Purpose
Liverpool given go-ahead for Anfield expansion
Liverpool have been given the go-ahead to expand Anfield by around 7,000 seats, taking the total capacity at their historic stadium to more than 61,000. City council planners voted in favour of the redevelopment of the Anfield Road Stand on Tuesday, despite concerns expressed by residents and environmental groups about the impact on nearby Stanley Park. The Premier League club’s project is expected to be completed in 2023. “This is a huge milestone in our journey towards bringing more supporters into Anfield,” said Liverpool managing director Andy Hughes. “We underwent a rigorous two-stage public consultation period during the planning process for this project and I would like to thank everyone who has offered a contribution to that.” As part of the application, the club have also been giv...
You Are Not Here To Gain Acceptance, You Are Here To Fulfill Purpose
MARK ZUCKERBERG: YOU ARE NOT HERE TO GAIN ACCEPTANCE, YOU ARE HERE TO FULFILL PURPOSE “The only permission, the only validation, and the only opinion that matters in our quest for greatness is our own”-Steve Maraboli Geoffrey Albert once said, “When you take charge of your life, there is no longer need to ask permission of other people or society at large. When you ask for permission, you give someone veto power over your life”. It is appalling how we have been programmed by societal expectations and other people’s opinion. We can actually re-program ourselves to unleash our full potentials. Stop waiting for something to happen or for someone to give you permission to do things; the need for permission is a barrier we create or an excuse we make to prevent ourselves from living the life th...
NPC: Census will not consider religion, ethnicity
The National Population Commission says the population census will not take into consideration the number of adherents of any religion or the number of members of ethnic groups. It, therefore, denied including a religious category in the questionnaires being distributed in the first pre-test exercise for the next population and housing census in the country. The Director, Public Affairs of the NPC, Udi Joseph, said this in a statement on Wednesday while reacting to viral Whatsapp messages claiming the NPC had made two separate categories for Muslims and one category for Christians in its questionnaire. In a statement titled, ‘NPC Refutes Fake News on Religion in Census Questionnaires’, the organisation said even in previous population census exercises, religion and ethnicity were not consi...
US prioritises students’ visas
US Embassy in South Africa The U.S. Mission Country Consular Coordinator, Susan Tuller, has said the Mission in Nigeria will continue to prioritise student visa appointments throughout the summer months. Tuller disclosed this during the celebration of the U.S. Consulate’s “Student Visa Day.” According to her, there are over 13,000 Nigerian students and soon a few more may join them in studying in the U.S. She added that the Mission has interviewed over 2,500 student applicants since this year. Tuller noted that student visa numbers have gone down worldwide due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. According to her, student numbers from Nigeria were up to 2.5 per cent for the 2019/2020 school year, adding that in the eighth year in a row, the percentage has increased. Tuller encouraged students ...
Sultan: What Nigeria needs now is excellent leadership
The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, says what the country needs at this time is excellent and purposeful leadership. Abubakar said this during the inauguration of an ultramodern camp for Muslim and Christians pilgrims in Bauchi state. He called on leaders to strive to ensure that they fulfill the purpose for which they were elected to their various positions. “Leaders should always strive to do what the people want, because it is the main reason they were voted into power by the people. “What the country needs now is excellent and purposeful leadership. Leadership has been bestowed on us by Allah. We should know that one day, we will all give account of our stewardship in the hereafter. “It is incumbent on us as leaders to discharge our responsibilities to the best of our ability. The fo...
President Buhari orders IGP to reduce insecurity to barest minimum
President Muhammadu Buhari, has ordered Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba to ensure insecurity is reduced to the barest minimum. This is even as the Police Council made up of the President, Vice President, governors, ministers of Police Affairs, Interior and the Federal Capital Territory, confirmed Baba as the IGP. Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Maigari Dingyadi, who confirmed the development at the end of the one and half hours meeting, said he was unanimously confirmed. President Buhari had on April 6, appointed Baba as acting the Inspector General of Police. Baba was a Deputy Inspector General of Police before his promotion. Briefing State House Correspondents at the end of the meeting held at the First Lady Conference Room, the main purpose of the meeting was to “get the appo...
Minister: We’ve used 98 percent of coronavirus vaccine in FCT
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Bello, has said his administration had used 98 per cent of the COVID-19 vaccines allocated to the territory. Bello made the disclosure shortly after he took the second jab of COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday in Abuja. The jab was administered on him alongside the FCT Permanent Secretary, Mr Olusade Adesola, and the acting Secretary, FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat, Dr Mohammed Kawu. He expressed delight over the reduction in the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the FCT, and urged health workers to strive to ensure that residents were protected against the virus. The minister admonished FCT residents to avail themselves of any opportunity that was brought forward to them to be vaccinated. “Unless we get a substant...
Mali coup: Ghana to host Extraordinary ECOWAS Summit in Accra
Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has stated that the country will on Sunday, May 30, host an Extraordinary ECOWAS Summit in Accra. Addressing the press, Saturday, Mrs. Ayorkor Botchwey noted that the purpose of the meeting is to enable several heads of state, led by Chairman President Akufo-Addo to address the current political tensions in Mali. “In line with the ECOWAS protocol on democracy and good governance, the President of the Republic, Nana-Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo in his capacity as chair of the ECOWAS authority of heads of state and government, following due consultations with his peers decided to convene this extraordinary summit. “The purpose of the Summit is to enable the authority to deliberate and take consequential decisions on the evolving polit...
Russia calls U.S. decision to not rejoin Open Skies arms pact ‘a political mistake’
Russia on Friday called a U.S. decision to not rejoin the Open Skies arms control pact, which allows unarmed surveillance flights over member countries, a political mistake that strikes a sour note ahead of a summit, Russian news agencies reported. The United States told Russia on Thursday it would not rejoin the pact, which Washington left in November, accusing Russia of violating it, something Moscow denied. The original decision to quit the pact was taken by the administration of then U.S. president Donald Trump and Moscow had hoped that Joe Biden would reverse that decision. Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, was quoted by the RIA news agency on Friday as saying that Moscow was disappointed but not entirely surprised by Biden’s decision. “It certainly does not make us ha...
Ondo governor: No land in southern Nigeria will be ceded to invaders masquerading as herdsmen
The Ondo State Governor and Chairman of the Southern Governors Forum, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has declared that “no inch of the space delineated and known, currently, as South West, and indeed the whole South, will be ceded to a band of invaders masquerading as herdsmen under any guise.” Akeredolu made the declaration in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant Special Duties and Strategies, Dr Doyin Odebowale. The declaration was sequel to a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, on the position of President Muhammadu Buhari, on the farmer-herder clashes and what was termed as “Deep Rooted Solutions to the herdsmen attacks”. Shehu had in the statement revealed the presidency’s position that ranching and revival...
Nigerian anti-graft agencies urged to beam searchlight on professional bodies
Human rights activist, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), members of civil society groups and others have called on anti-graft agencies to beam their searchlight on professional bodies in the country if the fight against corruption must be successful. Falana and others are of the opinion that until members of professional bodies who are found to have aided crimes and criminality are sanctioned, corruption will continue to be on the rise. Falana, Chairman, Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), Olarenwaju Suraj, and Executive Secretary, Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption (PACAC), Mr Sadiq Radda, argued that professionals such as lawyers, accountants, bankers etc should be made to face the same punishment alongside their criminal clients. They made the suggestions on Wednesday...
Bayelsa councillor rejects fundraising after building bridge with funds meant for official car
A Bayelsa State councillor, Onem Miracle Tyna, has rejected offers of a GoFundMe or any other fundraising campaign planned on her behalf by members of the public. Of recent, it came to public notice that the 31-year-old female councillor in the Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State had used money meant for the purchase of her official car to underwrite the construction of a concrete motorable bridge which links over four communities in her ward. She had done this despite the discouragement from people who warned her of the monetary expense of such an undertaking. Photos of the bridge, before and after construction, had gone viral and members of the public hailed Tyna for her selfless service. The public commendation also reportedly drew the attention of Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye...
