AUDITIONS BEGIN FOR ‘NIGERIA’S GOT TALENT’

Organisers of the Nigeria’s Got Talent reality show say auditions will begin on Tuesday July 31, 2012, and end on Saturday, August 18, 2012.  We’re told the auditions, which will take place in seven cities across the country, are open to all Nigerians, no matter the age or sex, with talents worth displaying. 

This, according to the Executive Producer, Rotimi Pedro, is what puts the show ahead of others.  Meanwhile, the producers have also announced a 10 million naira cash prize for the winning talent on the show ,which will air from July to December.  Nigeria is the second African country to acquire a franchise of the ‘Got Talent’ show, which is owned by Simon Cowell’s SYCOtv company and presently airs in over 30 countries including America, South Africa, India and Australia.

Etisalat Offers 6 Month Free Internet Subscription

Etisalat has announced the launch of the new easyblaze promo which rewards new customers who purchase a USB and Mi-fi with free bonus data at the end of every 30 days for a consecutive period of six months. The Promo which kicked off last week allows customers to enjoy a Modem, data SIM card and 200MB free Monthly data the cost of N5,500 or a Mi-fi, data SIM and 1GB monthly data at the Cost of N20,000.


Announcing the Promo in Lagos, Director, Products and Services, Etisalat Nigeria, Lucas Dada, said the offer was to reward its customers who subscribe to data packages on the Etisalat Network and also to encourage new subscribers to its network. Highlighting the mechanics of the new easyblaze package, he said that to enjoy the Promo, subscribers are required to purchase a data plan of 200MB (worth N1,000) every month after the first month of activating the easyblaze data plan. This gives them 30% Instant Bonus when they subscribe to any of our data plan from 200MB.


"To participate in the Promo, You have to buy either a USB (for N5,500) or a Mifi (for N20,000) from any of the Etisalat Experience Centres. The USB comes with pre-loaded 200MB free data while the Mi-fi comes with Pre-loaded 1GB free data, but to enjoy the free data for the remaining five months, you're required to purchase a minimum of 200MB (i.e N1,000) on your line within each month , "Dada concluded".

FCDA demolishes N2.5bn estate in Abuja

FCDA demolishes N2.5bn estate in Abuja




The Department of Development Control of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has demolished a 14-unit semi-detached-duplex estate in the Apo District of the capital city.


The demolished estate, worth about N2.5 billion, according to the construction engineer, contained 48 living rooms and two duplex school apartments, was said to have reached a 90 per cent completion.


The Project Manager of the estate, Samuel James Eyesore, said: “On Thursday last week, while we were working at the site at about 2.00pm, we saw an 18-passenger Coaster Bus with development control officials, a bulldozer and an Hilux-pickup van carrying armed mobile policemen numbering about 20.


“An officer of the department led the team. I tried to as much as possible for him to give me audience but all to no avail.” He said they were not given any reason for their actions, but pointed out that before the day of the incident, they were told that the land upon which they were building was meant for a nursery and primary school.


“They said we should go back and verify the original plan on the land in the office of Regional Planning of the department and do the necessary things, which we did. We have the acknowledgement letter of the office in our possession.


“I tried to explain this to the leader of the team but he did not give me any opportunity. They told us to go and apply for 10 hectares of land initially, which was allocated to us including this place, which they now demolished and without this place, the 10 hectares will not be completed. We have buildings for nursery and primary school in this, so I don’t know what their problem is”, he argued.


One of the site engineer, who spoke to Daily Sun on condition of anonymity alleged that some officials of the development control had earlier demanded the sum of N7 million from the authorities of the estate, out of which about N5 million had been given to them.


He stressed that the alleged officials had recently threatened to let heaven loose if they failed to pay the remaining N2 million as expected but that they were pleading for more time before this development.
But responding, the Public Relations Officer of Development Control, Mrs. Juicy Mudasiru, in a telephone chat dismissed the allegations saying that it was an attempt to blackmail FCTA.


According to her, “the God’s Own Estate committed an encroachment on school plot. They were served with quit notice sometimes in 2008 but they ignored it. We have after then been served them with several quit notices but they have refused to comply. “On allegations of money collection by our officials, if they have any evidence to that effect, we will be very happy if they bring it forward so that we can use it to trace the culprits and act appropriately,” the PRO noted.

Nigerian firm wins $1.2bn housing contracts in Chad

Nigerian firm wins $1.2bn housing contracts in Chad


A Nigerian company, Exhimab Integrated Linx Limited has secured a $1.2 billion contract for the construction of 50,000 housing units to be financed by the Chadian Government. Chairman of the company, Alhaji Ahmed Tijani Umar, said the houses, which would be spread across all the provinces are in different categories of one, two, three and four bedroom flats in major towns in Chad Republic.


According to him, construction is expected to commence on July 1, 2010 with the completion date put at 2013. Umar described the project as one of Chad Republic’s many welfare plans to ensure that its citizenry enjoy benefit from its crude oil windfall as well as a fulfilment of President Idriss Derby’s pledge to Chadians.


Based on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by his company and the Chadian Government, he said he was to provide 80 per cent of the funds by receiving international guarantee from the Chadian Government while the Government of the Republic of Chad would provide the remaining 20 per cent counterpart funds including land.


Alhaji Umar commended the Chadian President, Idriss Deby for the confidence and encouragement reposed on Exhimab, particularly on the tax holiday and waiver on building materials imported to the landlocked country.


Tagged: Mass Housing for All in Chad, the Exhimab boss declared that the project would be flagged off with the Presidents of other neighbouring countries of Chad present. The MoU was signed by Alhaji Ahmed Tijani Umar on behalf of Exhimab and the Minister of Housing and Regional Development, Mr. Djimrangar Dadnadji, for the Chadian Government.


According to the MoU, the Chadian Government would provide the land, and 20 per cent financing and administrative support needed for the success of the programme.

Half Of A Yellow Sun Coming To Movie Theaters

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s award winning novel, Half Of A Yellow Sun, has been picked up to become a film with the production team behind “The Last King of Scotland”, reportsJamati. (FINALLY!)

It’s always great to see Nigerian literature being picked up by the mass media. I’m definitely looking forward to this film from the outcome to the film production’s actor picks…and hopefully you are too excited about this tidbit.

Half Of A Yellow Sun won a Orange Prize for Fiction in 2007 and the young British-Nigerian author was named by ESSENCE as a honorable African.

Half of a Yellow Sun is set in Nigeria during the 1960s, at a time of the vicious Nigeria- Biafra war in which more than a million people died and thousands were massacred in cold blood.

Three characters are swept up in the rapidly unfolding political events. Ugwu, a boy from a poor village, is employed as a houseboy for a university lecturer. Olanna, a young, middle-class woman, has come to live with the professor, abandoning her privileged life in Lagos for a dusty university town and the charismatic idealism of her new lover. Richard is a tall, shy Englishman, in thrall to Olanna’s twin sister Kainene, who refuses to belong to anyone.

They are propelled into events that will pull them apart and bring them together in the most unexpected ways. As Nigerian troops advance and they run for their lives, their ideals – and their loyalties to each other – are severely tested. This novel is about Africa, about moral responsibility, the end of colonialism, ethnic allegiances, class and race, and about how love can complicate all these things.

[quote via ORANGE PRIZE.CO.UK]

Quick Facts on Chimamanda:

She was born in Enugu State, Nigeria to Igbo parents but she’s from Anambra State, Nigeria.

She’s been called the female literary answer to Chinua Achede.

BBC News called Chimamanda the new face of African literature.

Her birthday is coming up – September 15th!

Her debut novel is called, Purple Hibiscus which won Best First Book award in the 2005 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.

Her third novel, The Thing Around Your Neck, was released in April 2009.