Obama, Putin speak after Ukraine deal

Barack Obama

Vladimir Putin

PRESIDENT Barack Obama held a "constructive" phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Friday as he pressed for swift implementation of a deal framed to end Ukraine's deadly crackdown on protestors.
The call came at a prickly time in US-Russia relations with the two sides at odds over Ukraine, Syria and other issues, but also after Obama took pains to reject the idea that a new Cold War-style confrontation was brewing.
A senior US official described the call as "constructive" but also warned that the agreement reached in Kiev between the government and top opposition leaders was "very, very fragile."
Putin and Obama agreed that the Ukraine agreement needed to be swiftly implemented and that all sides needed to refrain from violence.
"President Putin affirmed that Russia wants to remain part of the implementation process. They also talked about the need to stabilize the Ukrainian economy and to get Ukraine back on a peaceful path," the official said, on condition of anonymity.
The call also touched on other issues including Syria, where Russia backs President Bashar al-Assad, to the fury of the United States, and the Sochi Winter Olympics.
Washington had offered staunch support for protesters in Kiev, demanding political concessions from the Moscow-backed government of President Viktor Yanukovych and had warned of "consequences" if violence, which killed 100 people did not stop.
The White House gave an initial welcome to the deal and praised European Union diplomats who helped to broker it.

- 'Courageous' opposition leaders -

White House spokesman Jay Carney said it was "consistent with what we have advocated in calling for a de-escalation of the violence, constitutional change, a coalition government, and early elections."
"We support the efforts of all those who negotiated this agreement, commend the courageous opposition leaders who recognized the need for compromise, and offer the support of the United States in its implementation," Carney said.
"We call for immediate implementation of the initial steps -- an end to the violence, amnesty and security normalization, and passage of the constitutional package in (parliament) -- to provide space for the negotiations to begin on formation of a technocratic coalition government."
Vice President Joe Biden had called Yanukovych on Thursday, warning that the United States was ready to impose sanctions if he did not halt attacks by his security forces on demonstrators which have killed nearly 100 people.
Yanukovych's dramatic decision to hold early elections and form a new unity government was met with caution by tens of thousands gathered on central Kiev's main square.
The deal was signed in the presence of EU envoys, Yanukovych and three top opposition leaders who included boxer turned lawmaker Vitali Klitschko.
A representative for Putin missed the meeting. The White House statement, however, said the deal had been "witnessed" by Russia.
Obama on Wednesday insisted that the United States did not see its many disputes with Russia as symptomatic as a struggle over a Cold War-style "chessboard."
Carney expanded on the president's remarks on Friday.
"The president is correct when he says that this is not about the United States and Russia or the West and Russia -- this is about Ukraine and the Ukrainian people and their desire for the right to choose their own destiny," he said.

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Genevieve Nnaji Signs Over N70 Million Naira Endorsement with Polo

Genevieve Nnaji

Genevieve Nnaji has  signed the dotted lines for one year endorsement deal with Polo designer company, makers of Polo wrist-watches, sun-glasses and others.
According to the information gathered, the one year deal is worth N75million.

Congratz Miss Nnaji

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Photo: Video Director Sesan Splashed Millions Of Naira in Buying A Tiger As Pet.

Sesan

Popular music video director, ^{Sesan Ogunro,} who lost his dad after a tragic robbery attack last Christmas showed off his ‘newest pet’ on Instagram some hours ago.

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I Don’t Have A Problem Acting Nude Because My Body Is My Laptop- Upcoming Actress

Sylvia Oluchy

Sylvia Oluchy, a fast rising actress in an interview with BestofNollywood, was asked if there’s a limit to what she can do on set and if she could go nude for a movie role and here is what the actress said;
''I don’t have any boundaries because my body is my laptop. Others have their laptops and files, what I have is my body and voice, Even the concept of nudity, I don’t have any problems what so ever, but it has to make sense, if it enriches the story and is done tastefully, I mean sometimes you can see nudity been done for a good reason, like in the west, they could take off their clothes to protest. Like I said, I don’t have problem with nudity, I just want it to make sense''.

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Lagos Ibadan Expressway To Be Delivered 12 Months Ahead Of Schedule

Lagos Ibadan Express Way

FOR motorists and commuters eagerly awaiting the completion of the reconstruction work going on at the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, relief would come earlier than anticipated as the Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen at the weekend declared that the project could be delivered 12 months earlier than the initial 48 months schedule. 
  Speaking during an interactive forum with editors in his office in Abuja, Onolememen assured that with the pace of work and the mode of funding of the project, the contractors handling the project, Julius Berger Nigeria Limited and the Reynolds Construction Company (RCC), could deliver the road in 36 months, one year earlier than the schedule period for its completion.
   He said the construction project, which would gulp a total of N167 billion is been executed using a financial architecture that commits the Federal Government to providing N50 billion within two years, while the balance of N117 billion is being sourced from the private sector.
  “What we did was that the Federal Government will contribute about N50 billion into the common purse, and from the 2014 budget alone, we are contributing N25 billion and the final N25billion, which will now form the total of the Federal Government commitment to the project will be part of the 2015 budget. But beyond that, the outstanding money which totals almost about N120 billion is being raised through a private finance initiative and that was how the project was approved, and that is how we are actually realizing it.”
  According to the Minister, the private finance initiative, which is driving the project, involves the Infrastructure Bank as fund arranger, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, as well as a number of banks and financial institutions. As a result of this funding arrangement, the road will be tolled to enable investors recoup their investments and also maintain the road.
  “When you borrow money from the private sector to do an infrastructure project, the project itself should pay back for that infrastructure. It is one of the things we need to do to guarantee the sustenance of our private highways across the country.
 “The Lagos Ibadan Expressway is a major economic arterial route. For government, doing that road is not just a social service; it is also an economic service. And because it is an economic route, it can benefit from private sector investments and such investments can be recouped even from the critical infrastructure itself,” he said.
   Onolememen noted that the pace of work has been very impressive, adding that the contractors are moving faster than expected, just as he expressed optimism that the two sections would be completed before the 48-month period.
    On the perennial disagreement between states and the Federal Government over the repairs and refunds of Federal roads within states, the Minister revealed that the Federal Government would soon offload Federal roads that are within five kilometers of cities to states. The policy is informing the construction of by-passes to remove the Federal Government from the responsibilities of internal roads in the state capitals.
“When we had the Council of Works meeting in Lagos in 2012, one of our resolutions at that meeting was that we are to create a-5Km radius around states capital or cities where Federal roads traverse. Federal roads basically ought to connect one state to another.
We are now experimenting with the creation of by passes, so that, we are not brought into the issue of urban alignment because it is not the Federal Government’s responsibility to provide urban alignments and accesses to residences, offices and businesses.
  “The Federal Government doesn’t collect taxes from those people. It is the state government that collects those taxes, and they should be able to fix those roads.

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