When you are troubled sexually go and look for prostitutes”: Grace Mugabe

Grace Mugabe, wife of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has been blasted for what critics say is the ‘promotion of prostitution’.

According to online reports, civil rights groups have accused the Zimbabwean first lady of indirectly encouraging sex trade in the country.

This comes after Grace Mugabe’s speech at a World Blood Donation Day function in Chinhoyi on Saturday.
Describing the rape of young children as "embarrassing" and "very bad", the first lady was also quoted as saying: “Baba vakataura wani kuti kana zvanetsa, munongotsvaka ma prostitutes”. (Didn’t the President say when you are troubled sexually go and look for prostitutes).

In addition to reportedly saying that men should buy sex from prostitutes rather than force themselves on innocent young girls, Mugabe also suggested the ‘death penalty’ for such crimes.

"Looking at men, I am saying while others are donating blood to improve life, some are destroying that life," she said.

"I think people who commit such heinous crimes should be immediately sent to the gallows…to be beheaded. I don't see the reason why we should consider anything else," bulawayo24.com quoted her saying.

About 486 Suspected Boko Haram Members Arrested in Abia State

There was heightened fear in parts of the South-East on Monday as news spread that hundreds of persons suspected to be Boko Haram members were arrested in Abia State.

The suspects, including eight women, were said to have been arrested along the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway by soldiers attached to the 144 Battalion of the Nigerian Army, Asa in the Ukwa West Local Government Area on Sunday.

Their arrest occurred some hours after security operatives detonated improvised explosive devices planted on the premises of a branch of the Living Faith World Bible Church (a.k.a. Winners Chapel) in Owerri, Imo State.

Before the Commander of the 144 Battalion, Lt. Col. Rasheed Omolori, announced the suspects’ arrest, the South-East governors vowed after paying a solidarity visit to President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja that they would not allow Boko Haram to attack the zone.

Omolori had told journalists at a news conference that his men intercepted a convoy of 33 buses conveying 486 suspected insurgents aged between 16 and 24 around 3am on Sunday.

The suspects, according to him, claimed to have come from different parts of the North in search of jobs.

He added that two of the 33 buses escaped with their occupants and that the incident had been reported to the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.

The Abia State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dr. Eze Chikamnayo, who was at the briefing alongside the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Charles Ajunwa, said the large number of vehicles conveying the suspects made the soldiers suspicious.

Wondering how such a long motorcade could not be intercepted by security personnel until it reached Abia State, Chikamnayo said it was also baffling that none of the suspects was able to identify the location they were heading for.

He however said that the Army and other security agencies in the state were working to uncover the actual mission of the suspects and those behind their movement.

The commissioner advised every state to work hand-in-hand with their security personnel to check insurgency in the country.

“Every security problem is local and if we handle it locally it will be nipped in the bud,” he said.

In Abuja, the South-East governors told State House correspondents that they were prepared to avert any plot by Boko Haram to attack the zone.

Governor Willy Obiano of Anambra State, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues said, “They (Boko Haram) can’t get there (South-East). I can assure you of that. We will not allow that to happen.

Kanye West spoke at a conference in Cannes this morning, and he used the opportunity to talk about Apple's acquisition of Beats and the importance of companies connecting with culture at large. According to Adweek, West posed that Apple's purchase never would have happened if Jay Z hadn't struck a deal with Samsung last year to have his album debut on its phones. It was a controversial deal and a shrewd business move, but it gave Samsung a level of cool that's generally hard to buy.

"IT SHOWED THAT [IOVINE] AND DRE WOULD BE ABLE TO CONNECT WITH THE NUMBER ONE INFLUENCERS"

"There would have been no Beats deal without the Samsung deal. It showed the number one company the importance of connecting with culture," West said, according to Adweek.

West is a big fan of Apple, and in particular Steve Jobs. Yet he isn't quite as excited by Samsung, despite respecting its partnership with Jay Z.

"The reason I said I didn't like Samsung particularly is because throughout my entire life, because of how my parents raised me, I have to work with the number one," West said, citing Jay Z, his wife, and Louis Vuitton as things he sees as numbers ones. "Samsung is not quite Apple, but it showed that Jimmy [Iovine] and Dre would be able to connect with the number one influencers."

West reportedly thinks that Apple has lost some of its touch at connecting with culture lately, and he sees the Beats' acquisition as a way to start getting that back. He says that the decline began after the death of Jobs, who he cites as his biggest influence. "Just seeing the way he fought to make things easier for people," West said, according toAdweek.

Jobs' intentions speak to a big part of what West believes companies and products should be doing for people. West says that time is the ultimate luxury, and that people want to buy things that can assist them. "It's not all these brands that we just drove by that are somehow selling our esteem back to us through association," he said.

During his talk, West also spoke a bit about Instagram too, which apparently he has some interest in redesigning. "I said to [Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom], why don't you let us redo Instagram?" West said, reports Adweek. "Now, you know, Instagram is nice. It's nice looking. I'm not knocking it. But just in general, everyone spends all of their time looking at their screens or their phones. And just as a simple task, we could clean that up." He also said that his wedding photo was worked on for four days before it was good enough to post on Instagram.

West stressed the importance of good taste and design, saying that the internet and the world as a whole were ugly. "I believe that bad taste is vulgar. It's like cursing. I think the world can be saved through design," West said. "Because what is the most distasteful thing someone can do? Kill someone. So, good taste is the opposite of that."

  BREAKING NEWS!!!................................ AT EDO STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
 


Reports from Edo State, House of Assembly suggest that the Speaker of the  Assembly, Uyi Igbe, has been suspended.The Nation reports that nine members of the house who belong to the People Democratic Party, PDP, including suspended Deputy Speaker, Festus Ebea this morning suspended the Speaker in a gestapo style sitting. It was gathered that the PDP lawmakers stormed the assembly complex in an unmarked bus and broke into the hallowed which was under lock and key. A mobile policeman was said to have assisted them in the break in.  Speaker Uyi Igbe Those who witnessed the situation informed that an armed security man who was guarding the assembly complex took to his heels when the lawmakers stormed the house. It was gathered that Igbe and six other members of the house were suspended in a sitting that lasted five minutes and presided over by Ebea. Having realised what had happened, the report stated that the suspended speaker stormed the chamber with other lawmakers and a free for all fight broke out. According to sources, when policemen who
arrived at the scene later fired tear gas was into the hallowed chamber. the lawmakers scampered
for safety. Governor Adams OshiomholeIt was gathered that the security operatives also used tear gas to chase away thugs who were at the assembly complex.It could be recalled that Governor Adams
Oshiomhole had said last week that some lawmakers in the assembly had received some
huge money from Abuja to ensure the removal of the speaker and his impeachment. As at the time of compiling this report, no statement has been released by the Edo State government on this matter.

Girl Who Escaped Opens Up: Boko Haram Rapés Us Everyday

As you read this, the over 200 female students abducted on April 14 from Government Girls School,Chibok, in Borno State are passing through hard times, with some of them being rapéd for as much as 15 times a day.
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One of the abducted girls who managed to escape made this shocking revelations.

  According Daily Mirror, “Families of the schoolgirls, aged between 15 to 18, are certain their daughters are now being used as séx slaves by an extreme sect that has killed 1,500 people since the start of this year alone. They are captives in the wild Sambisa Forest in north-east Nigeria where Boko Haram has a heavily armed camp of bunkers, tunnels, ramshackle buildings and tents.

“One girl who recently escaped following an earlier kidnapping said she was prized as a terror leader’s wife because she had been a virgin. She said young female captives were raped up to 15 times a day, forced to convert to Islam and had their throats cut if they refused.”

Daily Mirror said that “under President Goodluck Jonathan, the Nigerian government appears to have done little except issue an entirely false claim that most of the girls had been rescued by defence forces.”

It quotes Mma Odi, executive director of the Nigerian charity Baobab Women’s Human Rights, as saying:
“It is a very bad situation for those girls. The men went to the school for no other reason than to make them their sex objects. The men will have reduced them to sex slaves, raping them over and over again. And any girl who tries to resist will be shot by them. They have no conscience.

“The conditions will be terrible and it seems like the government has just abandoned them because they are girls and they are poor. If they were the sons of the rich, the government would act. Their abductors are not human beings and if the girls get out they will no longer be normal. They will have to have years of counselling to recover.”

Also indicting the Jonathan led administration, Professor Hauwa Biu, a women’s rights campaigner based at the University of Maiduguri, told Daily Mirror: “They claim they are on top of the situation, that they are in the bush, but they are not there. If the government had acted straight away then they could have followed the gunmen’s footsteps or tyre tracks, but over the past weeks rain and leaves have fallen, covering them up.

“Meanwhile, nobody knows what kind of conditions they will be living in the camp. I cannot think what these girls must be going through. I have been told that the men feed them and treat them quite well, but we also know that other girls kidnapped have been highly molested.

“If the government had just acted straight away they could have saved these girls.

Professor Dora Akunyili Passes Away in India Aged 59

Prof. Dora Akunyili

As family sources have disclosed to Sahara Reporters, former Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control and ex minister of Information, Professor Dora Akunyili, has died today.

She passed away at the age of 59 at an Indian Hospital where she has been receiving treatment for an undisclosed ailment.

She was born Dora Nkem Akunyili in July 1954 in Makurdi, Benue State. Apart from holding highest offices in the NAFDAC and Ministry of Information and Communications, she was a pharmacist and governmental administrator. For her achievements, she gained international recognition and won hundreds of awards for her work in pharmacology, public health and human rights sectors.

In April 2011, Akunyili ran for the post of the Senator for Anambra Central on the All Progressive Grand Alliance platform, but lost to Chris Ngige of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

In late May 2014, former Governor of Anambra State Peter Obi visited her at an Indian hospital and reported that she was "responding well to the treatment".

Chibok school girls

One of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls who managed to escape from her abductors who held them hostage in Sambisa forest has revealed that the camps they were taken to were all trees and shrubs, with no buildings for shelter.

Some of the escapees during their visit to Gov. Shettima
The 20-year-old student who pleaded anonymity disclosed this to journalist during their visit to Shettima, the governor of Borno state at the Government house in Maiduguri.
The Chibok school girls who luckily escaped Boko Haram's den were recently hosted by the Borno state governor.
The escapee said after they were abducted, the insurgents tore through the forest, avoiding trees and thick shrubs and even when the tyres of the car burst, they kept moving until they got to the place where they said was their destination, adding that there was no visible road leading to the place.
Describing where they were taken to, the escapee said, "The place they took us to after abducting us from the school was all forest with short trees and shrubs everywhere. There is no single building or house there, but there are tents made from plastic sheets in some places. I don’t know if that is where they call Sambisa. Some of the areas are thick and dark; some places have pools of water."
Explaining how she managed to escape, she said it was when they were asked to go and fetch water the next day that she and some other girls summoned courage and ran as fast as they could, far away from their abductors.
"We ran all day, we kept on running until we got to some place where we were assisted by villagers to get home," she said.
According to her, she doubted whether the other girls who are still in being held hostage were comfortable there.
It was reported on May 29 that the Borno State Commissioner for Education, Musa Kubo revealed that a total of the 30 escaped girls have reunited with their families.
The Borno state governor had hosted the Chibok School Girls who were lucky to escape from Boko Haram's den after being kidnapped by the sects in Borno, on April 14.
Governor Shettima promised to relocate the girls to safer schools in different states of the nation, from Abuja to Lagos so as to complete their studies.
READ MORE:  http://news.naij.com/67548.html

Menopause and treatments

       There are treatments for menopause. We interviewed Dr. Vivien Brown, a family physician in Toronto who is certified by the North American Menopause Society as an expert in menopause and women's health. NAMS is a leading North American nonprofit organization that helps to promote the health and quality of life of women through the understanding of menopause. Dr. Brown gave her opinion on some frequently asked questions about treatment options for menopause symptoms.

What are the risks associated with estrogen use? Should women be concerned?
     We need to be clear in what form of estrogen we are talking about. There is a significant difference between what we call systemic estrogen (estrogen that gets into the body either by mouth or by the skin, such as via a patch or topical gel) and topical or local estrogen (applied to the tissues directly into the vagina, also referred to as vaginal estrogen).
The two most common concerns for women with respect to systemic estrogen are the increased risk of breast cancer and the increased risk of heart disease. Both of these risks depend on the individual woman, the time since menopause (i.e., how long ago they first reached menopause), and her individual risk profile. She needs to discuss this with her physician. The actual risk increase associated with estrogen use is very small. It's also important to note that using estrogen around the time of menopause is much less risky than using it in older woman who have already gone through menopause.
      Vaginal estrogen (such as vaginal tablet, vaginal ring, or vaginal cream) is a product that acts locally. In other words, these products act on symptoms of menopause affecting only the vagina and surrounding area. Vaginal estrogen is a very low-risk product because very small - almost immeasurable - amounts of estrogen are absorbed by the body. For that reason, these products usually are considered very safe. Currently there is no evidence of increased risk of breast cancer or cardiovascular disease with using vaginal estrogen.

What types of products are available to treat hot flashes?
     Lifestyle treatments are always helpful. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and spicy foods, which can trigger hot flashes. Dress in layers so that you can remove clothing when you are getting too warm. Please stop smoking.
    There is some evidence that the herbal product black cohosh works well for hot flashes. Talk to your doctor or other health care professional about whether it is suitable for you.
Prescription products used for hot flashes include hormonal treatments (e.g., hormone replacement therapy) and other non-hormonal medications.

  What types of products are available to treat vaginal dryness and irritation?
If vaginal dryness is the only symptom, it's best not to use a systemic estrogen. Over-the-counter products (lubricants such as Astroglide® or KY Jelly®, or moisturizers such as Replens®) can be tried. Usually by the time a woman sees her doctor, she would have already tried these products and they are not working, so vaginal estrogen can be tried. There are 3 types in Canada: tablet, ring, and cream.

How menopause affects women

How menopause affects women

The transition through menopause and reaching menopause is experienced by some women as a huge physical and emotional change. Others breeze through it without care or worry. Most of us, though, sit somewhere in the middle.
To get a doctor's perspective, we interviewed Dr. Vivien Brown, a family physician in Toronto who is certified by the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) as an expert in menopause and women's health. NAMS is a leading North American nonprofit organization that helps to promote the health and quality of life of women through the understanding of menopause. Dr. Brown gave her opinion on some frequently asked questions about the symptoms of menopause and how menopause can affect a woman's life.
What impact can menopause have on a woman's life?
Menopause is not a disease. Menopause is a time of transition where the levels of a woman's female hormones such as estrogen begin to decline. Many women may approach this time of their life with a preconceived view of what it means to them, shaped by watching their mother and other female relatives experience menopause. Some women cope better with it than others, and although it's a normal feature of aging, for some women it has a huge impact and can alter their comfort level with their own bodies.
The symptoms of menopause can have a huge impact on a woman's life.
What are the symptoms of menopause? What do you typically see in practice? How common are vaginal symptoms? How common are hot flashes?
Menopause can cause vaginal dryness, hot flashes, sexual dysfunction, joint pain, depression, mood changes, metabolism changes, and sleep disturbances.
Everyone is familiar with hot flashes, but menopause does not equal hot flashes. Some women may not even experience hot flashes.
Vaginal dryness is a common symptom and not necessarily one that women discuss freely or even associate with menopause. There can be discomfort with sexual intercourse if vaginal dryness is not treated.
Sleep disturbance may be related to hot flashes, but not always. Some women may just have trouble sleeping through the night.
The most common symptoms I see in practice are vaginal dryness and hot flashes - these are the symptoms that would often prompt someone to see their doctor.
Most women going through menopause may have some symptoms, but not all are necessarily disabling. I like to compare this situation to women in pregnancy - some women are fine, while others experience nausea and vomiting to varying degrees.
What is vaginal atrophy and how does this affect a woman going through menopause?
Vaginal atrophy is when the normal mucous lining of the vagina loses estrogen and the vagina becomes more fragile. It tears and bleeds more easily, and there is no longer the normal stretch and lubrication that are important in sexual activity.
The vaginal dryness a woman experiences at the beginning of her transition to menopause may not be bothersome and over-the-counter products may help. As a woman transitions further into menopause, the dryness becomes more significant, the tissue gets rawer, there is less elasticity, and the woman gets more uncomfortable with sexual intercourse. She may also experience problems relating to her bladder, such as bladder control issues and more frequent urinary tract infections.
It's very important to note that time will not heal vaginal atrophy. Vaginal atrophy doesn't improve without treatment and, in general, vaginal atrophy gets worse with age.

SEXUAL HEALTH

What’s “normal”? Behind any discussion of sexual problems lies an incredibly loaded question: Exactly what is normal, healthy sexual response and function?
The World Health Organization defines sexual health as a “state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality; it is not merely the absence of disease, dysfunction or infirmity.”
A more comprehensive definition may be hard to come by, since normal sexual response and function is about as individualistic as anything can be. Each person has his or her own standard of what sexual health or satisfaction is, based on his or her individual culture, background, personal sexual experiences, and biological makeup. This individual variation seems to be especially strong among women.

Does the problem bother you or your partner? That said, a few basic principles are common to what’s considered healthy sexual response and function for most people:

• Some degree of desire for sex
• An ability to enjoy sex
• Comfort with your level of sexual desire, response, and function

The issue is not the sexual “problem” or condition itself but whether it is bothersome or troubling to the person or partners involved.

The question of being troubled is key when it comes to any potential sexual disorder, since the issue is not the sexual “problem” or condition itself but whether it is bothersome or troubling to the person or partners involved. For instance, if both partners in a couple are content to live without an active sex life, then a condition such as vaginal dryness or erectile difficulty does not really represent sexual dysfunction. Similarly, a woman who notices some decline in sexual desire over time may not be troubled by it if she is not in a relationship. However, if she meets a partner with high libido, she may start to see her low sex drive as a problem.
How are problems defined? Sexual response is usually described as having four phases: desire, arousal, orgasm, and resolution. Likewise, sexual problems are often discussed in terms of these phases, so that interest in sex (desire) is understood to be different from the physical changes the body undergoes in anticipation of sex (arousal), both of which are different from the experience of the sex act itself (response/pleasure/orgasm). While all of these phases are related and sexual problems can include elements from more than one phase, different factors can be involved in problems at each phase.

MENOPAUSE PROBLEM IN WOMEN

“Your generation didn’t invent sex,” parents have been reminding teenagers and young adults for generations.
Likewise, today's generation of midlife women isn’t the first one to pass through menopause and discover its effects on sexuality. And that’s something we can all be grateful for, since our understanding of how menopause and aging affect sexual health has grown a lot in recent years.
This online resource is designed to share that understanding with women (and their partners) who want to get a handle on what menopause might mean for their sex lives. Although most women experience some changes in sexual function as they age, menopause and aging certainly do not signal the end of a woman’s sex life.
This resource is divided into topical sections easily accessible through the links in the column on the left. We start by reviewing midlife changes related to menopause and aging. We then discuss common sexual problems at midlife and explore their typical causes. Next comes the really good information: a large section devoted to the many safe and effective treatments and interventions available for addressing sexual problems. We conclude with a directory of resources for more information and responses to frequently asked questions.
As you review the information here, keep in mind that the effect of menopause and aging on sexual health can vary widely from one woman to another. Regardless of how much this content reflects your own experience, we hope you’ll discuss your sexual health and satisfaction with your partner and with your healthcare provider. Sex and menopause are totally appropriate subjects for discussion in the healthcare setting, and solutions to midlife sexual problems are out there for the taking.

Politics: LP receives defectors in Osun State

Alhaji Fatai Akinbade

The governorship ambition of Alhaji Fatai Akinbade of the Labour Party in Osun State, has received the needed boost following the defection of some members of Accord Party in Isokan Local Government area of the state to the party.

A statement by his Director of Media, Mr. Kayode Oladeji, said the defectors led by Mr. Adeola Adeniyi, cut across the 11 wards in the local government.

While receiving the new members on Tuesday, Akinbade and the state chairman of the party, Mr. Timothy Olatunji, noted that the defectors had taken the right step by choosing the party over others in the state.

Speaking further, the governorship candidate who was the former Secretary to the State Government, admonished other contenders and stakeholders in the forthcoming election slated for August 9, 2014, not to create tension through unguarded utterances capable of creating avoidable conflicts.

 
 

      Saying that this is certainly not the best of times for star actress, Ini Edo will mean, re-enacting the obvious, as unconfirmed but scary information filtering in from very impeccable insiders reveals that her US-based hubby, Philip Ehiagwina, is currently under the watchful eyes of America’s dreaded Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Ehiagwina was brought before the apex investigative body by his estranged wife, Ruth Okoro.

     The aggrieved ex-lover spilled the beans in a recent tirade targeted at Nollywood bad boy, Jim Iyke. Embittered Okoro is upset that her estranged hubby allegedly tricked her into marriage just to obtain the American Green Card coveted by many immigrants. “One of my (ex) husband’s mistresses Nkiru who lives in Houston, Texas set him up after she found out that my husband betrayed his wife (me) and lied to me. She decided to set him up with an audio coverage and got every proof, he confessed about playing me for a green card on tape.”

       Hear her bombshell: “At the moment, he has a case with the United States Immigration and the FBI is also on this case. It is a very long story. I have decided to speak to the press and bring the truth to the table at this moment.” I was very upset about it and fought for the truth. My husband (Philip) met me as a virgin and took my virginity on a night of our honeymoon. For him to paint a bad picture of me simply because I reported his green card fraud to the FBI since he has refused to confide in me is something I never saw coming but I will fight to the end.”

However, since last week when Okoro came to the public domain with her allegations, neither Philip Ehiagwina nor his celebrity spouse, Ini Edo has made any official response.

“Those supporting Jim Iyke right now should know he destroyed my marriage. Okoro further threw some dirts in the direction of controversial actor, Iyke.

      According to her, the actor who tried hard to date her was one of the reasons she is separated. She added, ”In 2005 Jim Iyke started heating on me since when I refused his advances and reported him to my husband Philip Ehiagwina, now Ini Edo’s husband. Jim Iyke tried to talk me out of telling my husband and when I insisted he got upset and decided to set Emeka Ike up because he is the only person I confided in. When I was invited to Maryland to feature in a movie, alongside Keturah Hamilton, Emeka Ike was there and I always confided in him and asked questions. Emeka Ike and his wife Emma have been my friends for over 11 years now, I visited them when I visit Nigeria,” she revealed.

      Meanwhile, an insider who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity disclosed that fear has gripped Ini Edo following the startling revelation that her Edo State-born ‘businessman’ hubby is currently being watched and trailed by the FBI and may eventually face deportation.

Onazi: MATCH FIXING

A potential match fixer has been caught on film suggesting he could arrange a yellow card during a World Cup game for more than £41,000 and a penalty for £81,000, Mailonline reports.

Football agent Henry Chukwuma Okoroji was caught telling an undercover reporter that he could fix games and organise certain outcomes during the tournament which starts in Brazil later this month.

It comes just days after the National Crime Agency investigated allegations that a friendly between Nigeria and Scotland had been targeted by criminal syndicates.

Speaking from a hotel room in Milan, Italy, the businessman and his associate, only known as Joe, told the reporter a list of prices he would have to pay for different outcomes, including a a red card.

He said a yellow card would set them back 50,000 euros (£40,660) and a penalty 100,000 euros (£81,370).

In an attempt to enhance their credibility, the pair also invited Lazio and Nigerian footballer Ogenyi Onazi to the meeting, however there is no suggestion he was involved any fixing plot.

Account for your allocations, Okonjo-Iweala dares govs

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

    Minister of Finance
     
     The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has challenged state governors to tell Nigerians what they do with the huge allocations they receive regularly from the Federal Government.

      According to the minister, many of the states get monetary allocations that far outweigh the annual budget of some neigbouring countries to Nigeria.

Okonjo-Iweala spoke on Sunday at Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, while delivering the Babcock University’s convocation lecture entitled: ‘Transforming Nigeria’s economy: Opportunities and challenges’.

      Okonjo-Iweala, who urged Nigerians to be more discerning, noted that the governors had no reason not to develop their states, given the huge amounts they regularly got from Federation Account.

      According to her, it is high time Nigerians held their governors accountable over the money collect on their behalf to accelerate development of their states.

     Noting that the constitution had placed the provision of some basic public services on the concurrent list, making it the joint responsibilities of the three arms of government, she decried that Nigerians seldom asked what the governors were doing to develop their states.

Okonjo-Iweala said, “Clearly, the Federal Government cannot do it alone; we need the private sector to work with us and we have reached out to them in transforming Nigeria. But, in addition to that, we should ask ourselves what is the role of the state and local governments in supporting our transformation.

“A lot of attention is turned on the Federal Government. So, we also need to ask what our states and local governments do with the resources they get.”

The minister said the states were getting their monthly allocations, adding that the information was being published in the media so that the people would know what accrued to the federal, state and local governments.

She added, “We need to ask more questions; poverty eradication and building of infrastructure are not only by the Federal Government. In 2013, the top 10 allocations were going to the following states: Akwa Ibom, N260bn; Rivers, N220bn; Delta N209bn; Bayelsa, N173bn; Lagos, N168bn; Kano, N140bn; Katsina, N103bn; Oyo, N100bn; Kaduna N97bn; and Borno at number 10 with N94bn.

“These were the allocations all these states got last year. The question is what did they do with the money?”

Ray-J Arrested For Vandalism, Spits On Police Officer

Singer Ray-J has been arrested in Los Angeles for public disturbance.

The singer was asked to leave the property by the hotel security and refused, leading to police intervention.

Ray-J resisted arrest, spitting on an officer and kicking out the window of a patrol car.

He was booked for trespassing, vandalism, resisting arrest and battery of a police officer, and was held on $20,000 bail.