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Nigeria steps up efforts to rescue 300 abducted pupils: Live

    

Nigerian authorities are stepping up efforts to rescue more than 300 students abducted by armed men who raided their hostels.

Gunmen on motorcycles stormed the Government Science School in Kankara late on Friday and engaged security forces in a fierce gun battle, forcing hundreds of students to flee and hide in surrounding bushes and forest

State Governor Aminu Bello Masari, who visited the school on Saturday, said soldiers were working to locate and free the hostages.

Since the attack, all secondary schools in the state have been shut. Aljazeera

COVID-19: Yobe records fresh 108 cases out of 3,502 collected samples

  

Yobe State has recorded 108 cases of COVID-19 with 12 cases from National Youth Service Corps Orientation Camp, Dazigau in Nangere local government area.

The State Commissioner of Health and Human Services, Mohammed Lawan Gana represented by Abdullahi Ali Danchuwa, Deputy Co-chair State Rapid Response Team disclosed this in an opening remark during a one-day training of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Ward Development Committees (WDCs).

The meeting was organised to train participants on developing strategies to monitor the provision of essential services and COVID-19 response at the facility level.

The training was supported by Lafiya-UK aid Programme in Potiskum town on Monday.

According to him, “We have recorded 108 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, the problem is that people shy away from giving out samples for testing.

“15 health workers have been tested positive in Nguru town which is leading in coronavirus cases with 30, followed by Damaturu 24, Bade 18, Potiskum 7, Fika 4, Karasuwa 4, Gulani 3 while Yunusari and Jakusko have not recorded any COVID-19 cases”.

He urged the participants to partner with the Government to reduce the spread of the transmission in the state. “Together we reduce this rate and improve the health of our people.

An investigation by DAILY POST revealed that over 3,502 samples were collected in Yobe State, out of which 108 confirmed cases were recorded, with 14 active cases,

86 recovered patients have been discharged, while 8 patients have died.

With this development, Yobe State is now 34th on NCDC’s table. Dailypost

Police rescue kidnapped Cardiologist in Calabar after gun battle

    

A kidnapped consultant cardiologist working in the Internal Medicine in the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Dr Vincent Uhuegbu has been rescued

Dr Uhuegbu was kidnapped by four unknown gunmen on December 9th 2020 at about 9.30pm in front of his resident along Akaifa in Calabar Municipal Government Area of Cross River

It was gathered that the rescue occurred in the early hours of Monday and witnessed an exchange of gunfire, resulting in the death of some suspects and the arrest of others.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Irene Ugbo confirmed the rescue of the Medical Doctor, Dr Vincent explaining that investigations on the matter have commenced.

At the time of filing this report, the Chairman of NMA Innocent Abang and other Executive members were holding a meeting to call off the indefinite strike action embarked upon by the association following the kidnapped of Dr Vincent. Dailypost

My husband sleeps with church members – Pastor’s wife tells court

  

A 49-year-old evangelist, Chinwe Ekwe, on Monday told an Igando Customary Court in Lagos State that her husband is a womanizer and he sleeps with church members.

Chinwe spoke while responding to a divorce suit filed by her husband, Pastor Paul Ekwe, who had accused her of planning to kill him, NAN reports.

Chinwe said that her husband molesting women both single and married.

“I care for him both physical and spiritual, but he still chose to be flirting around with different women.

“He even brought a married woman home as a wife and chased me out of our matrimonial home,’’ she said.

Chinwe said that her husband was defaming her character by telling people that she was planning to kill him.

“What do I stand to gain if I kill the father of my seven children; he is lying against me just because he wanted to marry another woman which he had done.

“My husband is uncaring, I shouldered all his responsibilities but he spends money and buys foodstuffs for his concubines,’’ Chinwe told the court.

The mother of seven daughters said her husband got the police to arrest her, alleging that she destroyed his church and stole his five million naira. 

She begged the court not to grant her husband’s wish for the dissolution of their marriage, pointing out that she still loved him despite his adulterous acts.

However, Ekwe has approached the court to terminate the 28-year-old marriage, accusing the wife of planning to kill him.

“My wife is planning to kill me so that she can remarry,” he said.

The petitioner described his wife as stubborn and quarrelsome.

“Our marriage is full of fights and quarrels. Chinwe makes my home uncomfortable for me and my life unbearable.

“She refused to obey my orders but does things her own way,” he said.

He accused her of turning all their children against him, alleging that she gave one out in marriage without his knowledge.

He pleaded with the court to terminate their marriage that the love he once had for his wife had vanished.

The Court President, Mr Adeniyi Koledoye, adjourned the case until Jan. 19 for judgment.

NAN

Nigeria needs more currency reform to access $1.5bn loan, says World Bank director

   

In November, the naira weakened at N500 to the dollar in the parallel market. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) devalued the official rate by 15 percent in March and weakened the foreign exchange rate for exchange bureau in November and in March.

Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, budget and national planning,  had said that the federal government has fulfilled the conditions required for the World Bank loan.

Speaking with journalists on Thursday, Chaudhuri (pictured) said Nigeria needs to make plans for sustainability in later years.

“Think of it this way, when you have say a 10 or 15 billion dollar hole, 1.5 billion dollars is just a little bit of that, the question is how is the rest of that hole being made up?” he said.

“What is the sustainability in 2021 and beyond? And that is why we are thinking about the overall prospects going forward, in terms of the macro adequacy and the flexibility and exchange rate management.”

Chaudhuri said the Bretton Wood institution acknowledged the effort Nigeria had made, but the country still needed  to do more.

“That is why our shareholders and our management are still saying we recognise how much Nigeria has done, but for this $1.5 billion to really be a part of the larger effort to put Nigeria on a sound macro-fiscal footing going forward, there needs to be a little bit more,” he said.

He also said that the World Bank was working on another $1.5 billion loan different from the budget support loan, which was two different $750 million funds to support state governments’ efforts, to be approved on December 14.

They include the states fiscal transparency accountability and sustainability (SFTAS) programme and the Nigeria COVID-19 action recovery and economic stimulus (CARES) programme. TheCableng

Lagos’ Anti-One Way Squad Impounds 42 Vehicles In Friday Traffic Law Enforcement

   

Three police officers and a naval rating are part of the offenders whose vehicles were impounded on Friday in the enforcement carried out by the Anti-Oneway and Other Traffic Offences Squad of the Lagos State Government.

The traffic-offenders met their Waterloo during the Squad’s operations along Apapa-Oshodi Expressway and Mile 2 area of the State.

No fewer than 42 vehicles, including two articulated trucks and commercial tricycles, driving against the traffic were arrested by the Squad led by the Commander of policemen in Governor’s Monitoring Team (GMT), Shola Jejeloye, a Superintendent of Police (SP).

The Friday enforcement was jointly carried out by the Squad and men of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA).

The Squad was specially created, last Monday, by the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu, at the instance of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, with the specific mandate to arrest and impound vehicles plying one-way, BRT lanes and also commercial motorcycles operating in restricted areas.

The mission assumed a dangerous turn when a commercial bus driver driving against traffic on Cele Bridge made an attempt to ram into the operational vehicles of the Anti-One Way Squad in a bid to avoid arrest.

Rather than stop, the driver of the bus, which was fully loaded with passengers, dangerously meandered through the gaps in the convoy and made an attempt to hit officers on sight. The bus revved to a stop when the reckless driver hit a stationary water truck. The driver fled immediately, leaving the bus passengers to their fate.

Also, two police officers driving a Pickup marked “Escort” on a one-way lane at Toyota Bus Stop along Apapa-Oshodi Expressway were accosted by the Squad. The vehicle was impounded alongside the car of a naval rating driving against traffic close to Itire roundabout.

Another police officer driving a private Toyota Camry car was arrested by the Squad in Mile 2 area.

Various commercial buses and tricycles obstructing flow of traffic at various locations were also arrested and towed to the Taskforce office in Alausa.

Speaking during the operation, the GMT Commander, Jejeloye, vowed that the Squad would not relent in its bid to achieve its mandates and return sanity on the roads.

Jejeloye described one-way driving as a security issue, saying the menace usually endangered the lives of road users obeying traffic laws. He added that many commuters had lost their lives as a result of one-way driving.

He said: “We are, again, sounding a note of warning to motorists who do not want to obey the Lagos State Traffic Laws. We will not rest on our oars until we ensure road users follow the regulations and bring about free flow of traffic.

“We also have the Governor’s mandate to ensure those causing obstruction on our highways are arrested, whether those trading on the road or vehicles. We have marked the notorious areas and we will burst them soon. This operation will be regular and shall be sustained in the interest of law-abiding Lagosians.”

Jejeloye appealed to the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and other transport unions to caution their members against driving on one-way and obstructing traffic flow.

The GMT boss said the Squad would not spare commercial bus drivers arrested for traffic offences, stressing that vehicles and their drivers would be taken to court.

“I am also using this opportunity to reach out to transport unions, whether road or national. They must warn their drivers that are notorious for committing traffic offences. We don’t want to disturb their lawful work, but they also must not be on the other side of the law. Let them respect traffic regulations and there will be no problem,” Jejeloye said.

During the enforcement, the Squad rounded up commercial motorcycles plying restricted areas within the metropolis.

Other areas where the enforcement was carried out include Ikeja, Maryland, Fadeyi, Jibowu, Palm Grove and Yaba. ChannelsTv

How Adeboye prayed for me, predicted my re-election –Obaseki

   

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, on Friday, said he visited the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, during his second-term election travails.

According to the governor, the 78-year-old cleric assured him that all would be well.

Obaseki stated this on Friday night during the testimony session at this year’s RCCG Holy Ghost Congress held at the church’s International Headquarters along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

He said, “When it looked impossible and when men rose, He (God) came out to say that He is God and only He has the power.

“About the time when the crisis started a year ago, I came to the (RCCG) camp with my wife and met Daddy G.O.”

Obaseki said after explaining his political challenges, Adeboye told him, “My son, it is well. Don’t be afraid, you will overcome and you will win.”

The governor said he went back to meet the cleric shortly before the September 19 Edo State governorship election.

He added, “A few months before the election, I came again to see him (Adeboye) and he prayed for me and with me and he said, ‘It will be well.’”

The PUNCH had earlier reported that the governor who was elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress in 2016 was denied the party’s ticket for a second term due to intra-party wrangling.

He later defected to the Peoples Democratic Party and defeated Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the APC candidate and the anointed candidate of political heavyweights like Bola Tinubu and Adams Oshiomhole in this year’s Edo State Governorship Election. Punch

US Donates Surveillance Equipment to Nigerian Navy To Curb Crime

   

The United States on Friday donated a shipment of surveillance equipment to the Nigerian Navy in Lagos State, saying the maritime security equipment would help to secure the maritime environment and fight crimes.

The equipment, worth $180,000, would help to upgrade the anti-piracy and nautical security functions of the country’s Regional Maritime Awareness Capability.

According to the US Mission in Nigeria in a statement on Friday, the security equipment comprises a “selection of best-in-class sensors and radars, communications and networking equipment, thermal-imaging cameras and software, which have been integrated to improve the Nigerian Navy’ capacity to track and counter marine threats through its RMAC.”

Handing over the consignment at the Nigerian Naval Station Beecroft, U.S. Consul General Claire Pierangelo, highlighted the US Government’s continued support of Nigeria’s maritime security.

Pierangelo said, “The United States is committed to supporting the Nigerian Navy in its efforts towards securing not only your territorial waters but the larger Gulf of Guinea. The equipment we have here today is part of the RMAC that began in 2006, aimed at enhancing the Nigerian Navy’s capacity to monitor and respond to the diverse maritime threats in your waters and the Gulf of Guinea.

“We previously transferred two ex-U.S. Coast Guard Cutters to the Nigerian Navy, now known as NNS OKPABANA and NNS THUNDER, which are proving to be key elements of your anti-piracy and maritime security efforts.”

Rear Admiral Tanko Pani, Chief Staff Officer, Western Naval Command, Lagos, who received the surveillance equipment on behalf of the Nigerian Navy, commented on the long-standing security cooperation between the United States and Nigeria.

He noted that the equipment would have an impact on the Navy’s maritime defence capabilities. Saharareporters

Nigeria to access COVID-19 vaccine from Jan 2021, Okonjo Iweala assures

  

Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, has assured Nigeria and other African countries of access to COVID-19 vaccines as from the end of January through the first quarter of 2021, a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.

The statement quoted Okonjo-Iweala as disclosing this after a closed-door meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama in Abuja.

“As long as one person has it in the world, no one is safe. And that is why poorer countries, lower-middle-income countries like Nigeria, need to get it as quickly as possible”, she was quoted as saying.

Okonjo-Iweala is currently the African Union Special Envoy on mobilising international economic support for the continental fight against COVID-19 and Nigeria’s candidate for the Office of the Director-General of the World Trade Organization.

She disclosed that the international initiative involved the World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), GAVI and the international community, to get vaccines delivered to developing and poorer countries, in an affordable manner and quickly.

According to her, the Pfizer vaccine and the AstraZeneca were presently being negotiated so that poor countries don’t have to stand in a queue behind rich countries.

The former finance minister described Africans as blessed, for not having the same incidence rate of COVID-19 like other continents, but warned African nations against complacency.

Okonjo-Iweala recalled that a platform called the COVAX facility had been developed with 186 countries on board, saying that the side interested in serving the poor countries had 92 countries, for which resources have been raised to try and get the vaccines to them quickly.

“So, the Pfizer vaccine, the AstraZeneca, those are being negotiated now so that poor countries don’t have to stand in line behind rich countries.

“So, we hope they are starting by the end of January. We will be able to reach these countries, including most of the African countries, Nigeria included, will be able to get access to some of these vaccines.

“Initially, it will be for frontline health workers, followed by some other target groups – older people, those with underlying conditions and then, from there, the rest of the population. I think the COVAX facility can cover maybe 20-23 per cent of the population by the end of next year,” Okonjo-Iweala said. Vanguardngr

Pay N2m or have your family wiped out – Youths threaten employer in Ogun

   

Two siblings and one other person were on Tuesday arrested by operatives of the Ogun State police command for threatening and making an attempt to kidnap and wipe out their former employer and his family.

The suspects, who were identified by the police as Miss Blessing Oyeleke, 23; Mr David Oyeleke and Mr Kabiru Oniyitan, were apprehended following a report at Onipanu divisional police headquarters, Ogun State, by one Mr Makinde Oluwatoyin, the MD of Precy Company, Ota.

Ogun police image maker, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed to DAILY POST on Wednesday that Oluwatoyin reported on December 4 that he received a phone call from an anonymous caller, threatening “to kidnap his son, Solomon Makinde, from school and wipe out his entire family if he failed to pay the sum of N2 million to a specific bank account within three days.”

According to Oyeyemi, the caller described his child’s school and the location of his residents, suggesting that he had been under their surveillance for some times.

Upon the report, the DPO of Onipanu police division, CSP Bamidele Job, embarked on intelligence and technical based investigation by detailing his detectives, it was learnt.

“Their efforts paid off when one of them was traced to her hideout and was arrested with the phone which they were using to make calls to the man. Her arrest led to the subsequent arrest of her two other accomplices, while the remaining one is still at large.

“On interrogation, they confessed to have jointly planned the crime together, having worked in the man’s company before and know his financial capacity,” the Ogun police spokesman said in a statement.

The state Commissioner of Police, CP Edward Ajogun has ordered that the case be diligently investigated by the anti-kidnapping unit of the State criminal investigation and intelligence department, police headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta. Dailypost

Aubameyang can be dropped – Arteta warns

  

Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has told Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang that “no one is undroppable”, but backed his captain to overcome his recent dip in form.

Aubameyang has scored only two Premier League goals all season.

The 31-year-old striker is not expected to feature in Arsenal’s last Europa League Group B match at Dundalk on Thursday night, but when asked whether he would keep playing him in the League no matter what, Arteta replied: “No one is undroppable at the end of the day.

“You have to find the right players to win football matches, but we cannot forget what Auba has done for this club and what he’s done in recent months, not years ago.

“And as well because I see how he is training, how he is behaving and how much he wants to turn the situation around.” Dailypost

Evans Square Yaba comes alive as Olukoya Cup final holds on Saturday

  

Youths of Yaba community in Lagos State will be treated to the best of football on Saturday when the final of the first Dr. D. K. Olukoya football competition holds at the Evans Square.

The General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Dr. Daniel Olukoya sponsors the grassroots competition.

There will be two finals involving U-20 and U-15 teams.

Tagged Dr. D. K. Olukoya Dominion Cup, the competition resumed a few days ago after it was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent ban on contact sports by the Federal Government, which has since been lifted.

At stake in the U-20 final will be N1 million for the winners, N750, 000 for runners up and N500, 000 for the third-place finishers. The U-15 winners will get N750, 000; N500, 000 is for second place, and N300,000 will go to the third placed team.

Aside from monetary incentives, teams will also go home with giant trophies and medals.

Recall that Dr. Olukoya is the sole financier of MFM Football Club and MFM Women Basketball Club, who play in the Nigeria premier leagues and have represented Nigeria on the continent.

Expected at the event, which starts by 3.00 p.m., are Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) big wigs, ex-Super Eagles players, and football agents. Theguardianng

Lagos govt bans burial in homes

 

The Lagos State government has banned the burying of bodies within residential premises across the state as part of measures to prevent transmission of communicable diseases. It has also prohibited the use of residential areas as morgues, embalmment centres, and burial sites.

 

This was disclosed by the Executive Secretary of Lagos State Law Reform Commission, Ade Adeyemo, who said the prohibition had become imperative as the state seeks to step up to the 21st century realities of preventing communicable diseases.

 

She explained that the commission arrived at the adopted measures after careful consideration and review of laws that address the immediate and peculiar needs of Lagosians.

 

Speaking on the activities and impact of the commission since its establishment, Adeyemo noted that the exigencies of coronavirus and need to prevent second wave of the deadly respiratory diseases necessitated the review.

 

“In this regard, the commission, after review, found it expedient to ensure that the Lagos State Public Health Law was expanded to include present-day disease outbreaks like Ebola, Lassa fever and other communicable diseases,” she said.

 

Adeyemo added that some of the laws and bills that have been reviewed and forwarded to the House of Assembly for the benefit of the general public include the Animals Bill, Electric Power Sector Reform Law, Tenancy Bill, Real Estate Regulatory Bill, Lotteries and Gaming Authority Law and Law Enforcement Training Institute Bill, among others. Theguardianng

Ghana president wins second term with 51.59%

  

Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has won a second term after a tightly contested presidential election, the country’s electoral commission announced Wednesday, beating long-time opponent John Mahama.

Akufo-Addo of the centre-right New Patriotic Party (NPP) received 6,730,413 or 51.59 percent of votes while Mahama of the centre-left National Democratic Congress (NDC) received 6,214,889 or 47.36 percent of votes, the commission’s chairperson Jean Adukwei Mensa said.

Parliamentary results for the country’s 275 constituencies are yet to be announced, but are expected to be very close. Both parties are contesting some of the provisional results.

Mahama, 62, and Akufo-Addo, 76, are old rivals who have faced off at the ballot box twice before.

Mahama was president for four years until 2016, before being succeeded by Akufo-Addo. Both of those elections were determined by small margins.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, turnout was high on Monday, with 13,434,574 people voting or 79 percent of registered voters, according to the electoral commission.

While the vote was largely peaceful, five people were killed in election-related violence, police said Wednesday, casting a shadow over a country hailed for its stable democracy.

Ghana has had seven peaceful transitions of power since the return of democracy more than 30 years ago, and post-electoral grievances have always been pursued through the courts –- a rarity in the troubled region. Vanguardngr

National Assembly Has No Power To Summon Buhari – Malami

  

Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, says the National Assembly has no constitutional power to summon President Muhammadu Buhari.

Malami disclosed this on Wednesday in a statement titled ‘Buhari’s Summon: NASS Operates Outside Constitutional bounds.’

The AGF said, “National Assembly has no constitutional power to envisage or contemplate a situation where the president would be summoned by the national assembly on the operational use of the armed forces.”

He also noted the right of the President to engage the National Assembly and appear before it is “inherently discretionary in the President and not at the behest of the National Assembly.”

Members of the House of Representatives on December 1st passed a resolution to invite President Buhari to brief the house on the true state of the security situation in the country.

The decision to summon President Buhari was taken at plenary when the House considered a motion moved by members from Borno State on the recent massacre of 43 rice farmers in the state by Boko Haram insurgents.

In response to this, the President’s Personal Assistant on Social Media, Lauretta Onochie announced on Monday, December 7 that the President will address a joint session of the National Assembly. ChannelsTv

In Nigeria: Buhari sacks NDE DG

  

President Muhammadu Buhari has relieved Nasiru Argungu of his position as the director-general of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE).

Buhari’s decision was contained in a statement issued by Garba Shehu, the president’s senior special assistant on media and publicity, on Tuesday.

Argungu, aged 52 and said to be a cardiologist by training, was appointed as the NDE DG on April 18, 2017.

Shehu noted that the president’s directive on the termination of Argungu’s appointment was issued on Friday, but took effect on December 7.

Meanwhile, Festus Keyamo, minister of state, labour and employment who supervises the agency, has been directed to nominate an acting director-general.

The acting director-general is expected to be nominated from the most senior directors in the NDE “until a substantive holder of the post is appointed by Mr President”.

Shehu added that the acting director-general should be nominated based on competence and seniority in service. TheCableng

US: Supreme Court rejects bid to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania

  

The US Supreme Court has rejected a challenge against President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania.

Republicans in the state wanted to overturn certification of the result, but justices rejected the request in a one-sentence ruling.

It is a blow to President Donald Trump, who has previously suggested without evidence that the election result would be settled in the Supreme Court.

Mr. Trump lost his bid for re-election last month.

Since then he and his supporters have launched dozens of lawsuits questioning the vote results. None have come close to overturning Mr. Biden’s victory.

The Democratic candidate defeated Mr. Trump by a margin of 306 to 232 votes in the US Electoral College, which chooses the US president. Mr. Biden won seven million more votes than the president nationwide.

Pennsylvania’s Governor Tom Wolf has already certified Mr. Biden’s victory in the state. Under the rules of the Electoral College, the state’s 20 electors will meet on 14 December to officially cast their votes for the president-elect.

Republicans in the state however wanted to overturn Mr. Wolf’s certification. The state’s top court had rejected their bid last week, which made them appeal to the US Supreme Court in Washington.

Lawyers for the state and Governor Wolf criticised the case as “fundamentally frivolous”.

“No court has ever issued an order nullifying a governor’s certification of presidential election results,” they wrote.

And on Tuesday the Supreme Court dismissed the suit. The one-sentence ruling did not even cover the Republicans’ allegations, reading simply: “The application for injunctive relief presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is denied.”

Before, during and after the election, Mr. Trump has made unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud and suggested that the result would eventually be decided in the Supreme Court.

The president appointed three of the court’s justices during his single term in office. Most recently he controversially placed conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett on the bench after the death of the court’s most liberal justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, just weeks before the election.

This is not the end of legal challenges to Mr. Biden’s victory. Republicans in the state of Texas filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court on Tuesday accusing four other states of election irregularities – a challenge legal experts have sharply criticised.

Plaintiffs want the court to stop the use of “unlawful election results without review and ratification by the defendant states’ legislatures”.

Last week US Attorney General William Barr said his justice department had found no proof of mass fraud in the 2020 election.

(www.newsnow.co.uk)

Disabled women demand 5% of 35% affirmative action

  

Disabled women in the country are asking the womenfolk to spare them five per cent of the 35 per cent of the affirmative action that is expected to give more women opportunity to participate in governance processes.

According to the Chairperson of Network of Disabled Women (NDW), Lois Auta, the demand is flowing from the fact that a national gender policy has been formulated to promote the 35 per cent affirmative action for women.

The National Gender Policy (NGP) has formulated a 35 per cent Affirmative Action (AA) in Nigeria since 2006. The policy demands that women should constitute 35 per cent of those involved in all governance processes.

Auta said women with disabilities, being part and parcel of the womenfolk, were demanding just five per cent out of the 35 per cent.

She spoke at the weekend at a two-day national consultation on “ Young Women in Governance and Young Women with Disabilities” as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution and the proposed Women Fair Representation in Elective and Appointive Positions Bill 2020.

“It is estimated that 15 per cent of the world’s population live with some form of disability and that prevalence is higher among women, as about one in five women, 18 years and older, lives with one.

“The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which includes gender equality as one of its general principles, recognizes that disability is an evolving concept.

“In 2019, women still represented a small minority of elected representatives and political decision-makers everywhere. Worldwide, only 24.3 per cent of parliamentarians, 6.6 per cent of heads of state, and 5.2 per cent of heads of government are women. Data on political participation of women with disabilities is scarce,” she said.

According to Auta, the limited available data show an extremely low participation and representation of women with disabilities in political leadership roles.

“The representation of women from organizations of persons with disabilities tends also to be low in national coordination mechanisms on disability matters and their representation in national machinery for gender equality is even lower,” she lamented.

Auta concluded that in Nigeria, participation of women with disabilities in politics was at zero level. “We need to do more to achieve disability inclusion in the political sphere.”

Theguardianng

Sex toys remind God of Sodom, Gomorrah – Nigerian cleric

  

Rev. Tajan Moltok has condemned the use of sex toys.

NAN reports that in his ‘Understanding the Anointing’ sermon on Sunday, the cleric described it as a perversion of nature.

Moltok is the Resident Pastor of Shepherd House Assembly International in Jos, Plateau State.

He said the act was a sin of lawlessness and degeneration of morality.

“This act reminds God of Sodom and Gomorrah. Masturbation is becoming a lifestyle, people do not have control over their sexual urges. Do not give Satan a chance.”

Moltok added that the church must return to God and be sanitised to live right to His glory.

“The church must come back to God. You cannot be in church and you are keeping malice with someone for one year. The anointing will give you a forgiving spirit.”

Moltok stressed that God’s anointing would renew believers’ strength and empower them to be victorious against their enemies. NAN

Why I stopped entering for Headies, other awards – Rapper, Vector

  

Nigerian rapper, Olanrewaju Ogunmefun, popularly known as Vector has revealed why he stopped entering for the Headies and other awards.

The rapper in a post via his Twitter account on Saturday said he intentionally removed himself from getting involved in such competitions because he scrapped the idea of having to outdo other artists.

He also stated that he stopped competing with other rappers because he knows he can “easily beat them one on one.”

The rapper further revealed that he’s grown now and awards don’t mean anything to him anymore, adding that he doesn’t also care about money or clout and only wants to make music.

“Intentionally removed myself from the idea that I have to outdo mode9. It’s not necessary.

“Ask him about me in the studio and he will tell you. I don’t care about clout. I just want to make music. F*ck money too. That sh*t comes and goes anyway.

“I known how much my deal is worth as a rapper. But that’s not me because bragging only brings fake people around you anyways.

“Stay humble and live easy. Accolades are just accolades.

“Peace to everybody who deserves peace. As for the Headies, I stopped entering for it because I don’t want to compete with rappers (I can easily beat them on a one on one but that was Unilag).

“I’m grown now. Awards actually don’t mean anything to me anymore. Let new people win awards,” he said. Dailypost

We are ‘ara Ife’, Yoruba is an alias, says Ooni

 

OONI of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has said the people of South-West Nigeria are ‘Ara Ife’ and not Yoruba as they are being called.

Oba Ogunwusi spoke in his Ile Oodua Palace on Saturday, while receiving indigenes of Otun-Ekiti and descendants of Olofin Ogunfunminire, who visited Ile-Ife to reunite with their root.

The royal father, who noted that all towns and settlements across Yorubaland had their roots in Ife, further explained that a research had revealed that the Yoruba people of South-West Nigeria were with the oldest DNA dated about 120,000 years.

Speaking further at the event attended by the Ajero of Ijero-Ekiti, Oba Joseph Adewole, Akeran Onimoba of Moba in Lagos State, Oba Razak Adisa, Alagbado of Agbado, Ogun State, Oba Adeayo Syllon and Aare OnaKakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, Oba Ogunwusi, declared that the name Yoruba could not be found in Ifa corpus.

A statement by Moses Olafare, the Director, Directorate of Media and Publicity, Ooni’s Palace, on Sunday quoted Ooni as saying, “There is nothing like Yoruba in Ifa corpus, it is like an alias given to us. We are all from Ile-Ife, we are Ara Ife.

“Scientifically, it has been proven that only the Yoruba that have the ghost DNA which gave the emergence to the likes of the sickle cell. Over 90 per cent of sickle cell history and genealogy is within us and our forbearance call them Abiku; the spirit and reincarnation of ghost spirit. You can hardly find that in the world.

“At some point, we once lived together as one big happy family and the likes of Oore of Otun played a pivotal role as the spokesperson of Oduduwa, our progenitor, the thinking and think-tank. We started the Parliamentary system.

Speaking with newsmen, Oore of Otun-Ekiti and Paramount Ruler of Moba, Oba Adekunle Adeagbo, who led his subjects to Ile-Ife, described the event as a historic homecoming for sons and daughters of Otun-Ekiti and other Moba towns across Yorubaland. Punch

Bello condemns fresh #ENDSARS protests, Lagos command warns organisers

 

The Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has appealed to Nigerian youths to shelve any plan of embarking on another round of#EndSARS protests.

He said such move would be premature, dangerous and counterproductive.

This is just as the Lagos State Police Command on Sunday warned against any planned protest or gathering in the state

Bello, in a special broadcast to Nigerian youths on Sunday, said he was worried following intelligence reports that youths were mobilising to resume another round of#EndSARS protests in some selected cities beginning from Monday (today).

He said,  “I deem another round of #EndSARS protests to be premature and counter-productive at this time. Apart from the higher likelihood of conflict with the police, we must also admit that the security situation in the country is very precarious at the moment.

“All patriots must therefore make conscious efforts not to degrade a parlous security situation further. Nationwide protests at this time will only overburden the load-bearing capabilities of our security architecture increasing the likelihood of total collapse. No matter the narrative, I doubt that out-of-control anarchy is an objective of the #EndSARS protests,” Bello said.

Bello also advised the youth to look beyond protests as the only means of effecting social change in the country, adding they should begin to organise themselves to take part in the 2023 political process which could help them to effect the necessary changes in the country.

Meanwhile, the Lagos command in a statement on Sunday by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, warned against planned protests on Monday at some designated places in the state.

Adejobi, who noted that the state was still nurturing the losses and pains of the violence that broke out after some hoodlums hijacked the #EndSARS protest, stated that the state was not ready to accommodate a replica of the protest.

The statement read in part, “Lagos State Police Command, therefore, warns those who might want to disguise under EndSARS protest to cause another set of mayhem, brouhaha and violence in the state, to desist from such plans as the police and other security agencies will not fold their arms seeing individuals or groups orchestrating another violence and anarchy in the state.

 

“The command also warns parents and guardians to warn and discourage their children and wards from being lured into any act, gathering or protest capable of causing violence in the state.” Punch