Reps pass federal competition commission bill, wade into clash in Ile-Ife (Read full details)

http://ift.tt/2lF2YJl

House of Representatives<br />

Probe National Stadium transfer to Lagos
Grant approval to NIGCOMSAT to source N24 billion

The House of Representatives has passed a bill that seeks to, among other things, establish the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal.This is to ease the Nigerian business environment for investors.

The House adopted the recommendation of the report on the bill sponsored by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, to repeal the Consumer Protection Act and establish the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and Consumer Protection Tribunal.

The bill when concurred by the Senate and assented to by the President, apart from developing business, will also promote fair, efficient and competitive markets in the Nigerian economy, facilitate access by all citizens to safe products, secure the protection of rights for all consumers in Nigeria.

The law proposes a five-year jail term and N50 million for individuals who violate the competition law and a fine not exceeding ten percent turnover in the preceding business year of a defaulting company.

Also, the House yesterday waded into the clash between the Yoruba and Hausa communities in Ile Ife, Osun State.At the plenary presided by Speaker Yakubu Dogara, the lawmakers agreed to deliberate on the issue as a matter of urgent national importance on Tuesday, next week.

Nonetheless, the House Deputy Speaker, Yusuf Sulaimon Lasun appealed to the warring parties to sheath their sword and live together as brothers. Lasun said that nothing could be achieved by fighting one another, adding there is the need for the warring parties to live together for the unity and growth of the country.

Meanwhile, in a bid to ensure transparency and accountability, the House mandated its Committee on Sports to particularly investigate the terms/conditions of agreement under which the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports is seeking to transfer the National Stadium to Lagos State Government.

Besides, the lawmakers directed the committee to probe into the usage of the huge budgetary allocations appropriated for the maintenance of the stadium in the last five years and report back to the House within two weeks.

Some members described the initiative as worthwhile but was not supposed to be shrouded in secrecy. However, members from Lagos State took exception to such argument on the basis that there was nothing untoward about the deal since it was aimed at reviving the stadium, which was unutilised over the years.

The House also urged the Minister of Communications to grant approval to Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd (NIGCOMSAT) to source N24 billion funding for NigComSat-2 and NigComSat-3 communication satellites from Development Banks, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Bilateral and multilateral international credit institutions and other financing agencies.

It similarly directed authorities of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to suspend all actions regarding the sale of the properties in Zone C Quarters, Apo which accomodates the staff and students of the National Defence College, Abuja.

It also directed the authorities to determine the commercial viability of the oil and gas deposits in the Anambra Basin where hydrocarbon activities began in 2012.

The Inspector General of Police was also urged to evolve a mechanism to mop up small arms and light weapons in circulation, saying they constitute security threats.

Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2m6fl12

Sunny Leone Reacts To Ram Gopal Verma’s Women’s Day Tweet…Read full details

http://ift.tt/2nl4HES

This Women’s Day, director Ram Gopal Verma tweeted a rather insensitive statement to wish women a “Happy Women’s Day”.

I wish all the women in the world give men as much happiness as Sunny Leone gives

— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) March 8, 2017

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Although a series of clarification tweets and an apology followed, the tweet was still unjustified and uncalled for. An FIR was also lodged against him in Goa, and a Twitter campaign asking people to boycott him was also being run. Turns out, unlike the rest of the country, Sunny Leone was not offended by RGV’s tweet, and her spokesperson reportedly said that she did not find anything wrong in it. RGV is a good friend of Sunny, and she took his post on a lighter note.

According to IndiaForums, Sunny does not wish to make any controversy out of it. The spokesperson further added:

That’s not a dig. He is a freind. He is making a joke. In good humor. Not everything is controversial.

Umm. Well, okay!

The post Sunny Leone Reacts To Ram Gopal Verma’s Women’s Day Tweet is copyright of MissMalini.

Source: Miss Malini

Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2m6ioGG

Lady Gaga lights up Super Bowl with inclusion message…Read full details

http://ift.tt/2kxqGrC

< Previous

1 of 10

Next >

Lady Gaga performs during the Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl 51 Halftime Show at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images/AFP

Lady Gaga performs during the Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl 51 Halftime Show at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Tom Pennington/Getty Images/AFP

Lady Gaga performs during the Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl 51 Halftime Show at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Tom Pennington/Getty Images/AFP

Lady Gaga dazzled the Super Bowl on Sunday with a high-tech, tightly choreographed halftime show celebrating American diversity and unity as she chose the power of showbiz over direct provocation.

Performing at American football’s title match — generally the most watched US television event of the year — the pop diva electrified NRG Stadium in Houston with a pulsating medley of her greatest hits.

From the outset, Gaga served notice this was no ordinary halftime show — she began her performance from the lip of the stadium, an army of 300 drones forming a twinkling American flag in the sky.

Then she took flight.

The singer, clad in a sparkling silver bodysuit and knee high boots, leapt from the edge of the retractable roof onto the stage with the help of some sturdy wires — and the performance was nonstop from there.

Ahead of the show, all eyes were on Lady Gaga to see whether she would use the platform to rip into President Donald Trump at a tense time in US politics.

Even with Vice President Mike Pence in attendance, Gaga — a sworn foe of Trump — kept with the game’s guidelines to steer clear of overt politics.

Instead the singer, known for her audacious outfits, delivered what seemed to be a more subtle message.

“How are you doing tonight, Texas? How are you doing tonight, America?” Gaga asked.

“We’re here to make you feel good,” she said.

She opened with “This Land is Your Land,” the anthem by leftist folk legend Woody Guthrie that has come to be seen as an alternative national anthem for the United States.

Gaga then mixed up her biggest songs — from “Let’s Dance” and “Poker Face” to “Born This Way” — an anthem of inclusion in which she speaks of acceptance of people regardless of ethnicity or sexual orientation.

She was backed up by an upbeat, ethnically diverse cast of dancers, who at one point joined in a group hug.

“No matter gay, straight or bi… You’re Lebanese / You’re orient,” she sang. “Whether life’s disabilities left you outcast, bullied or teased / Rejoice and love yourself today!”

– Future for drones –
With just 13 minutes at her disposal, Gaga could not pull off many changes of costume but by the end stripped off her metallic dress to perform in hot pants, football shoulder pads — and the stiletto-heeled boots.

She even changed her makeup, using peel-off crystals to alter her look to match her choice of song.

In keeping with her recent theme of family connection, Gaga — long associated with her oozing sexuality — shouted out to her parents as she sang her recent ballad “Million Reasons” and played the piano.

Her dancers made up for Gaga in terms of outfits, switching from flashy club attire to placid white.

Gaga literally dropped the mic — and caught a football at the end of the show as fireworks shot into the air.

Given that the Super Bowl being the most coveted advertising venue of the year, the drone army, designed by chip-maker Intel, ended in another show of Americana — commercialism, as they created the logo of sponsor Pepsi.

Intel described the halftime show as the most elaborate televised use ever of drones.

“The potential for these light show drones is endless,” Intel executive Josh Walden said in a statement, saying the company planned to explore more ways to use the technology.

Super Bowl performances are rarely directly provocative, although last year Beyonce startled many by playing her single “Formation.” Its video had a message against police brutality.

Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2jRROES