parties from across the country.

Investigation by one of our correspondents showed that each of the senators would be paid N4, 052,800 on the assumption of office as housing allowance. They will also be paid the same amount every year because the housing allowance is on annual basis.

This means that 107 senators will be paid a total of N433, 649,600m as housing allowance annually.

The Senate President and the Deputy Senate President are not entitled to this allowance because their own accommodation is to be provided by the Federal Government.

Similarly, each member of the House of Representatives will be paid N3, 970,425 as housing allowance on assumption of office.

This means that the 358 representatives will be collecting a total of N1, 421,412,150 as housing allowance. Again, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives are excluded from this allowance as the Federal Government is to provide their own accommodation.

Following the monetisation of entitlements of public officials, the lawmakers lost the right to occupy houses built and maintained by the government. Consequently, the Federal Government sold the houses previously occupied by the lawmakers to them.

The principal officers of the National Assembly also benefited from the sale of the houses. As a result, the Federal Capital Territory Administration is at present building new houses for the lawmakers that will emerge as the Senate President, the Deputy Senate President, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker.

For furniture, each of the senators is to get N6, 079,200. The furniture for both the Senate President and his deputy are to be fully provided by the government. This means that 107 senators will get a total of N650, 474,400 as furniture allowance. Furniture allowance is paid once in four years.

Each member of the House of Representatives will be paid N5, 955,637.50 as furniture allowance. This means that 358 representatives (excluding the speaker and his deputy) will collect a total of N2, 132,118,225 for furniture.

For vehicle, each of the senators is entitled to N8, 105,600 while each representative is entitled to N7, 940,850.50. This means that 107 senators will collect N867, 299,200 for vehicle while 358 representatives will collect N2, 842,824,479 for the same purpose.

The allowance for vehicle had been controversial. According to RMAFC, this allowance payable once in four years is a loan for any member that wants. This means that it is repayable.

In 2007, each senator had been given the loan to purchase vehicles. Few months after they had received the loan, the current Senate President, David Mark, demanded that the money totalling about N856m should be converted to grants for official cars.

Mark made the request in a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission.

In the letter dated November 15, 2007 and titled “Monetisation policy as it affects senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Mark said the senators were not properly briefed that the money was given to them as loan.

He said if senators had known that the money was loan, they would have had the opportunity to exercise the choice of refusal.

He therefore requested that the money should be converted to official car allowance although according to the monetisation policy of the Federal Government, only the President of the Senate and his deputy are entitled to official cars. The funding for cars for other lawmakers had been built into their salaries which are paid on monthly basis.

RMAFC insisted that the money was a loan and could not be converted to a grant as the lawmakers’ benefits had been monetised. It is not clear how the matter ended as both parties refused to respond to media requests on the issue.

On the executive side, each minister that will serve in the cabinet of Buhari is entitled to a housing allowance of N3, 915,160.

There are indications that the President-elect will shrink his cabinet by doing away with the ministers of state. However, there is a limit to how far he can reduce the cabinet positions. Constitutionally, each state of the federation must be represented in the cabinet.

This leaves him with at least 36 ministers as against the 42 ministers in President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. Cumulatively, the ministers are to receive N140, 945,760 as housing allowance.

Each minister is also entitled to a furniture allowance of N6, 079,200. Cumulatively, this comes to N218, 851,200. Each of them is also entitled to a vehicle loan of N7, 830,320. This comes to a total of N281, 891,520.

When put together, the housing, furniture and vehicle allowances payable to the lawmakers and ministers will amount to about N7.3bn. The remaining N1.7bn will cater for other perks of office such as motor vehicle maintenance, fuelling, and others.

Apart from these irregular allowances, there are other regular perks of office that are paid to lawmakers on a monthly basis. These include motor vehicle maintenance and fuelling. This is pegged at 75 per cent of their monthly salary.

Others are personal assistant, 25 per cent; domestic staff, 75 per cent; entertainment, 30 per cent; utilities, 30 per cent; newspapers/periodicals, 15 per cent; wardrobe, 25 per cent; house maintenance, five per cent; and constituency, 250 per cent.

There are other entitlements that they do not receive direct payments for but are provided and paid for by the government. These are special assistants, security and legislative aides. What this means is that those engaged in these capacities are paid directly by the government as the allowances cannot be claimed by political office holders. These allowances apply to senators and members of the House of Representatives.

Medical expenses are also borne by the government when they have need for them.

The lawmakers are also entitled to tour duty allowance, estacode (when they travel) and recess allowances. For a senator, the tour duty allowance is N37, 000 per night; the estacode is $950 per night and the recess allowance is 10 per cent of their annual salary.

For a member of the House of Representatives, the tour duty allowance is N35, 000 per night; the estacode is $900 per night and the recess allowance is 10 per cent of their annual salary.

The allowances for ministers vary slightly from those of the lawmakers. The allowances of the ministers include motor vehicle fuelling and maintenance – 75 per cent of their salaries. Others are personal assistant, 25 per cent; domestic staff, 75 per cent; entertainment, 45 per cent; utilities, 30 per cent; monitoring, 20 per cent and newspapers/periodicals, 15 per cent.

Their security personnel, medicals and special assistants are also provided. The tour duty allowance is N35, 000 per night; the estacode is $900 per night and the leave allowance is 10 per cent of their annual salary.

Special Advisers and Special Assistants to the President to be appointed by the president are also entitled to housing and furniture allowances, special allowances and motor vehicle loan but it is not certain how many of these advisers Buhari is going to appoint.

The housing allowance of a special adviser is N3, 885,750; furniture – N5, 828,625; motor vehicle loan N7, 771,500.

The regular allowances of a special adviser include motor vehicle fuelling and maintenance – 75 per cent of their salaries; personal assistant – 25 per cent; domestic staff – 75 per cent; entertainment – 45 per cent; utilities – 30 per cent; and newspapers/periodicals – 15 per cent.

Again, their security personnel, medicals and special assistants are also provided for. The tour duty allowance is N25, 000 per night; the estacode is $800 per night and the leave allowance is 10 per cent of their annual salary.

Severance allowance is paid to each of the office holders at the end of their tenure in government.

Our correspondents had reported that President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice-President Namadi Sambo, non-returning federal lawmakers, ministers and aides to the President will collect N3.24bn as severance allowance.

Although political office holders in the country are among the highest paid government officials in the world, our correspondents also reported that the worry of many Nigerians is not what they earn officially but what accrues to them through self-appropriation and corruption.

Senators-elect want pay cut extended to all arms of govt

Some senators-elect have supported the call for the cut in salaries and allowances of the National Assembly members.

The lawmakers, in separate interviews on Friday with Saturday PUNCH, said that such reduction must be extended to all tiers and arms of government.

The Senator-elect for Ekiti North Senatorial District, Mr. Duro Faseyi, expressed support for reduction in cost of governance.

Faseyi, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents on Friday, said the reduction must cut across the tiers of government.

He said, “I am in support of reduction of cost of governance because we have to look at the Internally Generated Revenue and the state of economy.

“The executives and judiciary must also be in support. The executive, especially, should agree so that we can use the money for what will benefit the common man.

“I support whatever would make life meaningful and improve the living condition of people, but it should be for the benefits of the common man.”

Also, the senator-elect representing Rivers South-East, Chief Olaka Wogu, expressed the need for a review of the salaries or recurrent expenditures in every sector of the economy.

Wogu, however, cautioned that funds meant for constituency projects should be increased.

The senator-elect explained that the current economic situation in the country would not be able to sustain the huge cost of governance.

He added that rather than reduce funds for constituency projects, focus should be on recurrent expenditure.

Wogu said, “Funds for constituency projects must not be reduced. They represent the projects that are done on behalf of the representatives in their constituencies and they are executed by the executive. They are not executed by the members.

“I have not been to the Senate and I don’t know their salaries. But when I say all sectors should not be isolated in the review of salaries, I mean all sectors. So, if I go to the Senate, I want to attract projects for my senatorial district. I intend to ensure that projects come to my district. So, the volume of funds available for that should go up.

“But the earnings of senators and all functionaries of government, including the senators should go down; that is cost of governance. Our economy cannot carry it today. Our pay as representatives can go down, but cost of public good must go up. That, in itself, will promote development. It will also lead to a better economy. Our problem today is that we spend too much on recurrent and too little on capital expenditure.”

But the Senator-elect for Plateau South Senatorial District, Lt.- Gen. Jeremiah Useni, said he would not be able to comment on the slash in the cost of governance until the inauguration of the eighth National Assembly.

‘It is unnecessary’

The All Progressives Congress member representing Zamfara Central Senatorial District, Senator Kabiru Marafa, described as unnecessary, the calls for the reduction in the salaries and allowances of federal lawmakers.

Marafa, in an interview with one of our correspondents, said those making the demand were ignorant of the actual amount accruable as salaries and allowances to each senator or member of the House of Representatives.

He described as untrue, media reports that a senator earns a monthly salary of N29m and promised to resign as a senator if anyone could prove that his salary per month was up to N1m.

Marafa, who said his salary was not up to N1m a month, said the call for salary reduction could only be justified if members of the public could determine the actual amount that a federal legislator is being paid a month.

He said, “What Nigerians need to know about these allowances is that they should be educated properly about what a senator or House of Representatives member earns. The figure being branded as allowances and salaries of federal lawmakers all over the place is incorrect.

“Not quite long ago, some figures were posted on the Internet and they came up with a figure of about N29m per month but if you look at the rundown, you will see there are severance allowances there which they claimed formed certain percentage of the total salary per month.

Cameron, four Nigerians win in UK election

In one of the most keenly contested general elections in British history, four Nigerians won seats to the revered parliament, making it the first time such feat would be recorded

Against all odds, David Cameron has won his re-election bid in one of the fiercest polls in British history.

Cameron, Prime Minister of Britain, led the Conservatives to almost a landslide victory against the Labour Party – a development that forced arch-rival – Ed Miliband to step down as head of the opposition.

With the victory, Cameron returns to the iconic Number 10 Downing Street, the official residence of British Prime Ministers to continue with his work of massive reforms and making Britain greater.

But it is not only Cameron that has been left smiling following the announcement of winners – four politicians of Nigerian descent also tasted victory during the general elections in the Queen’s land.

Before Thursday’s keenly contested polls in Britain, not many within and outside it were familiar with Chuka Umunna, Helen Grant, Chi Onwurah and Kate Osamor. But by mid-day Friday, the four have almost become celebrities of sort after an elaborate media focus on them.

The four Nigerians won seats into the British parliament, making it the first time such would be happening in the highly conservative United Kingdom. While Umunna, a Labour Party politician who has served Streatham as Member of Parliament since 2010 and has enjoyed a meteoric political rise in recent years is a relatively known face outside Britain, the profile of the other three was largely unknown until Friday, a day after the keenly contested elections, even though Grant and Onwurah had been Members of Parliament over the last five years.

Umunna

Born on October 17, 1978 to a Nigerian father – Bennett and British mother – Patricia, Umunna began his education at Hitherfield Primary School in Streatham, South London, and the Christ Church Primary School in Brixton Hill. He later moved to St. Dunstan’s College, Catford, Southeast London where he played the cello and became a respected prefect in the school.

Pursuing higher education, the eloquent Umunna bagged an upper second class in English and French Law from the University of Manchester before going to study for one term at the University of Burgundy in Dijon, France. He would later pick up an MA at the Nottingham Law School.

Umunna did not just get to the top all of a sudden – he slowly but vigorously climbed his way to the centerpiece of British politics. In 2002, after graduating from the university, the 37-year-old began working as a solicitor for Herbert Smith, a law firm based in the heart of London. Four years later he joined Rochman Landau, specialising in Employment Law.

However, he soon began writing and providing commentary on the Labour Party, as well as broader social and economic issues, usually in his capacity as a member of the Management Committee of the Labour-aligned Compass pressure group. He also wrote articles for the Financial Times, Tribune, The Voice, The Guardian and the New Statesman, and began to appear on various radio and television programmes as a commentator. Umunna would later go on to establish and edited an online political magazine, The Multicultural Politic.

In early April 2013, his law firm was linked to favourable updates made on his Wikipedia page in 2007, which included a reference to him being tipped as the “British Barack Obama”. Earlier in June 2010, he was elected a member of the Treasury Select Committee while in October of that year, he was appointed to serve as a Parliamentary Private Secretary and, in May 2011 rose to the position of Shadow Minister for Small Business and Enterprise until his promotion to the Shadow Cabinet.

Grant

Grant, born on September 28, 1961, is a Conservative Party politician and solicitor who was first elected into the British parliament in 2010. By that feat, she became the first black woman to be selected to defend a Tory seat and the Conservatives’ first female black parliamentarian. She has served as Minister for Sport, Tourism and Equalities.

In September 2012, Grant received her first government appointment when she earned the dual roles of Under-Secretary of State for Justice and Under-Secretary for Women and Equalities. She was born in Willesden, North London to an English mother and Nigerian father but grew up with her mother’s family after her parents separated. She lived with her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

Onwurah

Onwurah, born on April 12, 1965, is a Labour Party politician, who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament for Newcastle upon Tyne Central. Onwurah is Newcastle’s first black MP.

During the depression of the 1930s, her maternal grandfather was a sheet metal worker in Tyneside shipyards. Her mother grew up in poverty in Garth Heads on Newcastle’s quayside. Her father, from Nigeria, was working as a dentist while he studied at Newcastle Medical School when they met and married in the 1950s.

After Chi’s arrival in 1965, her family moved to Anambra State when she was still a baby, only two years before the Nigerian Civil War. The situation forced her mother to take the children back to England while her father stayed back to fight for the Biafran army. She had been a strong voice in the parliament and her victory this time around only goes to confirm her rising reputation in British politics.

Osamor

Osamor, a National Health Service manager, would be representing Edmonton constituency in London on the platform of the Labour Party. A respected trade union activist and women’s charity trustee, she made funding the NHS and standing up to government cuts the main theme of her campaign.

Emerging one of the Labour Party’s shining lights during a generally poor election outing, Osamor was declared winner in the North London seat with 25,388 votes. Her closest rival, Gonul Daniels of the Conservative Party ended up with 9,969 votes, making it an overwhelming victory for her.

The triumph of the four parliamentarians is seen as a major boost to Nigeria’s international image especially at a time when leadership has also changed hands at the centre in the oil-rich country. The victory is also viewed as cheering news for Nigerians resident in the United Kingdom who are often the subject of racism and segregation in the highly conservative region.

Lenovo unveils three new smartphones

Lenovo has reaffirmed its commitment to the Nigerian smartphone market and its customers by introducing a mix of three new stylish and powerful smartphones into the market.

Lenovo, reputed as the world’s number three smartphone vendor, entered the Nigerian market in February last year and said the response had been “overwhelming.”

The company’s Executive Director of Mobile Business Group, Middle East and Africa, Shashank Sharma, described Nigeria as a vital focus for the organisation.

Sharma said, “Nigeria is one of the fastest growing smartphone markets globally. With about 30 per cent smartphone penetration, the country represents huge growth potential for Lenovo.”

“In the past one year, Lenovo has made strong progress with its Nigerian consumers. We consider the region as a principal destination for investment, even as we continue to record robust growth in sales.”

He said sustaining a solid in-country presence was very important to the company, from both social and economic standpoints. “We will continue to expand our business and invest heavily in this market,” Sharma said.

He added, “We are building on the strong relationships that we have with Nigerians by meeting their demand for smartphones with first-class design, smarter features and improved functionality, with special focus on our latest range of mobile devices.

“Our continued organic growth and expansion put us in a great position to maintain our momentum. We have tremendous balance between our core business, especially a profitable personal computer business and growth engines like tablets, enterprise, ecosystem and smartphones. We expect to continue to build on these strong results.”

At the meeting, Lenovo unveiled its new entrants into the market: the Lenovo P70 with an epic 4000mAh battery, which could last up to three days; the Lenovo S90, a perfect selfie companion with an 8-megapixel front-facing camera and front LED flash; and the ergonomically designed Lenovo S60 that showcases users’ fun and social sides.

According to Lenovo, the dual-SIM 4G LTE Lenovo P70 smartphone packs an epic 4000mAh battery that could last up to three days for an always-on life.

“It comes with a 5-inch display, high definition resolution of 720×1280 pixels, a 1.7 GHz quad-core processor, Mediatek MT6752 64-bit chip, 2 GB of RAM as well as 16 GB of internal memory which can be expanded to up to 32 GB using the device’s microSD card slot.

“The P70 also features a 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front camera. The device is powered by the latest Android 4.4 KitKat operating system,” it said in a statement.

It added, “Also powered by Android’s 4.4 KitKat operating system, the dual-SIM 4G LTE Lenovo S90 smartphone comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8916 64-bit 1.2GHz Quad Core processor.

“It also comes with a five-inch Super AMOLED high definition display, a 13-megapixel rear auto-focus with LED Flash and PureCel Sensor as well as a front 8-megapixel fixed-focus with LED Flash and back-illuminated sensor. It boasts 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory.”

On its part, the dual-SIM and light (128 gram) Lenovo S60 4G LTE smartphone comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel f2.2 wide-angle selfie camera, 2GB RAM, 8GB ROM and 32GB of expandable storage for a large library. Photos, videos, and web content can be viewed in vibrant high definition on the device’s crisp five-inch high definition screen.

“The combination of an Android 4.4 KitKat operating system and a superb Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.2GHz 64-bit Quad Core processor ensures that the Lenovo S60 is primed to provide users with unlimited fun,” Sharma noted.

Jonathan holds private meetings with Adeboye, Oyedepo

President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday met separately with two leading pastors in the country based in Ogun State.

Jonathan met with the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye; and the Presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church Worldwide a.k.a Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo.

The headquarters of Winners Chapel is located in Ota, Ogun State while the Redemption Camp of the RCCG is situated at Mowe along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The President arrived the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos in the afternoon and was conveyed to the venues of the separate meetings in a helicopter.

The two meetings were said to have been described as “private” and hence were not opened to journalists.

After the closed-door meetings with the two clergymen, Jonathan who was accompanied on the trip by a few aides, returned to Abuja immediately.

Details of discussions at the meetings were not known as of press time.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, could not be reached to comment on the purpose of the meetings as of the time of filing this report.

It would however be recalled that Adeboye and Oyedepo were mentioned to be part of a team that attempted to broker peace between Jonathan and former President Olusegun Obasanjo before the 2015 general elections.

The two pastors were said to have in January led the President to Obasanjo’s mansion on Presidential Hilltop Estate, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital for a reconciliatory meeting.

Media reports had it then that Adeboye and Oyedepo were at the meeting at the instance of the former President as one of conditions given by Obasanjo before any meeting with Jonathan could take place.

It was learnt that the men of God were called to be witnesses of what would transpire between Jonathan and Obasanjo during the meeting after the terms of the outcome of previous discussions between the two were allegedly not implemented by the President.