BTV NIGERIA.: 10/15/14

Wednesday, 15 October 2014

Don Jazzy's Mavin Energy now in business

Or maybe it's been in business all this while, I don't know but he shared this ad on his instagram page last night calling for customers. He wrote "For your diesel. #MavinEnergy The name you can trust.". They supply diesel, petrol, kerosene, cooking gas and jet fuel. #Goodthinking!

Celebs step out to celebrate the Dora

Celebs step out to celebrate the Dora Akunyili-inspired movie, A Place In The Stars

Native Filmworks Limited, pioneer film producers and makers of the feature movie, “A Place in the Stars”, hosted an exclusive screening of the movie at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel, Victoria Island, on Sunday 12th October 2014.

This entirely private affair is part of a series of activities leading up to the November 2014 premiere of the movie, and was awash with VIP guests, including the crème de la crème of the Lagos business community.

Directed and produced by the celebrated film maker, Steve Gukas, A Place in the Stars is a riveting voyage into the dark under-world of fake drugs trafficking and of the harrowing consequences to the most vulnerable members of society.

Set in 2006 Nigeria, A Place in the Stars tells the story of Kim Dakim (Gideon Okeke), a young lawyer with a case and a client that leave him professionally conflicted. Kim is in possession of information that could save scores, if he would only pass it on. Faced with the deathly consequences of crossing 'industry' kingpins, including the toughest of them all, Diokpa Okonwo (Segun Arinze); and with millions to earn if he would only turn a blind eye, Kim battles conscience and professional responsibility as he determines which way to turn.

Also starring in the movie are Dejumo Lewis, Yemi Blaq, Femi Branch, Matilda Obaseki, Julian Mcdowell, Armajit Deu and Amaka Mgbor.

From the story treatment to screenplay, costume to production design, A Place in the Stars, together with it's crop of A-list cast, is in a class of its own - for movie magical experience.

The movie will be out in cinemas across Nigeria on the 14^th of November 2014.

what is this one now bikonu?

Fake University Agent Bags Nine Years

Justice Dije Abdu Aboki of Kano State High Court on Friday October 10, 2014 convicted and sentenced one Abdul Auwal Yahaya to nine and half years imprisonment without option of fine on six count charges bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence and forgery.

Abdul Auwal Yahaya EFCC The convict was arraigned on November 18, 2013 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission before Justice Aboki for allegedly conniving with one Bashir Ahmed Haruna (already convicted) and obtaining the sum N2,027,000 under the pretext that he is an agent of Future University, Cairo and was capable of securing admission into the institution for the children of the complainant.

The convict is to serve seven years imprisonment on count two while in respect of counts one, three, four, five and six, he is to serve six months imprisonment each. The convict was also ordered to pay the sum of N2,027,000 in restitution to the complainant.

The sentences shall run concurrently and will start from the date of arraignment.

Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
14th October, 2014

Teebillz gushes about wife, Tiwa

"We are still very much in love" - Teebillz gushes about wife, Tiwa

Despite what many of you think or have read, Teebillz and sexy singer Tiwa Savage are doing great. Reacting to the rumours of a troubled marriage for the first time, Teebillz told Encomium magazine.

"We're still very much in love. Very happily married."

The couple were spotted all loved up at House on the Rock church this past Sunday October 12th. I know that they are doing OK...that's why I never wrote anything. Long live their marriage!

Confusion In Bayelsa Government House

There was pandemonium and confusion in security circles on Monday night as a soldier, Lance Corporal Muazu Haruna of the 423 Battalion of the Elele Barrack in Rivers State, allegedly killed a colleague, Staff Sergeant Ishiaku Shuaibu, at the Bayelsa Government House.

Nigerian soldiers The incident reportedly occurred at about 10pm during a special dinner, at which the governor was present, to mark the 2014 Legal Year for the Judiciary.
Haruna, whose duty post was Government House, is alleged to have snatched the service rifle of his colleague and shot him dead at his duty post.
It was gathered that he had arrived from the Elele Military Barracks in Rivers State after collecting his duty allowances.
Sources at Government House said that two other soldiers on duty had left the post briefly, and that Haruna seems to have capitalized on the opportunity to shoot his colleague.
One of them said, "He immediately ran away with the rifle and boarded a commercial tricycle, popularly known as Keke NAPEP, and headed towards Hospital Road.
"The sounds of the gun shots attracted the Policemen on duty at the Banquet hall. The policemen however intercepted and stopped the Tricycle.
“The policemen immediately found the dead body of the soldier at his duty post.”
Both Haruna and the tricycle driver were arrested. A security source disclosed that Haruna, who was first taken to the Area Command Division of the Police, has been handed over to the Joint Military Task Force, as the investigation continues.

#BringBackOurgirls group take protest

#BringBackOurgirls group take protest to Aso Rock

Members of the #BringBackOurgirls group took their protest to Aso Rock villa today October 14th to demand for more action from the federal government towards the release of the 200+ Chibok girls who were abducted on April 14th this year.

Meanwhile Nobel Laureate winner Malala Yousafiz released a statement today on her website urging the Nigerian government to re-double efforts towards freeing the abducted girls. Find her statement and photos from the Aso Rock protest after the cut...

Malala's statement..

Six months after the Boko Haram kidnapping of 273 Nigerian school girls, we must raise our voices again and louder than ever to demand that the more than 200 girls still in captivity be freed, reunited with their families, and receive a quality and safe education. I urge the Nigerian government and the international community to re-double their efforts to bring a quick and peaceful conclusion to this crisis. #BringBackOurGirls

Jonathan Seeks Two-Year Tenure Elongation

President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria is not interested in running for reelection in February 2015. Instead, Mr. Jonathan and his most trusted associates are surreptitiously plotting to build a consensus for a two-year tenure elongation for the president and other public office holders across the country.

President Goodluck Jonathan The Wall Street Journal SaharaReporters first learned about this presidential design two months ago. Our investigations since then reveal that Mr. Jonathan and his most trusted associates have been working underground to sell the plan to some lawmakers, governors, and political office holders tagged “key stakeholders.”
Our investigation indicates that the president and his trusted allies are still playing the card close to their chests, ensuring that they sound out only those political actors deemed likely to be sympathetic to the plan. One strategy, according to one source, is to seek support from governors who are already in their second and terminal term as well as senators and members of the House of Representatives who may be vulnerable to challenge in an election. Among the political personalities identified as tacitly backing the elongation plan are Senate President David Mark, Governors Martin Elechi of Ebonyi, Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta, and Segun Mimiko of Ondo, former minister Kema Chikwe, the chairman of the PDP’s board of trustees, Tony Anenih, and Ijaw political figure, Edwin Clark. At various times, both Mr. Mark and Governor Elechi have insinuated that the 2015 elections may not hold, hinting at severe security challenges.
Sources who spoke to us on the plan included several legislators in Abuja and aides to two PDP governors. They disclosed that President Jonathan intends to defend the politically explosive scheme on two grounds.
One is that a general extension of tenure, for a minimum of eighteen months, would be necessary to enable Mr. Jonathan to shepherd the creation of a new constitution. This argument rests on the need for Nigeria to fashion a constitution that incorporates some of the important recommendations of the national confab convoked by President Jonathan and chaired by retired Chief Justice Idris Kutigi.
According to several of our sources, the Jonathan administration plans to contend that the task of writing a new constitution should be resolved before Nigeria is subjected to another potentially volatile general elections.
“We should not see this as a matter of Mr. President trying to stay longer in power. The fact of the matter is that we should address the constitutional issues first before talking about another election,” said a source who is a confidant of Governor Elechi.
The source added that the sheer task of going through the voluminous report submitted by the national confab on August 21, 2014 would require “almost a year of hard work.” According to him, it would be politically suicidal for Nigeria to go through another election and transition on the basis of the current constitution “which most Nigerians are dissatisfied with.” He added: “If elections happen next year and President Jonathan wins, he may no longer feel the need to push for constitutional reforms. If another person wins, then that new president may not make a new constitution a priority. That means that this country will be back to square one. It will also mean that all the efforts we made in the confab would be in vain.”
President Jonathan’s other argument for tenure elongation is that he needs about two years more in office to stabilize Nigeria by finally handling the security crisis posed by Boko Haram. A few sources disclosed that the president intends to make a strong case to potential critics in the US and European Union that the situation in Nigeria’s northeast zone is so dangerous that it would be impossible to hold elections in the area. He would pledge to devote the extra time in office to a decisive plan aimed at dislodging Boko Haram from all parts of Nigeria. Mr. Jonathan is expected to cite the recent string of successes by the Nigerian military against insurgents as proof that he has a formula for defeating Boko Haram.
Nigeria’s political calendar sets aside next February 2015 for the next set of elections, but President Jonathan has not formally declared his intention to run. Our investigations revealed that the president’s silence is deliberate, part of his strategy for pursuing tenure elongation. Mr. Jonathan is reluctant to ratchet up the rhetoric of elections because he wants more time to quietly fine-tune and sell the option of a two-year tenure elongation.
Opponents of any form of tenure elongation contend that President Jonathan wants to avoid an election because he is scared of losing to the opposition. “He has had six years to fix the security problems and also advance a new constitution, but failed,” said an Abuja-based activist. The activist added; “President Jonathan may also be afraid of a possible constitutional crisis. The Nigerian constitution forbids anyone running more than two terms in office. The president has been sworn in twice already, once to complete the tenure of [the] late President Umaru Yar’Adua and then as substantive president in 2011. There is likely to be a legal challenge seeking clarification on whether he can run and possibly rule Nigeria again.”
A source at the Presidency stated that Mr. Jonathan had sounded out some members of national confab about the idea of the body declaring that he should be given extra time to complete a constitutional process, but the response was not encouraging. “Those who were consulted in the confab felt that any talk of elongation would have divided the confab. So they asked us to try alternative ways.” Our investigation also revealed that the Presidency considered the idea of using the Boko Haram insurgency as a pretext to declare a state of war, thereby shelving elections. That plan also fell apart.
Mr. Jonathan’s current approach is to send his associates to approach potentially sympathetic senators and members of the House of Representatives with the proposal of a new constitution as justification for tenure elongation. Our investigation disclosed that the latest approach has met with mixed reactions.
Several senators who spoke anonymously with SaharaReporters disclosed that Mr. Jonathan’s emissaries spoke about postponing the elections for two years in the interest of “Nigeria’s unity.” The sources said legislators who are most likely to lose elections seemed enthusiastic about the prospect of elongation. Two senators also admitted that the president’s associates are likely to win over some legislators because of their ability to offer hefty sums to bribe those willing to support the elongation agenda.
A political adviser to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said he had heard speculations about extending the tenure, but said he had no independent confirmation of it. However, he stated that Mr. Jonathan must be scared of running in an election in which most northern voters will be against him along with a significant number of southerners voters disenchanted by the president’s non-performance.
He said that Mr. Jonathan’s electoral fortunes would be precarious in all the northern states because of the divisive nature of the president’s governance style.
“Apart from Benue and Plateau states and a section of Southern Kaduna Christians, the president has little chance of campaigning let alone winning in the north,” said one of the critics of tenure elongation.
A strong opposition also looms in the southwest, except in Ondo state where Governor Olusegun Mimiko might help sway voters. But Mr. Mimiko’s electoral boost may have fizzled with the governor’s mismanagement of state resources that has led to the non-payment of workers salaries for at least four months.
Mr. Jonathan will likely win easily in the five eastern states as well as the Niger Delta zone, but votes from the two areas would be insufficient to steer him back to Aso Rock. Besides, the enthusiastic welcome received in Imo State over the weekend by Muhammadu Buhari, a former military head of state and opposition presidential aspirant, suggest that some parts of the southeast may not wholly back Mr. Jonathan.
The president also faces considerable political threat in Rivers State. Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s opposition to Jonathan’s candidacy suggests that the electoral victory figures cannot simply be written.
Several political sources, activists and pundits who spoke to us predicted that Mr. Jonathan’s tenure elongation plan would be doomed in the same way that other such plans, hatched by retired General Ibrahim Babangida, late maximum dictator, Sanni Abacha and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, also collapsed.

Davido nominated for Soul Train Awards

Davido nominated for Soul Train Awards, only African on the list!

Davido has been nominated in the ‘Best International Performance’ category for his ground-breaking song ‘Aye’at the Soul Train Awards set to hold on November 7 in Las Vegas. He is the only African on the list. You go, Davido! So proud of him!

With no less than 5 major awards in 2014 including the BET Awards for Best International act and the MTV Africa Awards Artiste of the Year, Davido appears at this point the African favourite to clinch the awards.

Best International Performance Nominations

Davido - Aye

Machel Montano - Ministry Of Road (M.O.R.)

Nico & Vinz - Am I Wrong

Sam Smith - Stay With Me

Shaggy feat. Ne-Yo – You Girl

Ziggy Marley - I Don’t’ Want To Live On Mars

Davido is also an MTV E.M.A and M.O.B.O award nominee.

Sue Me, Jonathan

An online magazine richestlifestyle.com recently published the ranking of the richest African presidents. The magazine ranked President Goodluck Jonathan 6th. Jonathan, a whole president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a country with the largest economy in Africa, was assessed to have a total worth of $100 million dollars.

Correct Me If I am Right

The president was furious. Speaking through his spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, he called the idea that he is worth $100 million dollars false. “As is well known, President Jonathan has never been a businessman or entrepreneur, but a life-long public servant,” Abati argues. “The President has held public office since 1999 and has regularly declared his assets as required by Nigerian laws. He has had no personal income since 1999 other than his official remuneration as deputy governor, governor, vice president, acting president and president which are matters of public record.”
The president then threatened to sue the online publication for libel. The website immediately removed Jonathan from the ranking.
But what is President Jonathan’s worth? That question still needs to be answered.
Since the president will not just tell us and save us and save himself the headache, we will calculate it for him.
But before we do so, lets look at what the law about declaration of assets says.
The Nigerian constitution requires that top government officials declare their assets before they are sworn into office. President Jonathan did not do so when he was sworn in on May 29, 2011. Nigerians had to huff and puff for months. During one media chat when the question was put to him that Nigerians were worried that he was disobeying the constitution by not declaring his assets as at when due, the president said he did not give a damn.
Eighteen months after, while nobody was looking, President Goodluck Jonathan declared his assets. We know this because on September 24th, 2012, the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) Dr. Sam Saba, speaking through Alhaji Ibrahim Manzo, the Federal Commissioner representing North West in the Bureau, brought the good news to the media.
At that event, Saba reiterated that no law said that the President should declare his assets publicly. Saba also added, “What is important is that he has declared his assets and when we go through his form and we discover any area that is questionable, then we will take him to court.”
This was on September 24th, 2012. At that time the Code of Conduct Bureau was yet to go through President Jonathan’s form. Which was how we determined that it was sent to them around that time. And since we have not heard from Mr. Saba, over two years after, we can safely assume that he went through the forms and found nothing questionable that would require him to take the president to court as he promised in that speech at a Compliance Training Workshop for Public Officers in Abuja.
What President Jonathan declared is secret, sealed and locked away in the office of Code of Conduct Bureau. The presidency insists that the constitution did not require that he makes his declaration public. The chairman of Code of Conduct Bureau on his part asked those who want to know what is in the president’s declaration form to invoke the Freedom of Information Act.
Paragraph 3, Part I of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, provides that the Code of Conduct Bureau shall have power to: (a) receive declarations by public officers made under paragraph 12 of Part I of the Fifth Schedule to this Constitution; (b) examine the declarations in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct or any law; (c) retain custody of such declarations and make them available for inspection by any citizen of Nigeria on such terms and conditions as the National Assembly may prescribe.
The next option left for Nigerians who wish to know the content of the president’s declaration forms was to invoke Schedule (c) which says that the Code of Conduct Bureau retains custody of such declarations and make them available for inspection by any citizen of Nigeria on such terms and conditions as the National Assembly may prescribe.
In October of 2011, the African Center for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) dragged the Code of Conduct Bureau to court for failing to release to the public the asset declaration of the president. AFRICMIL had in July of 2011 sent a Freedom of Information request “to be allowed to inspect and obtain copies of the 2007 asset declaration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan; the asset declaration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan after the end of his tenure on May 28, 2011; and the current asset declaration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan when he assumed office on May 29, 2011.”
As expected, nothing has come out of it.
Whatever the constitution says, and whatever interpretation President Jonathan’s men give it, the gold standard has always been for government officials to make their asset declaration public on taking over office.
President Umaru Yar’Adua did that. He also compelled the then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to do the same- something he did a day after he was sworn in.
Despite Jonathan’s refusal to follow best practice in 2011 and his fury at Richestlifestyle.com’s partners who did the calculations for him, we will, together, try to do the calculation on these pages.
So let us start our calculation from the declaration President Jonathan made in 2007 when he was Vice President under the government of President Umaru Yar’Adua.
As at 2007, President Jonathan under oath stated that the value of his assets was N295,304,420.00. At that time, the figure was N561,148,472.00 less than what President Umaru Yar’Adua declared – which was N857,452,892.00
Now note that Jonathan and Yar’Adua came from similar background. They were university teachers before they joined the government as political appointees and later full time politicians. Yar’Adua was governor of Kastina state for 8 years before he became President while Jonathan was deputy governor of Bayelsa for 6 years and governor for 2 years before he became Vice President of Nigeria. Other than Yar’Adua coming from a well-off family, the real difference comes in how long they were at the helm in their respective states. But because Yar’Adua was in control of Kastina state, a relatively poor state compared to Jonathan’s Bayelsa state, the difference in their assets as declared in 2007 was understandable.
When Jonathan made his assets declaration in 2007, his spokesman then, Mr. Ima Niboro said that by doing so the president had shown that “there is nothing to hide.” He also stated that the then Vice President was a firm believer in the rule of law which Niboro said had guided Jonathan in his conduct in office through the years.
Makes you wonder what happened to the president’s belief in recent years. Did he suddenly have things to hide? Or did he suddenly find that the rule of law has an exaggerated importance?
Based on the declaration made by Jonathan in 2007, he had four buildings located in Yenegoa, Abuja and his home town in Ogbia, Bayelsa state.
He said that he owned a five bedroom duplex in Gwarimpa 11, Abuja. The building he said was acquired in 2003 through loan and was valued at N24,990,000.00 Another seven bedroom duplex located at Otuoke in Ogbia Local government area of Bayelsa state was valued at N18,000, 000.00 and was acquired through ‘savings and gifts in kind.“
Jonathan declared another four bedroom duplex acquired in 2003 through ‘savings and gift in kind’ in the Kpansia area of Yenegoa. The value of the building was N15,000,000.00 The last building is four flat storey house acquired between 2003 and 2007 through savings, he reported. The value of the property was put at N10,000,000.00
Under vacant and undeveloped plots, the then vice president stated as follows: “1032.50 square meter of land located at Onopa Yenegoa and valued at N3,098.00. Plot 2C, 374 Low density Area Yenegoa allocated by the Bayelsa state government and valued at N150,000.00. 2760.00 square meter plot at cadastral Zone BO2, Durumi, Abuja, allocated by the Federal Capital Development Authority and valued at N5,578,540.00. One Parcel of farm Land at Otuoke Ogbia acquired through inheritance and estimated at the value of N50,000,000.00
Plot Medium Density in Yenegoa allocated by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing the valued at N1550.00
Plot 29, Low density Area Plot in Yenegoa allocated by the Bayelsa state government the value of which was put at N4,908.00. While the last undeveloped plot owned by the then vice president is plot 2246 Cadastral Zone A06, Abuja, the value of which he put at N4, 800,000.00. It was allocated by the Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA.
The declaration stated that the then Vice president’s investment in stocks which was being managed by City Code Investment Company was as follows.

S/No Name of Stock Number Of Shares Value As At 5/25/07
1 CADBURY PLC 8,666 N264,313.00
2 FLOUR MILLS PLC 8,466 N635,119.32
3 GUINESS NIG. PLC 6,395 N796,177.50
4 UNILEVER 18,750 N337,500.00
5 UNION BANK OF NIG. PLC 23,466 N727,446.00
6 FIDELITY BANK PLC 33,333 N296,663.70
7 UBA PLC 180,000 N6,838,200.00
8 ACCESS BANK PLC 84,656 N1,635,553.92
9 CADBURY PLC 2,500 N76,250.00
10 UNION BANK PLC 716,109 N22,199,379.00
11 FIRST BANK PLC 20,000 N808,000.00
12 FLOUR MILLS PLC 13,333 N1,000,241.66.00
13 NIGERIAN BREWERIES PLC 10,000 N363,000.00
14 BANK PHB PLC 866,666 N24,959,980.80
15 OANDO 15,125 N1,134,375.00
TOTAL 2,007,465 N62,072,200.00

Other investments include 4nos passenger boats for hiring which was valued at N5, 260,000.00 while the total cash in Nigerian banks being personal saving of salaries/allowances and income from his investments stood at N58, 984,123.00
The vice president households utensils including generators, a BMW car valued at N15, 800,000.00 which he said was a gift; air conditioners, furniture, electronics and kitchen utensils were valued at N41,800,000. 00
Looking at the figures above and considering capital gains, appreciations of properties in Abuja and the new university town of Otuoke and depreciation, a very very conservative estimate placed the assets as declared in 2007, seven years ago, to be at least five times what it was then. That is very conservative considering that last year alone, the Nigerian stock market delivered a return of 47%.
So the assets declared in 2007 at N295,304,420.00 will today be worth N1,476,522,100.00 which is about $9.0 million USD.
President Jonathan was Vice President for three years (2007-2010). As Vice President we believe that his salaries and allowances and security vote could not be lower than what a senator takes home in Nigeria each year. Without adding bribes to pass bills and unaccounted constituency allocations, a Nigerian senator takes home $1.4 million each year. The senate president, the number 3 man in Nigeria takes home at least twice that, which is $2.8 million. In fact, it is safe to assume that the perks that come with the office of the Vice President guarantees that the occupant makes more money than governors of states. But just to continue to be conservative in our calculation, let us say that his remunerations as Vice President came up to twice what the senate president takes home each year. So Jonathan would have added $5.6 million a year.
In three years that would become $17.4 million dollars.
In 2010, Jonathan became the Acting President following the death of Yar’Adua. What it meant was a total takeover of the nation’s treasury. If he was getting as Vice President N1 billion a year as security vote, it became at least ten times the amount. We know this going by the discrepancy in what governors get and what their deputies get in security votes. On average, a Nigerian governor gets N250 million a month for security vote ie N3 billion a year while their deputies get about N300 million a year. Jonathan’s base salary, allowances, estacodes and other numerous pays also increased in a significant way.
Continuing with our conservative calculation, instead of multiplying his pay as Vice President by ten, we will simply multiply it by two. So, for the next one year as acting president, 2010 – 2011, Jonathan probably made $11.2 million dollars.
So as Acting President, he added $11.2 million dollars to his assets.
In April 2011, he ran for a full term and won. He became a president in his own right with absolute control of the government. Two weeks later, on April 29, 2011, President Goodluck Jonathan secretly approved the transfer of $1.1 billion to the London account of Malabu Oil and Gas owned by former Minister of Petroleum and a convicted money launderer, Dan Etete and Sani Abacha’s son, Mohammed. The money came from funds paid to the Federal Government by two multinational companies; Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited and Shell Nigeria as part of the settlement of the Malabu oil block case between the Federal Government, Malabu and the two multinational oil companies. As soon as the money got into the account of Malabu Oil in London it was wired to secret accounts of cronies and some political associates of President Jonathan.
Without implying that Jonathan benefited in any way, we know from his 2007 assets declaration that a lot of money he used to purchase assets he declared came in form of “gifts in kind.” At this point, it is safe to assume that the game changed and the money being dealt with had turned into billions.
As full president, Jonathan’s salaries, allowances and security votes should be obviously higher than what he made as acting president. With traveling cost in billions of naira and feeding allowance hovering around one billion, the president remuneration could be as high as five times what it was as acting president. But thinking along the same conservative line, we say that he was getting twice the amount he made as acting president. So that would be $11.2 x 2 = $22.4 million a year.
In four years, that money would be $22.4 x 4= $89.6 million dollars.
So to add up without factoring in compound interests:
His 2007 assets of N295,304,420.00 will today be worth N1,476,522,100.00 which is about $9.0 million USD.
His earnings as Vice President is $17.4 million dollars.
His earnings as acting president is $11.2 million dollars.
His earning as President is $89.6 million dollars.
So his total worth in assets will be $127.2 million dollars by the time he leaves office on May 29, 2015.
Now that is a very very conservative estimate. It does not take into account numerous gifts in kind and in cash, like the Anglican Church in Otuoke renovated and donated to President Jonathan by an Italian construction company, Gitto Construzioni Generali Nigeria Ltd.
The Nigerian people are mature enough to deal with any figure public officials announce as their assets. Nobody in Anambra state lost their minds when Gov. Andy Uba declared N1 trillion naira assets in what is now known as anticipatory declaration of what he hoped to acquire in office. Nigerians are not going to hit the streets in protest because a president or a governor or local government chairman announced an insane amount. Instead, what is insane is the belief that Nigerians will think the president is poor because he refused to make public his asset declaration.
President Goodluck Jonathan came to Abuja from Yenagoa with a cloud of corruption hanging on his head like a question mark. Any reasonable person would have thought that he would be the one to embrace transparency, accountability and openness. Aversion to best practices and embrace of mediocrity have continued to crush any hope of real advancement in Nigeria.
The real shame is not that President Jonathan got away with not declaring his assets as at when the constitution required. And it is not that he will not declare his assets publicly. The shame is that we, as Nigerian people, do not know how much our president is paid, how much he costs us and how much he is worth. Not knowing that forecloses any chance of us knowing how much leaks out of our system into the pockets of government officials at every level.
In the meantime, now that you have joined me in calculating President Goodluck Jonathan’s assets, be ready to be sued by the president for libel.

2face steps out

2face steps out in Ruggeman's 8Figures Vasrsity jacket

Music legend, 2face Idibia stepped out last Saturday at the Hennessy Artistry 2014 club tour which held at Cosmo Lounge in Port Harcourt rocking the new Rugged Man’s 8figures Varsity Jacket with a matching cap...

Website Downgrades Goodluck Jonathan’s Net Worth To $10M

CelebrityNetWorth, the website which provided the “thoroughly researched” material for the story that President Goodluck Jonathan is the sixth richest African president, at $100 million, now says the Nigeria leader is worth only a miserly $10million.

The controversy began with a feature by another website, RichestLifestyle, which put Mr. Jonathan’s net worth at $100 million, using an estimate published by CelebrityNetWorth.
Threatened with a lawsuit by the Nigerian leader last week, RichestLifestyle deleted the story. In its place, the website indicated that the source of the material was the California-based CelebrityNetWorth.
In a statement, presidential spokesman Reuben Abati declared that President Jonathan’s net worth was “a very, very far cry from the $100 million,” and threatened to sue all the publishers of the story at home and abroad.
It would appear that following the deletion of the story by RichestLifeStyle on Thursday, CelebrityNetWorth began to feel the heat, leading to its revision of the material sometime last weekend, even using some of the language by the spokesman.
The revised material reads, in part: “Goodluck Jonathan is a Nigerian politician who has a net worth of $10 million…Upon being elected Vice President in May 2007, Dr. Jonathan voluntarily revealed his estimated personal wealth. At the time, Dr. Jonathan's 2007 net worth was reportedly equal to just over $8.5 million US dollars. Dr. Jonathan has since been criticized for not making more frequent public declarations of his wealth. Some reports have even claimed that Dr. Jonathan's personal net worth could be as high as $250 million. In October 2014, a Presidential spokesman disputed these higher end estimates and maintained that he 'regularly declares his assets as required by Nigerian laws'.”
It is unclear if the Nigerian President will pursue his lawsuit threat, particularly as neither has specifically retracted the publication, let alone apologized to him as he demanded in the presidential statement. In its revised Jonathan profile, CNW indicates it is aware of what may be ahead. “The President's office also threatened to sue any website that mentioned these alleged higher end net worth estimates,” it said.
The story appears to have inflicted a dent on the character of CelebrityNetWorth, which brags about the authenticity of its stories.
“All of our figures and articles are thoroughly researched, scrutinized and fact checked by our team of writers and financial analysts,” it says on its website. “The figures are acquired from all publicly available information including salaries, real estate holdings, divorces, record sales, royalties and endorsements.”
Analysts say that by moving President Jonathan’s estimate by 90% hurts the brand tremendously, suggesting that it may have merely manufactured the figures because of the international image of Nigerian leaders concerning corruption.
Despite that, President Jonathan’s image is unlikely to benefit from the latest development because of his refusal to declare his assets publicly, about which he has said he does not “give a damn.” In 2012, he explained that the only reason he had declared his assets in 2007 was because he was pressurized to do so by his boss, President Umaru Yar’Adua.
At that time, Mr. Jonathan declared he was worth slightly less than N295 million (about $8.5million), which raised eyebrows considering he had been Governor of Bayelsa State for only about a year and a half before he became Vice-President.
Since he assumed office, Nigerians have accused him of encouraging corruption in the country, having refused to investigate several corruption allegations or implement the reports of anti-corruption panels, granting state pardon to his friend and indicted former governor Dipreye Alamieyeseigha, and declaring that stealing by public officers is not corruption.
RichestLifestyle, despite deleting the Jonathan entry in its story, has added an interesting new introduction. “Africa is the second largest continent in the world. It is also world’s second most populous continent and regarded as the poorest continent. There are 47 African nations led by leaders who have been ruling for over a decade. Some of these leaders and their families are very rich and their wealth are (sic) considered ill-gotten. They make their wealth from natural resources of these nations.”
Its profile of what it now calls “8 Richest African Presidents and Kings as of 2014” places Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe’s net worth at $10 Million, the spot he would share with Mr. Jonathan if the website uses CelebrityNetWorth’s new valuation of the Nigeria leader.
In the past week since Mr. Jonathan’s lawsuit threat was issued, about five days since RichestLifeStyle deleted the original story, and a few days since CelebrityNetWorth downgraded his net worth, SaharaReporters has not noticed any publication apologizing to Mr. Jonathan.

Omotola turns heads

Omotola turns heads at the launch of Tiffany Amber '15 Nigerian Women of Vision'

Omotola who was unveiled as one of the 15 Nigerian Women of Vision turned heads as she stormed the venue of the event in a custom designed Tiffany Amber for Omosexy dress! Omotola is a goddess! See more photos after the cut...