January
Ohanaeze faction opens own office
The division in Ohanaeze Ndigbo leadership following January 10th election has deepened with the faction opposed to the Prof. George Obiozor- led leadership opening a parallel office opposite the Akanu Ibiam International Airport as its operational base. The Engr. Chidi Ibeh-led faction had while inspecting the main Ohanaeze Secretariat at the Park Avenue, Enugu, recently, declared it as uninhabitable and vowed to secure another secretariat to run the affairs of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization. Meanwhile, the Ibeh group has declared April 22, 2021 as “Atonement Day of Ndigbo”. According to Ibeh, on the issue of atonement, “this land must be purified; our prayerful men and women will be assembled together, all the clergy in Igbo land will come together and pray for the cleansing o...
Martin Odegaard tells friends his stance on potential Arsenal transfer
Martin Odegaard has reportedly opened up to his friends about a potential permanent transfer to Arsenal. According to football.london, the Norway international has been impressed by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta since joining on loan from Real Madrid in January, and could now be keen to stay. However, the report adds that Odegaard won’t push to extend his stay at Arsenal, even if he is keen to do so after being won over by Arteta’s project at the Emirates Stadium. Odegaard has long looked an exciting young talent but has not had many first-team opportunities at Real Madrid down the years. The 22-year-old also caught the eye on loan at Real Sociedad last season, and it seems his time with Arsenal has also been good for him as he’s shown what he can do when given the chance. Arsenal would sur...
US workers enticed with bonuses, time off to get coronavirus vaccine
As Covid-19 vaccination drives get into gear across the United States, some businesses are offering transportation, paid time off and bonuses of up to $500 to encourage workers to get the jab. Labor-intensive industries like slaughterhouses, supermarkets, and farms, whose workers are at higher risk of contracting the virus, have taken the lead, with several large grocery chains offering two to four hours of paid leave time for employees to get vaccinated. “Providing accommodations so employees can receive this critical vaccine is one more way we can support them and eliminate the need to choose between earning their wages and protecting their well-being,” Jason Hart, CEO of supermarket chain Aldi, said in January. Others have taken advantage of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention re...
Arsenal receive positive Martin Odegaard update after ankle injury scare
Arsenal have been left breathing a huge sigh of relief after it was confirmed that the injury suffered by Martin Odegaard while on international duty is not serious. Gunners fans were left concerned on Wednesday night after the in-form Real Madrid loanee appeared to painfully roll his ankle before being substituted at half-time of Norway’s 3-0 World Cup qualifying win against Gibraltar. The absence of Odegaard for any extended period of time would have come as a sizable blow to Arsenal, with the 22-year-old having grown in influence since moving to north London in January and played a critical role in Sunday’s comeback draw against London rivals West Ham, afterwards attracting effusive praise from manager Mikel Arteta. But not only does it seem that Odegaard is now unlikely to miss key upc...
Fred racially abused on social media following Man United FA Cup exit
Fred suffered racist abuse online following Manchester United’s FA Cup exit to Leicester City on Sunday. Fred was at fault for Leicester’s opening goal as he gifted the ball to Kelechi Iheanacho in front of goal, with the Leicester striker rounding goalkeeper Dean Henderson to slot the ball home. After United’s 3-1 defeat, the 28-year-old’s Instagram account became the target of abuse from online trolls, with several of the comments racial in nature. The Brazil international is one of several United players to be subjected to abuse in recent weeks. Marcus Rashford posted a statement about comments directed at him in late January, while Anthony Martial and Axel Tuanzebe were also targeted. Here’s the manager’s take on a disappointing afternoon ⬇ 🔴 #MUFC🏆 #...
Polls open in Congo as main opposition party boycotts election
Polls have opened in the Republic of Congo’s presidential election that is boycotted by the main opposition party and attacked by critics as tilted toward veteran leader Denis Sassou Nguesso. Voting centres opened at 07:00 (06:00 GMT) and will close at 17:00 (16:00 GMT). More than 2.5 million voters have registered to take part in the election which Nguesso, 77, is widely expected to win against six contenders. The list of contenders is led by economist and 2016 presidential runner-up Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, who was hospitalised on Saturday. Kolelas’ campaign did not say what illness had struck the 60-year-old but a family member told the Associated Press he had been diagnosed with coronavirus. Nguesso, a former paratrooper, first rose to power in 1979 and has since accumulated 36 years...
Apple discontinuing two configurations of its 21.5 inch iMac
Apple recently discontinued the iMac Pro, and two configurations of the 21.5-inch iMac are now joining the Pro in retirement. As spotted by MacRumors, the 512GB and 1TB SSD configurations of the 21.5-inch iMac are no longer available for purchase, with only the 256GB SSD and 1TB Fusion drive versions available to buy on Apple’s website. Both configurations appeared unavailable for purchase on Apple’s website as of last month, but at the time it was not clear if that was a supply issue or a permanent discontinuation of the two options. But now both the 512GB and 1TB SSD options are gone from the iMac configuration page, MacRumors notes. A big iMac redesign has been rumored in the works for some time. Apple is expected to replace the 27-inch and 21.5-inch versions of the iMac with a redesign...
Nigeria’s inflation rate hits 17.33 percent
The consumer price index, which measures the rate of increase in the price of goods and services, increased to 17.33 percent in February. This is the highest point since April 2017. According to the CPI/Inflation report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday, the food inflation stood at 21.79 percent, the highest point since the 2009 data series began. According to the NBS, food inflation also grew by 21.79 percent year-on-year compared to 20.57 percent recorded in January. The headline inflation for month-on-month also increased to 1.89 percent from 1.83 percentage points. It explained that the upward movement in food inflation was caused by increases in the prices of bread, cereals, fish, potatoes, yam and other tubers, vegetables, meat, oils and fats, fruits and ...
Gombe to pay retirees outstanding gratuity, releases N775 million
Gombe State government is set to commence the payment of another tranche of outstanding gratuity to retired civil servants in the state. A statement by director-general, media and public affairs, to the state government, Ismaila Misili, noted that this followed the release of N775 million by Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya for the payment of the retirees’ benefits. He said sequel to the governor’s directives, the committee set up by the governor to verify and ascertain the correctness of outstanding gratuity owed state retirees has concluded arrangements to commence the payment and therefore requests retired state civil servants from January to December 2015, to come forward for verification and collection of their entitlements. “The exercise, according to the chairman of the committee and...
ICPC drops forgery charges against ex-presidential aide
File Photo The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has amended the corruption and certificate forgery charges it filed against an ex-presidential aide, Okoi Obono-Obla. The amendment, coming less than two months after Obono-Obla and his co-defendants were arraigned by the commission, reduced the number of counts from 10 to five. The amended charges filed at the High Court of the FCT, in Apo, Abuja, on March 4 and seen by newsmen on Sunday, also revealed that the anti-corruption agency has backtracked on its allegations of certificate forgery sensationally levelled against Obono-Obla in 2019. Obono-Obla, a former special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Prosecutions, was suspended by the President as the chairman of the Special Presidential Inv...
Activist asks court to compel Kano, others to refund VAT generated from alcohol
An Abuja-based activist, Sesugh Akume, has filed a suit before a Federal High Court in the nation’s capital, asking it to compel states that outlawed the sale of alcohol to refund the sums received through Value Added Tax imposed on alcoholic beverages. About 12 states practise Sharia law in Nigeria. They are Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Borno, Yobe, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Zamfara and Niger. Based on Sharia law, some of the states prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages and usually hold public events where bottles of alcoholic drinks are destroyed while gambling is also illegal. However, all the states receive VAT collected from alcoholic beverages sold in other states that permit the sale of the product. In an originating motion brought pursuant to Section 1(3), 4(5), 162(3), (4...
Chelsea owner takes legal action over ‘Putin’s People’ book
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has launched legal action for defamation over the book Putin’s People. The Blues owner’s case relates to “a number of false and defamatory claims made about our client in the book published by HarperCollins.” The book was written by author Caterine Belton and contains a number of claims about Abramovich and others close to Russia president Vladimir Putin. Abramovich’s statement, published on Chelsea’s club website, says: “Today my legal representatives have issued legal proceedings in England in relation to a book that was published in the UK. The book contains a number of false and defamatory statements about me, including about my purchase, and the activities, of Chelsea Football Club. “Today’s action was not taken lightly. It has never been my ambition to ...