Jonathan Lists Achievements, Pledges to make Nigeria Greater in 2014............... President Goodluck Jonathan has pledged to build on the achievements recorded by his administration in 2013 to make Nigeria even greater. The President said in his New Year message to Nigerians that despite several continuing domestic and global challenges, the year 2013 witnessed many positive developments, which the country must strive to build on in 2014. Reviewing the various achievements, the President said his administration diligently implemented its agenda for national transformation in priority areas, including power, rehabilitation and expansion of national infrastructure, agricultural development, education and employment generation. In spite of the estimated 1.6 million new jobs he said were created in the country in 2013 as a result of his government’s policies and actions, the President said more jobs are still needed to support the country’s growing population. “Our economic priorities will be stability and equitable growth, building on the diverse sectors of our economy,” the President said. In 2013, he said government commenced the implementation of the National Industrial Revolution Plan, NIRP, aimed at industrializing Nigeria and diversifying the economy into sectors such as agro-processing, light manufacturing, and petrochemicals. In addition, he said Nigeria also successfully negotiated a strong Common External Tariff, CET, agreement with the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, partners on the need to protect the country’s strategic industries from foreign domination. As a result of his administration’s backward integration policies, Mr. Jonathan said Nigeria moved from being a net importer to a net exporter of cement, with its production capacity growing from just 2 million metric tonnes in 2002 to about 28.5 million metric tonnes today. “For the first time in our history, we have Foreign direct investment into Nigeria has also been strong. In fact, for the second year running, the UN Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD, has named Nigeria as the No.1 destination for investments in Africa,” he said. He noted the revolution in the agricultural sector, saying his administration successfully tackled corruption in the input distribution system during the year, as farmers now obtain their fertilizers and seeds directly through an e-wallet system. About 4.2 million farmers, he said, received subsidized inputs through the programme in 2013; a scheme, he said, has restored dignity to our farmers. Apart from the production of over 8 million metric tonnes of additional food during the year, the President said his administration was able to bring inflation down to its lowest level since 2008 partly due to higher domestic food production. The country’s food import bill, he said, was reduced from N1.1 trillion in 2011, to N648 billion in 2012, pointing out that this has now placed Nigeria firmly on the path to food self-sufficiency. On achievements in other sectors of the economy, the President said between 2007 and 2013, allocation for education almost tripled from N224 billion to N634 billion, apart from additional efforts towards improved access to education in the country. These included the construction of 125 Almajiri schools, and the establishment of three additional Federal Universities in the North, bringing to 12, the number of universities established by the present administration. Also, about 352 laboratories were rehabilitated, while 72 new libraries were constructed in the Federal Unity Schools and laboratories rehabilitated in all the 51 Federal and State polytechnics across the country. Mr. Jonathan also assured that his administration would continue to prioritize investments in key sectors such as infrastructure development, power, roads, rail transportation and aviation. Apart from the completion of the privatization of four power generation companies and 10 power distribution companies, Mr. Jonathan said government was also in the process of privatizing 10 power plants under the National Integrated Power Projects, NIPP. To ensure effective evacuation and distribution of power generated, he said an additional $1.5 billion was advanced for the upgrade of the transmission network to boost electricity delivery to beyond 18 hours per day

Top 10 Most Visited Cities in the World........... 10. Kuala Lumpur The capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur is home to the beautiful Petronas Towers, the tallest buildings worldwide from 98 to 04. Around 8.9 million people visit this city each year. 9. Frankfurt Frankfurt is ranked in the 9th position as one of the most sought-after destinations because the number for tourist visitors has increased to over 8 million. This is not a big surprise since this city is filled with many markets, just like Hong Kong, Paris and London. 8. Dubai This city is renowned as the world’s shopping capital. It is now ranked as the eighthmost popular tourist destinationsbecause of the rapid growth in tourism. Dubai is the place for some of the richest people in the world, plus it is famous for having the tallest building, wild park attraction, indoor ski slopes, and much more. 7. Madrid The Spanish capital Madrid is ranked as the seventhmost visited citiesdue to its rich historical and cultural heritage. The city is also Spain’s economic capital and nerve center. 6. Hong Kong With over 11 million tourists visiting each year, Hong Kong is well-known for high property rents and is a major harbor for free trade. This city is appealing because of its diverse contrasts of beautiful cityscapes and spiraling mountains, far-reaching green countryside and heritage sites. 5. Istanbul Asone of the most popular tourist destinations, Istanbul economy and tourism is advancing rapidly with its tourists increasing to 14.7% over the past few years. It now ranks fifth on thetop 10 most visited cities list.Istanbul’s main attractions include the palaces, mosques, restaurants, a delicious cousin as well as its warm and friendly people 4. Singapore With over nine million visitors each year, the city of Singapore is one of the most loved andvisited cities in the world. Besides that, Singapore is truly a melting pot of various cultures as its population consists of people from different ethnic origins such as Indians, Chinese and Malays. 3. Bangkok As the capital of Thailand, Bangkok ranks 1st in Asia and 3rd in the world as one of the most visited places. This small corner of the earth hosts an astonishing 12.2 million people visit each year. Some of the big tourist attractions include the Wat Arun, Grand Palace and Wat Pho. 2. Paris The beautiful city of Paris is of course the most visited place in France and the second on the list of the most visited places worldwide for tourists. It is also considered one of the best cities to work and live in. Not only does Paris have an outstanding public transportation facility, but it offers a high quality of living. 1. London London falls as the most popular tourist cities in the world making its Heathrow airport being one of the busiest worldwide. People visit London especially for its beautiful gardens and parks, architecture and museums. Share this:

For last year's words belong to last year's language And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning. Happy New Year 2014

The Osun State has threatened to sanction some banks over their failure to post revenue collected on behalf of the state through the e-payment system.
The government threatened to delist the errant banks from the state revenue collector’s list.
Acting Chairman of the State Internal Revenue Service, Dayo Oyebanji, said some banks operating in the state owed government N1 billion.
Oyebanji said the debts were also part of taxes deducted from their staff and other rates but which the banks had refused to remit to the state government.
“Please be informed that our board would be left with no other option than to disdain your bank provided you failed to settle your backduty liabilities mainly on PAYE (pay as you earn) and withholding taxes for the year 2012,” the official stated in a warning letter issued to banks.
All banks in the state have been given up to Tuesday to comply with the directive.
The letter further stated, “The delay in posting revenue collected on behalf of the government through the e-payment system into the general revenue account impedes the flow of income; and the government has resolved that non-compliant banks shall be delisted from the list of revenue collection agents of the state government.”
The letter warned that the state government would do all it could to discourage such “unholy acts” and checkmate all other “unwholesome practices” in the banking sector within the state.

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wishing you all a wonderful and succesful Day

New Music: Kayode - Wajo

New Music: Kayode - Wajo

New music from fast rising singer Kayode, titled Wajo. Listen below and read more about him after the cut..