Months
DR Congo frees 26 prisoners for Laurent Kabila’s assassination
Jubilation at the Makala prison in Kinshasa Friday as Congolese president Felix Tshisekedi pardoned at least 26 men, who were convicted for planning the assassination of ex-president Laurent Kabila in 2001. They include Colonel Eddy Kapend, a prominent figure, Nono Lutula, a former special advisor on security and Leta Mangasa, and a former head of the National Intelligence Agency. Tshisekedi freed the men through a presidential decree read on state television over the weekend. He said the pardon was out of “humanity, compassion and national reconciliation”. The ex-Congolese president, Laurent Kabila was assassinated at the presidential palace in Kinshasa on January 16, 2001. Despite a long probe into his murder, the exact circumstances of Kabila’s assassination is still in contention. Seve...
Nigerian government begins three-month special public works scheme in Jigawa
The federal government on Friday inaugurated the Extended Special Public Works (ESPW) programme in Jigawa with 1,000 unskilled youth benefiting from the 27 local government areas of the state. Each participant will receive N20,000 monthly for three months for the duration of the programme. The Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, who made this known at the ceremony in Dutse, said that the extended programme was an outcome of the pilot SPW in rural areas approved by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2020. Mr. Adamu said that the programme was introduced following the emergence of the novel COVID-19 pandemic, as a measure to cushion the adverse socio-economic effects on citizens. “It aimed at shielding the vulnerable from the ravaging effects of COVID-19 pandemic which included, but are ...
#EndSARS: It’ll take long to rebuild destroyed property – Governor Sanwo-Olu
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, said, yesterday, that it would take the state time to rebuild the properties destroyed during the EndSARS protests. This came on a day the Lagos State government disclosed that the 2021 budget of N1.164 trillion would be funded from a revenue estimate of N971.028 billion in the fiscal year, with a target on the expansion of tax nets. Governor Sanwo-Olu stated this while briefing State House correspondents, after meeting behind closed doors with President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He said the meeting dwelt more on the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic, security situation and the impact of the #EndSARS protests in the state. On rebuilding Lagos after the EndSARS protests, he said: “It is also some of the things I dis...
Coronavirus: Nigeria now at tipping point – PTF
The Federal Government, yesterday, took stock of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic vis-a-vis the attitude of Nigerians to embracing safety precautions, and concluded that the country was now at a tipping point. This came as government announced its decision to establish oxygen plants in all states of the federation as part of measures to resolve the “oxygen crisis” that had engulfed some of the isolation and treatment centres in the country. Meanwhile, Edo State has recorded 28 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 270, as the state government cautions residents to abide by the precautionary health and safety guidelines. Vanguard, meanwhile, gathered that former vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe and th...
NANS: Nigerian government’s 2021 budget for education worst in 10 years
The President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Com. Sunday Asefon, has frowned at the 2021 budgetary provision for education under President Muhammadu Buhari, describing it as the worst in the last ten years in the country. Disturbed by the neglect of the education sector, which was apportioned with a paltry of 5.6 percent in the 2021 budget and the high level of insecurity in the country, NANS has planned to organise a Security and Education Summit to partner stakeholders on how to arrest the drift in the two critical sectors Asefon said this in Ado-Ekiti, on Thursday, during a courtesy visit to the office of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Correspondents’ Chapel, Ekiti chapter. He said: “I condemn totally, the federal government’s 2021 budgetary provision to edu...
US Democrat Senate wins push stocks higher despite Capitol chaos
Clean sweep by Democrats allows them to enact big-spending policies likely to benefit the economy, investors say. Global stock markets rose and bonds nursed losses on Thursday in anticipation of a big-borrowing and big-spending Democratic administration driving growth, following runoff elections that gave the party control of both houses of the United States Congress. On Wednesday, US Treasury bonds had suffered their steepest selloff in months after Democratic Party victories in two races in the state of Georgia handed them narrow control of the Senate and the power to pass their agenda. US S&P 500 futures rose 0.6 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.9 percent as markets seemed to shake off a late fade that pulled Wall Street indexes back from fresh record peaks when chaotic protest...
Donald Trump allies in Congress to challenge his loss to Joe Biden
A band of President Donald Trump’s Republican allies planned a last-ditch effort on Wednesday to undo his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, a bid almost certain to fail that comes on the same day their party is poised to lose its majority in the Senate. The Republican-led Senate and Democratic-controlled House of Representatives were due to meet to formally certify Biden’s victory in the Nov. 3 election in proceedings that could stretch past midnight. In a joint session of Congress, Trump’s allies plan to challenge the results from a handful of states won by Biden. Thousands of pro-Trump protesters converged on Washington ahead of the session at his urging. Some clashed with police overnight. Biden won the election by a 306-232 count in the state-by-state Electoral College and by a marg...
Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon questions Celtic’s Dubai trip
Agence France-Presse Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has questioned Celtic’s decision to jet off for a mid-season training camp in Dubai as the country struggles with tough coronavirus restrictions. The Premiership club insisted on Monday that they had received Scottish government approval for the trip. However, Sturgeon indicated the go-ahead was given in November, before tougher Covid-19 measures were put in place. “The rules have been — and they may need to change given the changing nature of the pandemic — that elite sports can go overseas for training camps if that’s important in the context of their training for competitions,” Sturgeon said at a media briefing on Tuesday. “I’ve seen a comment from the club that said it’s more for R (rest) and R (relaxation) than it is for tra...
Lucas Vázquez rejects first offer from Real Madrid
Real Madrid have got down to work with the renewal of Lucas Vázquez and for now, there’s no agreement. ‘Marca’ published that the winger has rejected the first offer from the club. A few months ago it was clear that Lucas Vázquez’s cycle at Real Madrid had ended, but the winger has surprised both as a full-back and in his natural position. He is another totally different player and this has led to the renewal. Lucas’ contract ends on 30th June and at the start of the season, there were doubts about his continuity. Only the insistence of Zinedine Zidane, who always trusted him, kept his options open. But in the end, he has ended up winning him over on the park. For that reason, with the arrival of the new year, Real Madrid have got down to work with the extension of his contract. The Madrid...
Alibaba founder Jack Ma ‘missing’ after criticism of Chinese government
Chinese business magnate Jack Ma has reportedly gone missing for two months, Yahoo Finance reported early Monday. The seemingly awkward disappearance of the 56-year-old billionaire businessman from the public eye comes nearly three months after he made critical remarks about the ‘stifling of innovation’ by Chinese authorities through stringent regulations, which he said had outlived their relevance. “Today’s financial system is the legacy of the Industrial Age,” Yahoo Finance reported Mr. Ma to have said on October 24. “We must set up a new one for the next generation and young people. We must reform the current system.” The Alibaba and Ant Group founder, who has spent years advancing the course of an open and market-driven economy in the communist East Asian country, has not been seen in ...
Bauchi government commences construction of N7.3 billion road projects
The Bauchi State Government on Tuesday commenced the construction of three strategic roads with the sum of N7.3 billion in the state. Newsmen report that the new roads include a 13.5 kilometres road from Warji in the state to Gwaram in Jigawa. Others are 11.6 kilometres road from Bogoro to Lusa and Malar communities as well as 11.2 kilometres road from Boi to Tapshin, communities in Bogoro LGA bothering Plateau State. Speaking during the event in Warji Local Government, Gov. Bala Mohammed, said the roads were carefully selected in order to deliver a well thought-out project to the teeming populace. He said the state had already made 30 per cent advance payment and the roads were to be completed within 24 months. “The roads where constructions are flagged off today were carefully selected i...
Nigerian National Assembly spends billions of naira on constitution review
The perennial constitution amendment exercise by the National Assembly is characterised by proposals that keep resurfacing despite gulping billions of naira yearly, an analysis has shown. The federal parliament had from the 5th to the current 9th National Assembly made several attempts to amend some provisions of the 1999 Constitution to no avail. At every session, the parliament officially spends N1 billion shared equally between the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are reports that the lawmakers spend more than what is appropriated for the exercise. While some amendments were successful, several others suffered serial failures but kept appearing in new proposals. Considering the huge spending, lawyers and civil society groups have pointed out that no significant amendments ...