Al-Makura Presents N107.9bn Appropriation Bill For 2015

Gov. Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has presented the 2015 budget proposal of N107.9 billion to the state House Assembly for approval.

Al-Makura presented the budget, tagged “Budget of Sustainability’’, on Wednesday in Lafia.

He said that the fiscal policy was aimed at fighting poverty, unemployment and ensure even development in the state.

The governor was represented by the state supervising Commissioner for Finance and Economic development, Alhaji Mohammed Dan’Azumi.

He said: “A total of N107,904,891,045 had been budgeted for the state 2015 fiscal year appropriation bill in which the recurrent expenditure stand at N63,431,415,954, representing 58.79 per cent, while the capital expenditure estimate is N44,473,475,091, representing 41.21 per cent of the budget.

Dankwambo Proposes To spend N86.7bn In 2015

Gov. Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State on Wednesday presented a budget of N86.7 billion for 2015 to the House of Assembly for deliberation and approval.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the figure showed N21billion reduction from the N107.7 billion budgeted in 2014.

Dankwambo said the 2015 budget took into account the fall in the price of crude oil at the international market.

“After a careful analysis of our expected resources inflow for 2015, we allocated budget envelopes to all ministries, departments and agencies to guide them in the preparation of their estimates’’, he said.

Okorocha Presents N141.2 Billion 2015 Budget

The Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha has presented the sum of 141.2 billion naira to the Imo State House of Assembly as the total budget for the 2015 fiscal year.

While presenting the budget tagged “Budget of Total Rescue and Sustainability” to the Imo State House of Assembly, the governor said 43% will be allotted to recurrent expenditure, totaling 60.7 billion naira while 57% will be allotted to capital projects, totaling 80.5 billion naira.

He said the policy thrust of the 2015 budget is derived from the rescue mission agenda of the his administration which anchored on a 4 year development plan that derived its bearing from the vision of his administration which are belief in God, free education, massive infrastructural development and increased agricultural production to ensure food sufficiency and food security.

The governor added that the 2015 budget will mainly focus on delivery of social services to the people of Imo State.

Governor Okorocha said the expected revenue projections for 2015 is 119.7 billion naira for recurrent items and capital receipts of 21.5 billion naira.

The 2015 budget is just less than five percent increase from the 2014 budget which is 137.7 billion naira.

FIND OUT SOME OF THE MYSTERIES OF TIME TRAVELLING: A Visit To Mars With Barack Obama

Seattle attorney Andrew Basiago says that when he was a child, he and William Stillings were “chrononauts” in a secret United States government time travel program called Project Pegasus. The purpose of the program was threefold—to protect Earth from threats from space, to establish territorial sovereignty over Mars, and to acclimate Martian humanoids and animals to our presence.

The best part of Basiago’s and Stillings’ claim, however, is that one of their fellow time travelers was none other than a 19-year-old Barack Obama, who went by the name “Barry Soetero.” In 1980, the three men and seven other youths from their “Mars training class” at California’s College of the Siskiyous (a real institution) traveled to Mars via a top-secret teleportation “jump room” modeled on technical papers found in Nikola Tesla’s apartment after his death. They jumped through a field of radiant energy into a tunnel, and when the tunnel closed, found themselves at their destination.

The White House has officially denied that Obama ever went to Mars.

Boko Haram Kills 15 In North Eastern Nigerian Town

Suspected Islamist militants opened fire in a town in northeast Nigeria, killing at least 15 people, witnesses and a security source said.

The attack on Monday night targeted Kautikari, near the Cameroon border, just 10 km (6 miles) from the village of Chibok, where more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted in April.

“The were about twenty, well-armed. They came in four-wheel drive vehicles and some motorcycles. Initially, I thought they were soldiers,” survivor Jonah Umaru told Reuters News Agency by telephone.

I Am Into Politics To Serve Ordinary Citizens – Osinbajo

The Vice-Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday said he is into politics to serve ordinary citizens of Nigeria.

Prof Osinbajo, who was speaking to reporters when he terminated his campaign train at a local food restaurant at the Yaba area of Lagos state, said “for me, my first and primary concern is the citizen.

“I will not be interested in politics if it does not concern the people; if it doesn’t concern men and women like myself”, insisting that “it doesn’t make any sense to me”.

Baylor University Receives $2 Million for Chair in Religious Freedom

Baylor University Receives $2 Million for Chair in Religious Freedom
DECEMBER 30, 2014

Baylor University has announced a $2 million gift from Jerry and Susie Wilson of Dallas to establish an endowed chair in its Institute for Studies of Religion.

The Jerry and Susie Wilson Chair in Religious Freedom will lead the university's efforts to strengthen and affirm congressional support of the preservation, protection, and defense of religious freedom. To that end, the holder of the chair will collaborate on projects involving international religious freedom and will work to facilitate the understanding of Christianity in regard to social issues such as women's rights, the rights of refugees, human trafficking, and other forms of human suffering.

Jerry C. Wilson is a retired senior executive and former owner of Titan Specialties Ltd., a manufacturer of oilfield perforating products. Susie Johnston Wilson earned bachelor's and master's of arts degrees in music education from Texas Tech University, where she met her husband.

"Susie and Jerry Wilson are simply two of the most committed and generous Christians I have ever met," said Byron R. Johnson, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences and director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor. "The Wilsons are keenly aware that religious freedom is one of the most important issues of our time, and we are grateful their generosity will allow us to play a critical role in advancing religious liberty."

House On The Rock Church Shows Love This Christmas Through Project Spread

                           

The Christmas season is usually one of festivities and celebration everywhere and House

On The Rock church decided to celebrate with the less privileged in the society by reaching out and sharing gift items in the spirit of love and togetherness.

Over 2,400 families in the Makoko, Ijesha, Jakande and Isale Eko communities were beneficiaries of the Project SPREAD initiative which took place on Saturday, 20th December 2014.

New Video Shows Boko Haram Shooting Civilians At School Dormitory

A gory video released on the internet by Boko Haram insurgents yesterday revealed how the insurgents gathered hundreds of trapped residents of Bama in a school dormitory and shot them point blank, with one of the sect’s leaders describing the victims as infidels who they could no longer fend for under their new rule.

The video, which lasted for nine-minutes and 42 seconds, showed a large hall with bunker beds containing hundreds of civilians, mostly men, lying down in rows as the insurgents, armed with AK47 rifles, pointed the guns at them and shot down one by one.

This came less than 48 hours after it was reported that the terrorists were assembling aged persons in Gwoza town and shooting them point blank. Bama is the next town to Gwoza when coming to Maiduguri town.

Obasanjo is part of Nigeria’s problem–Bishop Chukwuma

Emmanuel Chukwuma, the Anglican Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiasti­cal Province is reputed for speaking his mind on national issues without mind­ing whose ox is gored. In this interview, he commented on diverse national issues in­cluding President Jonathan and General Bu­hari’s presidential candidacies, former Presi­dent Obasanjo’s controversial book and the alleged contempt of court issue which resulted from the book launch, as well as the politics of 2015 in Enugu State.

According to him, the Anglican Church will resist any attempt to deny the church the op­portunity of producing the deputy governor of Enugu State. And on the fate of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Works, Chief Ayogu Eze, and the parallel PDP governorship candidate of the state, the cleric said the best bet for the lawmaker is to sheath his sword and support Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi who is the pre­ferred candidate of Enugu people.

Update 3: Pope urges Muslims to condemn IS

Pope Francis has urged Muslim leaders to condemn the "barbaric violence" being committed in Islam's name against religious minorities in Iraq and Syria as he arrived in neighbouring Turkey for a delicate visit aimed at improving inter-faith ties.

Pope Francis sought to offer a balanced message as he met Turkish political and religious officials at the start of his second trip to the Middle East this year. He reaffirmed that military force was justified to halt the Islamic State group's advance, and called for greater dialogue between Christians, Muslims and people of all faiths to end fundamentalism.

"As religious leaders, we are obliged to denounce all violations against human dignity and human rights," Pope Francis told Mehmet Gormez, Turkey's top cleric and other religious officials gathered at the government-run Religious Affairs Directorate.

Inter-Religious Dialogue And Peaceful Co-existence In Nigeria

German economist Karl Marx’s celebrated dictum, “religion is the opium of the people” still resonates more than 170 years after it was made in 1843.

Religion has remained relevant, though sensitive and intoxicating.

“In the world, organised religion remains the most powerful force in society: more than 4.5 billion people (out of 7 billion) identify with one of the world’s four biggest religions, and that figure is rising,” says Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In Nigeria, the volatility of religion has compelled governments at every level to find means and ways of dousing tension and ensuring peaceful co-existence among adherents of Islam and Christianity-the dominant religions.

African traditional religion, which has lost most its followers to Islam and Christianity, still creates its conflicts but these are dwarfed by Christian/Muslim dichotomy.

In this regard, inter-religious dialogues between Muslims and Christians have been established.

Anglican Church opposes Catholic-Catholic ticket in Enugu guber race

ANGLICAN Communion Bishops under the Enugu Ecclesiastical Province yesterday alleged marginalization of the church in the scheme of things in Enugu state and asked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to pick her governorship running mate from its members or lose support of the Anglican Church.

  Expressing support to the candidature of Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi,  a Catholic, as the consensus candidate of the party in the state, the church said it had suffered untold hardship in the politics of the state, even with her support and contribution to the development ofthe state.

  Addressing reporters in Enugu, Archbishop of the Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, Most Rev Emmanuel Chukwuma, said the Anglican Church was opposed to Catholic/Catholic ticket for the governorship position of the state next year.

Minister endorses murder

Shreveport, Louisiana —A Texas minister and anti-abortion leader endorsed the slaying of doctors who perform abortions, in an interview with The Shreveport Times [8/21/94]. W.N. Otwell, pastor of Heritage Baptist Church, in Nacogdoches, Texas, said, “I didn't do it [the recent murders of two Florida abortionists], but I'm not against those that do.”

Otwell also heads an organization called God's Special Forces, a division of God Said Ministries. About 40 members of his group — many of whom were dressed in camouflage Army clothing and berets — recently demonstrated in front of the Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport. The protestors carried signs saying, “Abortion is murder,” “There will be no murderers of babies in heaven,” and “We have warned you of God's judgement to come!”

Religious institutions update: December 2014 Holland & Knight LLP Nathan A. "Nate" Adams IV

Every year, religious institutions spend millions purchasing insurance of various types from insurance companies. Many will never make claims on the policies remotely equal to their annual investment in premiums. In these circumstances, religious institutions have reason to consider captive insurance in those jurisdictions where it is permitted. Captive insurance companies are insurance companies formed by the insured with the specific objective of insuring risks emanating from a parent company or group of companies. The advantages can be substantial; for example, after "endowing" the captive insurer, the parent no longer has to make annual "premium payments" unless the captive has an unexpected pay out period. Like ordinary insurers, captive insurers must convince regulators that their business is sound from an actuarial and financial perspective. Typically, captive insurance companies hire outside specialists to assist with this. They retain the underwriting profit and investment income, preserve control over how the religious institution pays losses and settles claims, can develop their own forms and rates based on the insured's experience, and, where necessary, may seek reinsurance to protect against remote risks. Captive insurers can tailor their products to exactly the payout history of your organization, whereas commercial insurers typically lump your risks into the risk profile of other organization. By retaining control over settling claims, captives are able to benefit directly from enhanced loss prevention programs and effective claims management. Not all types of insurance can be insured through captives; not all states authorize captives for every type of organization; and not all risk profiles or organizations can benefit from captives. Smaller organizations may want to join together to benefit from captives. Experienced and sophisticated management from at least outside vendors is important. But when the elements for captive insurance are satisfied, it is an excellent way to benefit from effective risk compliance programs and to steward donated resources. Holland & Knight can provide additional information about captive insurance companies if you are interested in learning more.

Catholic Church in Australia links celibacy to child abuse

     The Australian Catholic Church has released a report that suggests, for the first time, that the vow of celibacy could be linked to child abuse involving priests.The Truth, Justice and Healing Council, a supervisory group which has been working closely with the Australian government in a five-year investigation into child abuse by priests, produced the 44-page report.

Opara Urges Christian Pilgrims To Be Good Ambassadors Of Nigeria

John-Kennedy Opara, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, has pleaded with the pilgrims to be good ambassadors of Nigeria.

 He made the appeal on Sunday at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport just before the pilgrims left for the Holy Land.

 He said pilgrimage was for moral and spiritual transformation.

 “Pilgrimage is for moral and spiritual transformation and so I believe that pilgrims will be transformed after this journey.

 “ We also believe that if you have a burden or a challenge, you go to the Lord in prayers and He will meet you at the point of your need.

 “I believe that you will come back as different persons and everyone who relates with you will know that you have an impact on his or her life,’’ Opara said.

RECAP: Pastor's Prediction about What Will Happen In Nigeria This Year

Eight months ago pastor Opeyemi Kayode of Christ Renaissance Christian Church of God whose church is located at Ogba Lagos state made the following predictions.

Top-10 Nollywood Producers In 2014

10.  Ivie Okujaye: She is a Malta Box Office participant, producer, actress, singer and scriptwriter. Movie: Make a Move

9. Seyi Babatope: He is an artist, writer, producer and director. Movie: When Love Happens

Nigeria/Mexico launches economic partnership

The Nigeria/Mexico Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been launched to fast track business opportunities in both countries.

10 Essential Rules For Dating After Divorce

1. Pamper yourself. Divorce is stressful and can take a lot out of you, especially your self-esteem. Treat yourself to a weekend getaway or spa day. Remember, you are worth it! —Marla Martenson

2. Stay connected ... to your female friends for company and support, but stay clear of "male bashing." Keep the conversations positive. Putting down your ex or rehashing old hurts will only keep you in a negative and depressed state if mind. —Marla Martenson

3. Get out and try new things. Trying one new thing per month will give you confidence in yourself and you never know who you might meet. —Marla Martenson

4. Be a leader (not a hunter). A hunter is someone that follows or pursues someone else. It is a short-lived ego boost for the hunted, but ultimately not attractive (you're too easy to get). A leader, however, creates value because he/she has a full life, his time is scarce. You are perceived as being a challenge to get your time and attention, thus, making you more desirable. —Divorced Guys

Interesting facts : Top 4 ways more sex can help your career

Your sex life has a great impact on your work positively or negatively — attitude, productivity, satisfaction, etc. and the benefits spill to your career.Sex for many people is just for procreation while it is just for physical pleasure to others.While both categories are right, many people are not aware of the far-reaching effects of that simple coital connection between two people (and masturbation too).

Sex can give you rewards beyond the tsunamic-ogasms and the feeling of satisfaction that comes with a good round of sweating, tumbling and bed sheet rumpling.Truth is that your sex life has a great impact on your work positively or negatively — attitude, productivity, satisfaction, etc.

Yes, the benefits sex can spill to your career and here are 4 ways this happens:

1 More sex, more money = A research from the Institute for the Study of Labor people who have sex at least four times a week make more money than their peers with less sexual activity. The simple connection here is that with more sex, you are happier and more relaxed so you are more effective and healthier and this means you do your work better, take better decisions and earn higher income.

BUHARI WINS APC'S PRESIDENTIAL TICKET

Former Head of State Buhari has reportedly beaten former VP Atiku Abubakar, current Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, current governor of Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, and the publisher of Leadership newspapers Sam Nda-Isaiah, to win the APC presidential Primary. So he will face president Jonathan at the 2015 presidential election to be held in February 2015.

According to Sahara Reporters, he got about 5,000 votes while Atiku got 954 votes.

BUHARI leads in the APC primaries

It appears the Gen is leading in the A.P.C primaries

INACTIVE YOUTHS: Is there any hope for Nigeria?

It will take at least 50 years to set Nigeria on the right course.

The only category of Nigerians to set Nigeria on the right path to freedom from corruption is the youths but they are neither vigilant nor active in the fight against corruption.

"One of the greatest social problems facing human development in the 21st century Nigeria is the menace of youth violence. Since the re-commencement of democratic rule on 29 May, 1999, the phenomenon of youth violence has assumed a serious dimension.   Murder, robbery, rape, riot, cultism, ethno-religious militancy, kidnapping, vandalism and arson etc have become the features of the nascent democracy. These violent acts pose serious threats in all ramifications to human development".

A.Y. Muhammed

TEN THINGS NIGERIAN YOUTHS MUST DO TO SAVE NIGERIA