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Power, Defence, Transport Take Lion Share Of Capital Releases From 2016 Budget

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The Ministry of Power has received the highest capital release of N209.246 billion (as of October 31, 2106) out of the total of N753.633 billion budgeted for 2016 capital projects for the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of the federal government.

Data exclusively obtained in Abuja showed that the Ministry of Defence came second in capital releases with N69.512billion, followed by Transport, N30,540,042,428; Agriculture, N29,578,929,050; Water Resources N25,201,857,951; Interior, N21,210,059,596; Health, N18,472,539,524; and Education, N16,743,672,981.

Others include Niger Delta, N8,161,196,486; Science and Technology, N6,681,349,721; Mines & Steel, N3,360,000,000; Petroleum, N2,413,847,044, and others, N312,511,048,789.
The federal government stated recently that it had so far spent N3.577 trillion out of N6.060 trillion budgeted for the 2016 fiscal year, which translates to 79 per cent performance of the prorated budget for the three quarters.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, said in addition to the total of N2,439.9trillion so far released for capital, non-debt recurrent and service-wide vote expenditure, a total of N1,137.7 trillion had also been paid out in domestic and foreign debt service expenditures.

This includes N44 billion transferred to the sinking fund to retire maturing obligations on bonds issued to contractors. The national planning ministry further stated that budgeted personnel cost and debt service obligations had been fully met on schedule till date.

“Additionally, the federal government has done reasonably well in the challenging circumstances with respect to capital expenditures. It is noteworthy that the total amount of N753.6billion already released for capital expenditure in 2016 is the highest in the nation’s recent history, even in the era of high oil prices,” the Ministry of Budget and National Planning had stated.

The minister added that the capital that had been released to date exceed the aggregate capital expenditure budget for 2015 of N700billion, inclusive of capital expenditure in statutory transfers.

At an interactive session with members of the Senate Committee on Appropriation in Abuja recently, Udoma said in spite of the shortfall in revenue expectations, the federal government was committed to its debt obligations and had also made efforts in funding the critical sectors to enable government function smoothly, while seeking lasting solutions to revenue shortfalls.

The minister explained that although the 2016 budget was well conceived, with reasonably conservative benchmarks, it recorded unanticipated revenue shortfalls along the line due to militants’ activities in the oil-producing Niger Delta region, a development which seriously affected the budgeted production levels for the fiscal year.

He further explained that government adopted a targeted approach with respect to capital expenditure to ensure that releases are consistently made to those sectors whose activities have the capacity of driving economic growth and fostering job creation.
He said particular attention was focused on infrastructure, agriculture and other areas with high job creation potentials, saying that all the releases had been cash-backed.

It was further gathered that the debt service, which has been implemented up 77 per cent as at September 16, 2016 covers domestic, external and transfer to sinking fund for maturing debts—-full year budget provision for debt service was N1,475.3trillion.

country’s  revenue  generation  mechanism.
He however, stated that the state government would support the auditing and generation of statistics  of the non oil revenue sector by RMAFC.
Leader of the commission’s delegation and Federal Commissioner, Sanya Omirin, said the team was in the state to conduct a wholistic auditing of the non-oil sector, verify mining companies with licenses, verify mining  leases and confirm  royalties that  accrue from mining.

He added that the commission  was working to bring all mining operators within the tax operations  of the government  for revenue generation .
He said the steps have become necessary  because  of  the  need to diversify  the nation’s economy .

Credit: thisdaylive

3 People You Should Never Take Relationship Advice From (MUST READ)

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1. Anyone who is angry and bitter

Was your best friend a jilted bride or a groom who was stood up at the altar? Don’t ask friends or family with a chip on their shoulder how to win at love. If you hang around them long enough, their attitude could rub off on you. Then no one will want to date you because you have such a bad attitude. Don’t let someone else’s bad experiences warp how you see relationships. Psychologist Randi Gunther said bitterness may temporarily protect you from experiencing painful feelings, but it will only hold you back from finding a fulfilling relationship in the long run. Gunther describes bitterness as emotional poison. “Bitterness hurts, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. People appear to hold on to it to protect themselves from more pain. It does shield them from more hurt, but also from love as well. Cynical relationship seekers, bitter from the heartbreaks of the past, may not allow for a new and dangerous future. That engulfing sorrow holds open a painful wound of disappointed memories, even when the lovers who caused them are long gone,” said Gunther.

2. Someone who hasn’t had a successful relationship

It’s possible you could learn a thing or two about what not to do, but that may not get you very far. When seeking quality love advice, go to someone who has actually had quality relationships. Personal development expert Michael Hyatt said it’s best to get advice from those who have the results you seek. “Here’s my rule of thumb, and it rarely fails me: Never take advice from people who aren’t getting the results you want to experience. If you don’t like what you see in the life of the messenger, it’s usually best to ignore the message,” said Hyatt.

3. Players

If you’re seeking advice from someone who thinks being in a relationship is a game, and quickly getting someone into bed means you’ve “won,” you’re looking in the wrong place. Steer clear of anyone who thinks of relationships simply as a way to pass the time. Mari Ruti, associate professor of critical theory at the University of Toronto, said those who are careless when it comes to love are only doing themselves a disservice. Focusing all of your energy on winning will lead you nowhere. “The trouble with the games of romance is that eventually the mask will have to come off. Eventually you’ll have to reveal who you actually are, and then what? The rules of love may allow you to hoodwink your partner for a while, but ultimately they’ll lead you to a dead end,” said Ruti.

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http://www.cheatsheet.com/health-fitness/people-never-take-relationship-advice.html/?a=viewall

Ministers Take Oath Of Office Today

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The long wait will finally come to an end on Wednesday, as Nigeria’s ministers-designate will take oath of office at the Presidential Villa.

The stage is now set for the ceremony to take place but some of the ministers will not have portfolios, considering the merger of some ministries by the President.

Going by the plans of the Presidency, the ceremony may not be an elaborate one, as each minister-designate is allowed two guests.

In all, 36 ministers-designate have been confirmed by the Senate, but indications from the Presidency showed the ministries have been slashed to 25.

Credit: ChannelsTV

Child Soldiers Take Revenge on ISIS

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Singled out for genocide by the so-called Islamic State and abandoned by the Iraqi Kurds, young Yazidis on Mount Sinjar in Iraq are flocking to the militias and ideology of a quasi-Marxist group blacklisted as a terrorist organization in the West.

Formed into what they’re calling Sinjar Protection Units, or YB?, the Yazidis—both male and female—have sworn to defend their homeland and to avenge ISIS’s campaign of rape, kidnapping and murder.

It’s been just a year now since the jihadists launched their assault on the Yazidis at the beginning of August 2014. ISIS had taken the second biggest city in Iraq, Mosul, weeks before. But Washington, slow to react, did not begin a bombing campaign to try to stop the group’s offensive until August 7 when President Barack Obama announced the United States would start a bombing campaign “to help save thousands of Iraqi civilians who are trapped on a mountain without food and water and facing almost certain death.”

So began America’s reentry into the complex and baffling war in Iraq and eventually Syria as well.

But the operation failed to save thousands of Yazidi men summarily executed and women sold as jihadist slaves, and this small ethno-religious group regarded as infidels and even devil worshippers by the militants of ISIS is still haunted by the shadows of genocide.

When an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the PKK, offered them the chance to train as fighters, they vowed never again. That Ankara, Brussels and Washington brand the guerrilla organization “terrorist” matters not at all.

“I came because I got the chance to protect my people, because this isn’t the first time there’s been a Yazidi genocide,” says 16-year-old female YB? fighter Ari. She says the Yazidis count 74 times others have tried to wipe them out. “I have found a chance to protect us and prevent a next time.”

Dressed in khaki fatigues and a woodland camouflage vest that holds her AK-47 magazines, Ari is relaxing beside half a dozen of her comrades in a house turned barracks on the north slope of Mount Sinjar. Similarly dressed and sipping tea, many are also still in their teens or early 20s.

They all say the Erbil-based Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and its troops known as Peshmerga, closely allied with the United States, abandoned the Yazidis when ISIS attacked their heartland surrounding this mountain in northwestern Iraq.

Read More: thedailybeast