Nigerian artistes, Grammy nominee Burna Boy and Mavin Records new sensation Rema have made former US President Barack Obamas list of Favourite Music of 2019.

Sixth on the 35-song list is Burna Boys Anybody and 26th is Remas Iron Man.

In listing his favourite songs for this year, Obama is continuing an annual tradition. He had earlier released his favourite books and movies for the year and a short list of TV shows that he enjoyed.

Obama took to Twitter today to unveil his songs of the year. From the list, the former president has a diversified taste, listening to music from various genres, such as pop, R

My Dear Compatriots,

Today marks a new decade. It is a time of hope, optimism and fresh possibilities. We look forward as a nation to the 2020s as the opportunity to build on the foundations we have laid together on security, diversification of our economy and taking on the curse of corruption. These are the pledges on which I have been twice elected President and remain the framework for a stable, sustainable and more prosperous future.

Elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. I salute the commitment of the millions who voted in peace last February and of those leaders who contested for office vigorously but fairly, submitting to the authority of the electorate, the Independent National Electoral Commission and judicial process. I understand very well the frustrations our system has in the past triggered. I will be standing down in 2023 and will not be available in any future elections. But I am determined to help strengthen the electoral process both in Nigeria and across the region, where several ECOWAS members go to the polls this year.

As Commander-in-Chief, my primary concern is the security of the nation and the safety of our citizens. When I assumed office in May 2015 my first task was to rally our neighbours so that we could confront Boko Haram on a coordinated regional basis. Chaos is not a neighbour any of us hope for.

We have been fighting on several fronts: violent extremists, cultists and organised criminal networks. It has not been easy. But as we are winning the war, we also look to the challenge of winning the peace, the reconstruction of lives, communities and markets. The North East Development Commission will work with local and international stakeholders to help create a new beginning for the North East.

The Federal Government will continue to work with State Governors, neighbouring states and our international partners to tackle the root causes of violent extremism and the networks that help finance and organise terror. Our security forces will receive the best training and modern weaponry, and in turn will be held to the highest standards of professionalism, and respect for human rights. We will use all the human and emerging technological resources available to tackle kidnapping, banditry and armed robbery.

The new Ministry of Police Affairs increased recruitment of officers and the security reforms being introduced will build on what we are already delivering. We will work tirelessly at home and with our allies in support of our policies to protect the security of life and property. Our actions at all times will be governed by the rule of law. At the same time, we shall look always to engage with all well-meaning leaders and citizens of goodwill to promote dialogue, partnership and understanding.

We need a democratic government that can guarantee peace and security to realise the full potential of our ingenious, entrepreneurial and hard-working people. Our policies are designed to promote genuine, balanced growth that delivers jobs and rewards industry. Our new Economic Advisory Council brings together respected and independent thinkers to advise me on a strategy that champions inclusive and balanced growth, and above all fight poverty and safeguard national economic interests.

As we have sat down to celebrate with friends and family over this holiday season, for the first time in a generation our food plates have not all been filled with imports of products we know can easily be produced here at home. The revolution in agriculture is already a reality in all corners of the country. New agreements with Morocco, Russia and others will help us access on attractive terms the inputs we need to accelerate the transformation in farming that is taking place.

A good example of commitment to this inclusive growth is the signing of the African Continental Free Trade Area and the creation of the National Action Committee to oversee its implementation and ensure the necessary safeguards are in place to allow us to fully capitalise on regional and continental markets.

The joint land border security exercise currently taking place is meant to safeguard Nigerias economy and security. No one can doubt that we have been good neighbours and good citizens. We have been the helpers and shock-absorbers of the sub-region but we cannot allow our well-planned economic regeneration plans to be sabotaged. As soon as we are satisfied that the safeguards are adequate, normal cross-border movements will be resumed.

Already, we are making key infrastructure investments to enhance our ease of doing business. On transportation, we are making significant progress on key roads such as the Second Niger Bridge, Lagos Ibadan Expressway and the Abuja Kano highway. 2020 will also see tangible progress on the Lagos to Kano Rail line. Through Executive Order 007, we are also using alternative funding programmes in collaboration with private sector partners to fix strategic roads such as the Apapa-Oworonshoki Express way. Abuja and Port Harcourt have new international airport terminals, as will Kano and Lagos in 2020. When completed, all these projects will positively impact business operations in the country. These projects are not small and do not come without some temporary disruption; we are doing now what should have been done a long time ago. I thank you for your patience and look forward to the dividends that we and future generations will long enjoy.

Power has been a problem for a generation. We know we need to pick up the pace of progress. We have solutions to help separate parts of the value chain to work better together. In the past few months, we have engaged extensively with stakeholders to develop a series of comprehensive solutions to improve the reliability and availability of electricity across the country. These solutions include ensuring fiscal sustainability for the sector, increasing both government and private sector investments in the power transmission and distribution segments, improving payment transparency through the deployment of smart meters and ensuring regulatory actions maximise service delivery.

We have in place a new deal with Siemens, supported by the German government after German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited us in Abuja, to invest in new capacity for generation, transmission and distribution. These projects will be under close scrutiny and transparency there will be no more extravagant claims that end only in waste, theft and mismanagement.

The next 12 months will witness the gradual implementation of these actions, after which Nigerians can expect to see significant improvement in electricity service supply reliability and delivery. Separately, we have plans to increase domestic gas consumption. In the first quarter of 2020, we will commence work on the AKK gas pipeline, OB3 Gas pipeline and the expansion of the Escravos Lagos Pipeline.

While we look to create new opportunities in agriculture, manufacturing and other long neglected sectors, in 2020 we will also realise increased value from oil and gas, delivering a more competitive, attractive and profitable industry, operating on commercial principles and free from political interference. Just last week, we were able to approve a fair framework for the USD10 billion expansion of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, which will increase exports by 35 percent, restore our position as a world leader in the sector and create thousands of jobs. The Amendment of the Deep Offshore Act in October signalled our intention to create a modern, forward-looking industry in Nigeria. I am confident that in 2020 we will be able to present a radical programme of reform for oil and gas that will excite investors, improve governance and strengthen protections for host communities and the environment.

We can expect the pace of change in technology only to accelerate in the decade ahead. Coupled with our young and vibrant population, this offers huge opportunities if we are able to harness the most productive trends and tame some of the wilder elements. This is a delicate balance with which many countries are struggling. We are seeking an informed and mature debate that reflects our rights and responsibilities as citizens in shaping the boundaries of how best to allow technology to benefit Nigeria.

During my Democracy Day speech on June 12, 2019, I promised to lay the enduring foundations for taking a hundred million Nigerians out of mass poverty over the next 10 years. Today I restate that commitment. We shall continue reforms in education, health care and water sanitation. I have met international partners such as GAVI, the vaccine alliance, and the Bill

By Ismaila Chafe
The Federal Government says it will complete 47 ongoing road projects, including those leading to the nation ports, and major bridges including substantial work on the Second Niger Bridge in 2020.

President Muhammadu Buhari disclosed this in a letter to Nigerians to commemorate the New Year, which was made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja.

He also revealed that 13 housing estates under the National Housing Project Plan would be completed this year.

According to him, Lagos, Kano, Maiduguri and Enugu international airports will also be inaugurated in 2020.

The president said an agricultural rural mechanisation scheme that would cover 700 local governments over a period of three years would also be inaugurated this year.

Buhari revealed that his administration would be launching the Livestock Development Project Grazing Model in Gombe State where 200,000 hectares of land has been identified;

Training of 50,000 workers to complement the countrys 7,000 extension workers;

Commissioning of the LagosIbadan and ItakpeWarri rail lines in the first quarter;

Commencement of the IbadanAbuja and KanoKaduna rail lines also in the first quarter, the letter read in part.

He stated that the administration would also embark on further liberalisation of the power sector to allow businesses to generate and sell power, while the construction of the Mambilla Power project would commence by the first half of 2020.

According to the president, the construction of the AKK gas pipeline, OB3 gas pipeline and the expansion of the Escravos Lagos pipeline would commence in the first quarter of 2020.

Source: NAN

By Ismaila Chafe
President Muhammadu Buhari has enjoined Nigerians to be tolerant, law abiding and peace loving as the nation enters a decade of prosperity and promise for Nigeria and for Africa.

This is a new year and the beginning of a new decade the Nigerian Decade of prosperity and promise for Nigeria and for Africa, the president said in a letter to Nigerians to mark the beginning of 2020.

The letter was released by the Presidents Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, in Abuja on Wednesday.

The Nigerian leader attributed the successes recorded by his administration to the support of Nigerians.

This is a joint initiative. Where our policies have worked best, it has been because of the support of ordinary Nigerians in their millions, numbers that even the most powerful of special interests cannot defy. I thank you for your support.

Transition by its very nature carries with it change and some uncertainty along the way, he added.

According to him, his administrations policies are working and the results will continue to show themselves more clearly by the day.

He said: Nigeria is the most tremendous, can-do market, offering extraordinary opportunities and returns. Investors can look forward with confidence not only to an increasing momentum of change but also to specific incentives, including our new visa-on-arrival policy.

On the ongoing crusade against corruption in the country, the president reiterated the determination of his administration to fight all forms of corrupt practices to a standstill

They can also be certain of our unshakeable commitment to tackle corruption.

As we create an environment that allows initiative, enterprise and hard work to thrive, it is more important than ever to call out those who find the rule of law an inconvenience, or independent regulation an irritation.

We are doing our part here in Nigeria. We will continue to press our partners abroad to help with the supply side of corruption and have received some encouragement.

We expect more funds stolen in the past to be returned to us and they will be ploughed back into development with all due transparency, he said.

Source: NAN

By Joan Nwagwu
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has directed state councils to await directive to engage state governors who fails to meet the Dec. 31 deadline implementation of the minimum wage.

The NLC President, Mr Ayuba Wabba said this in a New Year message on Tuesday in Abuja.

We use this medium to implore states that are yet to implement the new national minimum wage including the states that are yet to begin negotiation with labour on the consequential wage adjustment to speedily do the needful.

In tandem with our position as adopted and communicated after a stakeholders meeting on Dec. 11, 2019, organised labour will not guarantee industrial harmony in states that fail to implement the new national minimum wage by Dec. 31, 2019.

We direct our state councils to be on the standby to robustly engage state governments that fail to obey our laws.

We wish to remind State Governors that no excuse would be good enough for failure to pay.

The ongoing revelations on the monumental looting perpetrated by former governors prove that only an intent to loot and deadened conscience, not availability of resources, would be the reason any Governor would hesitate to pay workers the N30,000 new national minimum wage and the consequential adjustment in salaries.

The new national minimum wage is now a law and State Governors do not have the luxury to choose whether to pay or not, he said.

Wabba said in the year 2020, the NLC would mount a very robust campaign for the generation of mass jobs and for already existing jobs to be decent.

He disclosed that the NLC was perfecting plans for a National Job Summit in 2020.

Where it will get stakeholders, experts, policymakers, concerned demographics and workers on a roundtable to find answers and solutions to Nigerias burgeoning unemployment crisis.

We also commend the states already paying the new national minimum wage and consequential adjustment in salaries for assuming the pacesetter status, he added.

The NLC president said the congress have resolved to protect, promote and prioritize workers and pensioners welfare as it would be indefatigable.

He also said that the congress would continue to be the voice for the oppressed and downtrodden.

We will dare the enemies of Nigerian workers and people and we will triumph by the grace of God. Nigerian workers under the leadership of the NLC will continue to work assiduously towards the promotion of national security, peace and unity.

We will continue to put the needed weight on the things that unite us and hold in contempt the things that seek to divide us.

We encourage our political leaders to exemplify the same by their utterances and conduct. By so doing, we will be laying an enduring foundation for national peace, unity, and development, Wabba said.

Source: NAN

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja signed the 2020 appropriation bill of N10,594,362,364,830 into law.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the budget was increased from N10.33 trillion to N10.594billion by the National Assembly.

NAN observed that N560.47 billion of the total budget is for statutory transfers while N2.7 trillion is for debt service.

Other breakdown of the budget include N4,842,974,600,640 for Recurrent Expenditure; Capital expenditure N2,465,418,006,955; Fiscal Deficit N2.28 trillion and Deficit/GDP N1.52 per cent.

The budget as passed by the National Assembly also maintained Nigeria’s daily oil production rate at 2.18 million per barrel, but increased the Oil Benchmark Price to 57 dollars per barrel against the 55 dollars proposed by the Executive.

The signed 2020 budget also retained inflation rate at 10.81 per cent and the exchange rate at N305 to a dollars as proposed by the executive.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; Senate President Ahmad Lawan; the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha as well as presidential aides witnessed the signing of the budget at President’s mini-conference hall.

Miss Nigeria was so over the moon when the winner of the Miss World title was announced in London Saturday that it appeared she was the victor. But her delighted screams and happy dance were all for her pal, Miss Jamaica Toni-Ann Singh.

Singh, 23, seemed overwhelmed when her name was announced as the new Miss World, but all was well when Miss Nigeria Nyekachi Douglas, 21, pulled her and Miss Brazil Elis Coelho, 19, into a tight hug.

Douglas was generous again during an interview after the show ended.

It’s Singh who’s “amazing,” Douglas said. “She would be the one who would be like, ‘Listen, you’ve got this.’”

Singh’s win means that for the first time in history, Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, Miss America, Miss Universe and Miss World are all Black women.

Douglas’ joy for Singh struck a chord on social media:

Absolutely amazing in all my years of watching never seen another queen this excited about someone else's win. #MissNigeria you are simply the best. https://t.co/KwqstlFCGf

— Tє̲̣̣̣̥mptє̲̣̣̣̥d (@millibrown1) December 15, 2019

#MissWorld2019

Miss Jamaica :- Won the Miss World 2019 🙏

Miss Nigeria:- Won The World's heart ❤️❤️❤️
We need this type of friends and support in our life ...❣️ pic.twitter.com/4UI0HHUitL

— Satyendra (@SatyendraRajan7) December 15, 2019

Miss Nigeria really is a gem.. pic.twitter.com/ouPcVct5A9

— Rheem 🇯🇲🇰🇾 (@drheeme) December 14, 2019

Congratulations to Miss Jamaica for winning #MissWorld2019! Now I want to be BFFs with Miss Nigeria ❤️ pic.twitter.com/yhlgtYaWhi

— PGAG (@PGAG_PH) December 15, 2019

In 2020 when your friend starts a new business, podcast, therapy, anything that enhances their life.

Be her Miss Nigeria. 🇳🇬🇳🇬❤️❤️

pic.twitter.com/h6hPEhV7oB

— Marianne Sunshine (@MissMSunshine_) December 14, 2019

Miss Nigeria is so selfless. Love her reaction ❣️#MissWorld2019 pic.twitter.com/5pZmuqPTrJ

— ᴶᴴᴬ ; (@JhaDMabool) December 15, 2019

Douglas is a public health student who hopes to one day have her own fashion brand. Singh was born in St. Thomas and graduated from Florida State University with degrees in psychology and women’s studies, according to the Miss World web site. She plans to enter medical school in the future.

No regrets, I still believe in love

Popular Gospel artist Nikki Laoye has hinted at the end of her marriage to singer Alex Oturu several months after speculations on social media. The female singer recently shared a post pointing out her inability to mark her 8th wedding anniversary. Laoye noted that she has no regrets and still believes in the power of love.

It appears another celebrity marriage in the Nigerian entertainment industry has come to an inevitable end, and this time around, it involves a popular female gospel artist.

The gospel musician, Nikki Laoye, recently took to the Instastory channel of her page, pointing out that Wednesday, December 11, should have marked the occasion of her 8th wedding anniversary.

She, accompanied the sentence with a different paragraph that suggested that she is no longer with her husband, Alex Oturu.

View this post on Instagram

#PrettyNikki in a @kikikamanu creation. Had an Awesome time, ministering our original inspirational piece, #WeBelieveByLMGC tonight at #TE14 #TheExperienceLagos . . We pray because We believe that our sun will rise and shine again in Nigeria, We will win every battle that concerns us as a Nation, as a people in Jesus name Amen. . . #NikkiLaoye #SoulSinger #GodLoveLife #TheNikkiLaoyeExperience #13YearsOfNikkiLaoye #NikkiLaoyeLive

A post shared by Nikki Laoye 🇳🇬 (@nikkilaoye) on Dec 6, 2019 at 6:40pm PST

"I just realised that today would have been my 8th year wedding anniversary, But hey, life happens.In everything, I still give God thanks because everyone is doing great.

Everyone is Alive and well and we will all find the happiness that we truly need in Jesus name Amen," her post read.

The songstress added that she does not have nay regret, and she still believes in the power of love.

Nikki's post comes after several months of widespread speculations about her divorce on social media.

At least one person lost her life when a trailer conveying an excavator, failed break and ran into several vehicles at the Manya interchange Wednesday morning.

A middle age lady was said to have lost her life while several others were badly injured in the accident.

The FCT Ministerial Task Team on Traffic Free Flow was commended for clearing traders off the road before 9:30am when the accident occurred.

The trailer conveying an excavator to a construction site fails break while descending Kugbo Hill. On getting to Nyanya it crushed several vehicles before smashing Golf Volkswagen saloon car which was totally crushed.

The remains of the dead woman has since been conveyed to the Nyanya General Hospital Mortuary while the injured were moved to the Asokoro District Hospital by the Federal Road Safety Corps.

The Chairman, FCT Ministerial Task Team on Traffic Free Flow, Ikharo Attah, who joined in the rescue believe it’s time for roadside trading to stop across the FCT to forestall such disasters in the future.

Attah also called on drivers of heavy duty vehicles to ensure their vehicles are always in good shape, particularly their breaks.

A giant 4m-long (13ft) king cobra was discovered in a housing estate in southern Thailand on Sunday - and catching it wasn't easy.

Rescuers later released it into the wild, and said it was one of the biggest they had ever encountered.