This is what you call an epic response: Soundcity takes Psquare to the cleaners

After the attack came the rebuttal, and then the counter-rebuttal frittered in.

The next thing we expected was an epic finishing.
We said it would be epic, and epic it was.

Read:

Dear Jude and @SoundcityTV Fans, 
Thank you for your tweets Jude; we will certainly address each of these tweets, especially since they are some sorts of allegation:

• Of course, we did not think we are doing your group a ‘Favour’. Just like any other artistes, if you have a great material, we will showcase it on our channel and various platforms. Supporting, promoting, nurturing a talent isn’t a favour. It is obligatory, indeed?

• ‘Begging PSquare’ to Tour with? We needed the content? Soundcity is a music and lifestyle channel, music and music programming forms 80% of our content while lifestyle handles the remainder. We are pretty sure the expense of touring with you then was much more than rotating music videos, make a business case out of this and you’ll see for yourself why we wouldn’t have ‘begged’ as you have claimed in your tweets…but hey! We did it for the LOVE!

• Your job is to co-direct videos, and manage the group and ensure you do things in their best interest ‘reasonably’. Ours is to play the videos if we see them deem fit. Luckily, all your videos are co-directed with Clarence Peters, one of Nigeria’s biggest music video directors, partly a Soundcity Alumni. Please read between the lines of ‘reserving the rights to play.’ to fully understand what it means. Meanwhile, interestingly…our job also partly runs along us advising your group as per better professional input from us, for free.

We suggest rather than you wanting to ‘create’ a union in ‘we artiste’…you should speak and deal with your group squarely. NOBODY ever asked for your group to perform for FREE, only that we asked for a reasonable performance fee. You wanted to charge 10 or 12 Million or so. We are glad that a lot of artistes came through and yes; they played to their fans at the free event, for free.

• We don’t pay Royalties? Your job as a manager is to ensure your artistes’ get their royalty pay cheques. Check with COSON and MCSN, SOUNDCITY pays Royalties every calendar year for music use on Soundcity and on sister channels, the platform carriers (DStv) doubles that effort too. Perhaps you should ask your colleagues in the industry about how that works. COSON is the Copyright Society of Nigeria and MCSN is the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria, also you can learn more about COSON here http://www.cosonng.com

• What Blackmail? You decided not to work with our brand, we decided not to work with your brand by withdrawing your videos from our channel and completely stopped doing business with you. Not sure that’s what ‘Blackmail’ means. You took a decision, we took ours too. Simple.

Lastly, we will do something rewarding for you today! Please tune in by 3PM to watch #PSQUARE: THEN & NOW! Fans will be able to catch videos from the early years to present and also, #PSQUARE vs. #USHER: ORIGINAL DANCE OFF! By 3:30 PM today. Really, there is no such thing as ‘Boycott’ in premium entertainment.

Actually, scratch that! We should but we won’t. We will do #CHRISBROWN vs #USHER: DANCEOFF for 3PM today instead, #ChrisBrown is trending right now on the Internet. This is the last time we are speaking on this, we have a number one TV channel to run.
Thank you.

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250 million fake phones sold in Nigeria yearly

The Nigerian Telecommunications Commission (NCC) reveal that about 250 million substandard phones were sold annually in the country.

The Acting Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Umar Danbatta, disclosed the figure during a stake holders meeting on‘ Combating Counterfeit and Substandard ICT Devices Programme in Abuja, on Thursday.

He stated that the damaging impact of the substandard products on the economy cannot be quantified in socio-economic terms.

“Counterfeiting is a growing economic problem affecting a wide range of products in the ICT sector, mobile phones are especially targeted with some 250 million counterfeits sold annually. This number constitutes about 15% to 20% of the global mobile phone market.
“Apart from the obvious negative economic impact of this ugly trend on the

manufacturers of genuine products, government, authorized dealers which include brand evaluation, loss of revenue, copyright and trademark infringement, unfair competition, loss of tax, cost of compliance with applicable national legislation, national security and loss of employment opportunities.

“This menace also poses danger to the health and safety of consumers equally breaching the privacy of consumers. Collective efforts is urgently needed to curtail counterfeiting in ICT.”

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Bomb blast rocks IDP camp in Adamawa

There has been a bomb explosion in an Internally Displaced Persons’ camp in a Warehouse, in Molkohi, Yola LGA, in Adamawa.

The explosion was confirmed by the National Emergency Management Agency and the Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency.

While the casualty count is yet to be determined, Boko Haram is suspected to be behind the attack.

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Customs release official portrait of Comptroller General, Hameed Ali

The Nigeria Customs has released the official portrait of Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), the new comptroller General.

Ali cuts the image of a stern war commander, in the picture released by Datuhun, J. A from the Public Relations Unit of the Customs Headquarters.

See photo:

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Bauchi APC vice chairman resigns, says party lacks good leadership

The Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Bauchi state, Musa Adamu has resigned. 

Adamu, who is the zonal vice chairman of APC for Bauchi South Senatorial District, announced his resignation at a news briefing on Friday in Bauchi.

He disclosed that the resignation was to protect his image, honor and dignity adding that the party lacked good leadership in the state, as such it would be unwise for him to remain in its state executive council.

He said most card carrying members of the party and the generality of sympathizers have also lost confidence in the state leadership of the APC.

“I tender my resignation as APC Zonal Vice Chairman Bauchi South Senatorial District in view of the prevailing circumstances and political realities of present day Bauchi State APC,” he said.

He accused the party leadership of “unethical behaviors” which were in conflict with the political ideology and philosophy of the party’s apex leader President Muhammadu Buhari.

Adamu said he would remain a member of the APC, and expressed the hope that measures would be taken to correct the anomalies within the party, so as to ensure purposeful leadership.

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