Rev. Jesse Jackson calls for boycott of Academy Awards, compares Hollywood to apartheid-era South Africa

                                                                                        SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES

“Once again, the Oscars have tuned us out,” Rev. Jesse Jackson said in a statement.

Rev. Jesse Jackson is calling for a boycott of the Academy Awards Sunday, comparing Hollywood to apartheid-era South Africa.

Several African-Americans involved in the film industry, including director Spike Lee and actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, have announced they won’t attend the ceremony.

The Oscars have been criticized for nominating an all-white slate in the four acting categories for the second year in a row.

Once again, the Oscars have tuned us out,” Jackson said in a statement. “We should reciprocate Sunday night by boycotting the broadcast, which amounts to a celebration of exclusion, narrow-mindedness and cultural distortion.”

                                                                                                                                                    STAFF/REUTERS

The Oscars have been criticized for nominating an all-white slate in the four acting categories for the second year in a row.

Back in 1996, Jackson said, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition called for the film industry to hire more minorities for jobs in front of the camera and behind the scenes.Back in 1996, Jackson said, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition called for the film industry to hire more minorities for jobs in front of the camera and behind the scenes.

But he said little has changed.

“This disgraceful, man-made drought is nothing new,” Jackson said. “In Hollywood, there has been no climate change.”

The Academy, which has been criticized for the lack of diversity among its governing body as well as the nominees, has promised changes.

“This is a difficult but important conversation, and it’s time for big changes,” Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said in a statement released last month. “The Academy is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership. In the coming days and weeks we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond.”

The Oscars, which will be hosted by black comic Chris Rock, will air Sunday on ABC.

Electricity Tariff: NERC Has Not Lived Up To Expectation – Expert

A Power Expert has faulted the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Distribution Companies (DISCOs) over increments in the electricity tariff.

Mr David Aderibigbe was speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday.

He said, “There are conditions and variables that must be affected in the economy before you can have a minor or major increment in the electricity tariff.

“The minor review involves: exchange rate, variability inflation, gas pricing and perhaps, the cost of generation and transmission,” he said.

The Professor of Mechanical Engineering suggested that the DISCOs should have rated the increase in a particular direction.

“I think there is nothing much to do other than working on the rate of increase which must be in a particular direction. What would be the government’s policy so that the consumers will benefit from it?, what would be the government’s policy with regards to the responsibility of the operators and what should be the responsibility of the consumers?,” he asked.

President Buhari Prays for Nigeria in Medinah

It was a Prayer galore for Nigeria as President Muhammadu Buhari arrived Madinah  the city of the Holy Prophet on a private visit, according to NTA.


State House Correspondent Adamu Sambo reports that the President flew in from Riyadh after the high level talks with the Saudi Monarch King Salman Bin AbdulAziz.

Those Who Distorted 2016 Budget will be severely Punished – President Buhari Vows

President Muhammadu Buhari vowed late Tuesday in Riyadh that all those involved in the “padding” of the 2016 National Budget will face the most severe punishment.

Addressing the Nigerian Community in Saudi Arabia, President Buhari condemned the distortion of the budget proposals by entrenched interests.

The President said that the unauthorised alterations  had completely changed the document from the one he presented to the National Assembly.

“The culprits will not go unpunished. I have been a military governor, petroleum minister, military Head of State and headed the Petroleum Trust Fund.

“Never had I heard the words “budget padding”. Our Minister of Budget and National Planning did a great job with his team. The Minister became almost half his size during the time, working night and day to get the budget ready, only for some people to pad it.

“What he gave us was not what was finally being debated. It is very embarrassing and disappointing. We will not allow those who did it to go unpunished,” President Buhari vowed.
The President also assured members of the Nigerian community that his administration was working diligently to fulfil its campaign promises, particularly on security, unemployment, and corruption.

Reaffirming his government’s zero tolerance for corruption, President Buhari said that the war against corruption was a monumental task that he is determined to tackle successfully.

“We have zero tolerance for corruption and other unethical practices. We will deal decisively with anybody found wanting,” he promised members of the Nigerian community.

President Buhari also used the opportunity of the gathering to brief Nigerians in Saudi Arabia on his administration’s efforts to end the Boko Haram insurgency and terrorism in Nigeria.
“Our armed forces have done a great job of dealing decisively with Boko Haram. We are collaborating with our neighbors in the operations of the Multinational Joint Task Force to handle security threats in the sub-region and we have significantly destroyed  the capacity of the insurgents,” the President said.
He also spoke on efforts being made to diversify the Nigerian economy, stressing that more opportunities are now open for local and foreign investors in the country.

FAAC Meeting: FG, States, LG share N370.4b for January – Minister Of Finance

Mrs Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Finance

The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, said that N370.4 billion was shared among the federal, states and local governments as revenue for January 2016.

She announced this in Abuja, while addressing pressmen on the outcome of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting.

She said that the shared amount comprised of the month’s statutory revenue of N290.9 billion.

The minister also said that there was an exchange gain of N3.4 billion which was proposed for distribution.

Adeosun said that the money shared included the N6.3 billion that was refunded to the federation account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

It could be recalled that N387.8 billion was shared to the three tiers of government as revenue in
December 2015, indicating a decrease  of N17.4 billion in the January allocation.

Giving the breakdown of revenue among the three tiers of government, Adeosun said the Federal Government received N137.5 billion, representing 52.68 per cent, while states got N69.7 billion, representing 26.72 per cent.

The minister said the local governments received N53.7 billion, amounting to 20.60 per cent of the amount distributed.

She also said that N22.4 billion, representing 13 per cent derivation revenue was shared among oil producing states.

She added that the country generated N173.7 billion as mineral revenue and N117.3 billion as non-mineral revenue in January, a decrease of N40.9 billion and an increase of N16.9 billion respectively from what the country generated in the preceding month.

The balance in the Excess Crude Account was 2.25 billion dollars, she noted.

Adeosun explained that acts of vandalism on oil pipelines, among other factors, had continued to negatively impact on oil revenue generation, saying “the shut-in and shut-down of production for repairs and maintenance continued during the period under review.

“However, there was a slight increase in production of crude in December 2015 but the resulting income was marginal due to a 10 per cent drop in crude oil prices.

“The drop in the average price of crude oil from 43.40 dollars in November to 39.04 in December 2015 resulted in a revenue loss of 22.55 million dollars” She added.