Missing Budget: Dogara Cautioned The Media To Be Professional

                      Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara

According a report from House of Representative, the Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara on Wednesday, January 13, 2016 cautioned the media to be professional and confer with legitimate custodians of documents before misleading the public with their stories. The statement was prompted as regard the rumors making round that the 2016 budget proposal presented to the joint session of the National Assembly in December 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari is missing.

He asked the Clerk to the House to display copies of the Budget proposal which was taken from the box that contained the documents laid before the National Assembly by the President, for the world to see that the stories of missing budget proposal were untrue. The Speaker further directed that lawmakers should secure and verify copies of the budget proposal from the secretariat of the Committee on Appropriation of the House.

Meanwhile, the House has continued debate, amendment and passing of more Bills to bring them to terms with existing realities. On this note, 18 Bills were slated for deliberation and passage for second reading during the plenary. The General Principles of these Bills were debated on the floor of the House and following the majority voice votes of members, the Bills were passed for second reading and referred to relevant Committees for further legislative inputs.

Among the Bills that were passed are ' A Bill for an Act to Repeal the National Inland Waterways Authority Act, Cap. N47, LFN 2004 and to enact the National Inland Waterways Authority Act to provide for the management, regulation and Development of the National Inland Waterways and to promote private sector participation in the development of Inland Waterways in Nigeria and for other related matters (HB.48)', sponsored by Hon. Ossai Nicholas Ossai.

Also, ' A Bill which sought to amend the National Minimum Wage Act, Cap. N6, LFN, 2004 to exclude the establishments that have foreign participation from the list of establishments exempted from payment of National Minimum Wage; and for other matters related thereto (HB.281)' standing in the name of Hon. Peter O. Akpatason.

Substitute Joe Allen scored a 90th-minute equaliser to earn Liverpool a point against leaders Arsenal in a pulsating match at Anfield

Roberto Firmino (right) celebrates after scoring Liverpool's second goal

In a pulsating Anfield affair that produced four goals in the opening 25 minutes on Wednesday night, Liverpool led twice through two Roberto Firmino goals but were pegged back by Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud.

Arsenal's French striker looked to have sealed the points when netting his second on 55 minutes but Allen, who had only been on the pitch for eight minutes, struck as the clock ticked into injury time.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp speaking to BT Sport: "For 60, 70% of the game we played really well. The players created opportunities but they got two easy goals. The first from a set play. For the second, Olivier Giroud is on the ground and we are more influenced by this than Arsenal.

"The third goal, we lose too easy the ball. 

"At the end we made a real good game and needed luck to make the draw and I think we deserved it. 

"It's like a battery, at the beginning you play well, and it goes down as the game goes on. 

"It's an explosion of goals but at the final whistle you cannot ignore there were problems. 

"You have to speak about Roberto Firmino and both his goals were brilliant and he played for the whole time really good."Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp speaking to BT Sport: "For 60, 70% of the game we played really well. The players created opportunities but they got two easy goals. The first from a set play. For the second, Olivier Giroud is on the ground and we are more influenced by this than Arsenal.

"The third goal, we lose too easy the ball. 

"At the end we made a real good game and needed luck to make the draw and I think we deserved it. 

"It's like a battery, at the beginning you play well, and it goes down as the game goes on. 

"It's an explosion of goals but at the final whistle you cannot ignore there were problems. 

"You have to speak about Roberto Firmino and both his goals were brilliant and he played for the whole time really good."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger speaking to BBC Sport: "I'm very disappointed but, overall, I cannot fault the effort and commitment of the team. 

"We had a difficult start. At 3-2, we should have made it 4-2 and didn't make the right decision in final third.

"Liverpool fought until the last second.

"I felt we had an apprehensive start. We had some bad memories from a few years ago and you could still see that in some players. We went 1-0 down and then we started to play. We come out of the game with a lot of positive but still some regrets."

Fashion blogger Gabi Fresh launches her Sexy collection with SwimsuitsForAll

Blogger Gabi Fresh is throwing the swimsuit industry a curve.

Big girls have bikini bodies, too.

Plus-size fashion blogger Gabi Gregg - better known as Gabi Fresh - designs fabulous “fatkinis” for women sizes 12 to 24 that are making a splash.

“I tell my girls to forget every fashion rule,” says Gregg, 29, whose fourth Swim Sexy collection with SwimsuitsForAll goes on sale Tuesday.

“The message that [larger ladies] get when it comes to fashion is constantly what not to wear: If you’ve got big hips, minimize them by wearing black; don’t wear this cut because it makes you look bigger,” she explains.

“Break out of that! Play with those trends you love. You can rock a lot of things you didn’t think you could.”

Gregg went viral in May 2012 after posting a photo gallery of 31 full-figured women in titillating two-piece suits that showcased their curves rather than hiding them.

The "queen of bikinis" is releasing her fourth plus-sized line.

She’s since become the “Queen of the Bikini” with her swimwear that is structured enough to support up to a size H bust (so that no woman’s cup runneth over) - while also being flirty and fashion-forward enough to turn heads.

“I definitely make statement swimwear that my girls usually cann’t find anywhere else in their size,” says Gregg. “We have a few cool options [generally] but you konw there’s not a lot out there.”

The beauty is in the details, such as flattering high waistlines that are on-trend right now, underwire bras to keep “the girls” in place, and illusion mesh paneling on some suits to control how much flesh a lady wants to flash.

Gregg’s new 14-piece collection includes 12 bikini and one-piece styles in flirty flamingo and lips patterns, as well as two coordinating cover ups. They are all priced around $100

Her personal favorites include a lilac bikini printed with black leaves and an athletic racing stipe, as well as a khaki one-piece without underwires that’s suited for smaller busts.

The suits are structured yet sexy to embrace a woman's figure.

“It’s different from anything I’ve ever done before” she reveals. “I’m always looking to hear what my girls have to say, and this collection is the best one yet.”

She’s encouraged by the strides made for plus-sized shoppers over the past year, including Ashley Nell Tipton winning the last season of “Project Runway,” Forever 21 debuting its first plus-sized activewear line, and plus-sized models like Ashley Graham appearing in Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition.

But it’s not enough.

“So many girls just want the same shopping experience as their [skinnier] friends, and for some reason, people are either close-minded about designing for us, or they just don’t want to figure out this market,” she says. “They need to step up.”

With Daily News

Michelle Obama’s hair and dress make waves at State of the Union address

                                  SAUL LOEB/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Michelle Obama was the State of the Union’s mane event.

All eyes were on the First Lady’s new tousled waves and wind-blown bangs as she arrived on Tuesday night in a form-fitting marigold Narciso Rodriguez dress.

“Is that Michelle Obama or Beyonce?!” tweeted Sylvia Greens.

        SAUL LOEB/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Compared to the First Lady’s seven previous State of the Union ensembles, when she sported matronly helmet head and dressed in conservative shades of red, gray and blue, the 51-year-old let her hair down in every sense of the word for her last House chamber hurrah.

“She was on fleek and she looked sexy!” said Edris Nichols, owner of the Edris Salon in the Flatiron District.

The sunny yellow dress - a similar shade to the Giambattista Valli gown Jennifer Lopez wore to the Golden Globes on Sunday - brought out the caramel highlights in Obama’s hair.

The longer, shoulder-length tresses and side-swept bangs softened her features and took years off her face - unlike her husband, who has gotten older and grayer since taking office.

“This was saying to America: ‘I have style. I love who I am. I am confident. And I am ready to move on,’” Nichols added. “It’s about freedom.”

Obama became a style icon after her husband was elected president in 2008, and every outfit and hairstyle has been dissected on the global stage ever since.

“As a black woman, it’s even more difficult for us - our hair has a whole loaded history, a whole language,” Nichols said.

The tangled politics of whether to wear black hair naturally or to relax it has even trickled down to the Obama daughters. Some conservatives complained that Malia Obama wearing her hair in twists to Rome in 2009 was “unfit” to represent America.

“Michelle has been criticized for everything she does. Even her kids’ hair gets criticized,” Nicholas said. “But she finally looks comfortable. There’s no more pressure. She can just be herself.”

And everyone loved the look. “It transcends women across the board: Every woman, not just black women, wanted to be her and hang out with her,” added Nichols. “It looks touchable. You want to touch her.”

The First Lady’s new ’do made waves on social media, where viewers compared her Beyonce and Kerry Washington’s stylish “Scandal” character Olivia Pope.

“Ooooo, Michelle Obama is rocking some Kerry Washington hair tonight,” tweeted Keeley Hammond.

“Michelle Obama was channeling her inner Olivia Pope,” agreed Twitter user acadogan77. “Loved the hair and dress.”

“I wonder if Michelle Obama and Beyonce sit on the phone at night talking about hair products and their husbands....” mused tweeter AJ.

Nichols agreed that the FLOTUS was finally breaking out of her Washington, D.C. mold. “She looked more Hollywood, more glamorous last night,” she said. “She was just stunning.”

"Michelle Obama's State of the Union dress was a powerful political statement" tweeted Seyi Fabode.

With  Daily News

Senate Open-Up On The Alleged ‘Missing 2016 Budget’

                                                 Nigerian Senate

Controversy appears to be trailing the passage of the 2016 budget, as there are reports that the budget is missing.

A federal lawmaker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Channels Television that there were fears that the 2016 budget had disappeared from the National Assembly.

President Buhari on December 22 presented the 2016 budget to a joint session of the National Assembly.

The Senate on resumption of plenary on Tuesday went into a closed-door session which lasted for nearly two hours.

The lawmaker said the issue of the whereabouts of the budget was discussed during the closed door meeting.

The source further said the Senate had directed its Committee on Ethics and Privileges to investigate the matter.

No Truth To Insinuations

But the Senate spokesman, Aliyu Abdullahi, in an interview with Channels Television said he was not aware that the 2016 budget was missing.

“To the best of my knowledge, I am not aware of any missing budget. What we discussed today is how we are going to work assiduously, as Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to consider the budget as submitted by the president.

“Added to this, we have agreed that we should work hard to make sure that by the end of February the budget is ready for approval or assent by the President,” Mr Abdullahi stated.

The Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, Honourable Abdulmumin Jibrin,  said that there is no truth to insinuations that the 2016 budget document is missing.

He said that the claims may have been inspired by the initial insufficiency of the copies of the budget available to all the lawmakers.

“As far as I am concerned, that story does not hold water. We were expecting copies to be printed and sent to the National Assembly but there was a bit of delay.

“As at yesterday, I can confirm to you that the Appropriation Committee in the House received a lot of copies of the budget. By the time the Clerk counted it today, it was not sufficient to go round members.

“I spoke with the Minister of Planning earlier today [Tuesday] and he assured me that before the end of today he will deliver the remaining copies.

“For the soft copy I also reminded him and he sent it to me and I handed it over to the House,” he explained.

Honourable Jibrin said the rumour of missing budget may have been triggered by the delay in the production of more copies of the budget.

“You should realise that we have a new government in place and I think that there is little issue of communication gap and they are trying to get themselves settled. We should be able to excuse them and support the President wherever there is a bit of limitation from his own side,” he told Channels Television’s correspondent, Charles Eruka.

Earlier, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari declined to comment on the budget issue when reporters asked him questions about the alleged missing 2016 budget.

With Channel News