Turnout
Malawi runs out of coronavirus vaccines as second jabs due
Delays in coronavirus vaccine shipments to Malawi have caused health facilities to run out of doses as hundreds are due to receive a second shot, the health minister said Saturday. The southern African country has so far received 300 000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the United Nations, 102 000 from the African Union and 50 000 donated by India. Inoculations started in April and the country was expecting a second UN shipment of 900 000 by the end of May, four weeks before the first vaccinated Malawians would be due a second dose. But Health Minister Khumbize Kandodo said that batch had been delayed by a recent surge in coronavirus cases in India, the world’s main AstraZeneca supplier, which forced the country to temporarily halt major vaccine exports to meet local demand. “The situ...
June 12: Lagos markets shut, traders express fears
Despite Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu’s appeal to Lagos residents to disregard any sit-at-home order by activists, marketers in Ogba axis of Lagos, shut their stores Saturday over fear of violent clashes between protesters and security agencies. A trader who pleaded anonymity told newsmen he had been at his shop since 6:00am but couldn’t open his shop because he was scared protesters may attack him. “Saturday market is the best because you have more people who couldn’t visit the market during the week come to the market to shop for the week. But I can’t open because I don’t know what form the protest will take. All the markets in my shop were secured by loan” he said. As observed, the Area G Police Station was peaceful and calm with no baracade, but four patrol vans we...
Iran says nuclear talks policy won’t change after presidential vote
Iran’s policy in talks with world powers to revive the 2015 nuclear accord will remain unchanged after a June 18 presidential election because the issue is decided by its highest leadership, a government spokesman said on Tuesday. A host of barriers to the revival of the nuclear deal remain firmly in place ahead of talks due to resume this week, suggesting a return to compliance with the accord is still a way off, diplomats, Iranian officials and analysts said. “We have shown that we adhere to our international obligations under all circumstances, and this was a national decision,” cabinet spokesman Ali Rabiei told a weekly news conference. Rabiei said Iran’s nuclear policy, set by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is not linked to internal developments and that the new government wou...
NAF chief: Armed forces committed to end insecurity
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, yesterday declared that the Armed Forces remained committed to ending the crisis of insecurity ravaging the nation. He said the expected delivery of six A-29 Super Tucano fighter jets by the United States in July and two drones from China, would be a “game changer” in the war against insurgency. The position of the air force chief is coming on a day the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, sought the assistance of the Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Farouk Yahaya, to provide security for train stations and railway construction sites across the country. Speaking at the graduation ceremony of 1,031 recruits of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Basic Military Training Course 41/2020, Amao affirmed that “the NAF in consonance w...
Ex-President Obasanjo visits Chicks market in Ibadan, promises improved system
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday assured members of the Day Old Chicks Merchant Association of Nigeria (DOCMAN) of improved system and the backing of the government. Obasanjo gave the assurance during his surprise visit to the market, Obasanjo Day Old Chicks Market, located at Oluyole Estate in Ibadan. The former president, who arrived at the market at about 9.20 a.m, was conducted round the congested market by Deacon Sunday Agusa, the General Manager of Obasanjo Farms, Ibadan. Newsmen report that there was massive turnout of traders at the market to welcome the former president amidst pomp and pageant. Obasanjo said that his attention was drawn to the existence of the market by his staff member and the use of his name to grow the market to an international standard on day-ol...
PDP hails suspension of three council chairmen by Lagos Assembly
File Photo The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has commended Lagos House of Assembly (LAHA) over the suspension of three council chairmen in the state. The PDP Publicity Secretary in the state, Taofik Gani, gave the commendation in a statement issued on Sunday in Lagos. The suspended chairmen are: Ogidan Mukandasi of Lekki LCDA, Suleiman Jelili (Alimosho) and Tajudeen Ajide (Surulere). He said that the assembly’s resolution to suspend the three council chairmen over alleged mismanagement and under-performance was commendable. According to him, many local government areas and local council development areas (LCDAs) in the state have remained underdeveloped since the assumption of office by the chairmen in 2017. Newsmen recall that the assembly had, on Tuesday, suspended the council chairmen ...
Sokoto conducts council polls amidst boycott by APC
Council elections went on in Sokoto on Saturday despite a boycott by the main opposition party, All Progressives Congress. According to the State Independent Electoral Commission, 10 political parties participated in the election but only PDP agents were seen in most of the polling units observed by newsmen. Some political observers opined that other participating parties were not financially buoyant to recruit and deploy agents to the polling units. However, there was low turnout in some of the polling units observed, especially in the state’s metropolis while in other areas. Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who cast his vote in his hometown of Tambuwal, noted that, periodic local government election was fundamental to a sustainable democracy. “We all know that local council election is a ...
Voter apathy mars Kano council poll
Saturday’s Kano State local government election, recorded low turnout of voters, as only a handful voters were seen in polling units, newsmen reports. NAN correspondent who went round polling units across the metropolis, reports that there was voter apathy in almost all polling units during the poll. Areas visited included Chedi, Zage, Zango, Gandu, Sharada, Wailawa, Dorayi, Kabuga, Rijiyar Zaki in Kano Municipal, Gwale, and Ungogo local government areas of the state. NAN reports that the election started around 10:30 a.m. with heavy presence of policemen and other security personnel.However, voters interviewed, expressed delight at participating in the election. Malam Jazuli Yusuf a voter in Gwale, said he voted at the election to exercise his civic right. Yusuf said the election would en...
Kuwaiti opposition make gains in first parliamentary vote under new emir
Opposition candidates made gains in a parliamentary vote in Kuwait in which two thirds of MPs lost their seats and no women were elected, a result which analysts said could hamper government reform efforts to address a severe liquidity crunch. Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who took the reins in September following the death of his brother, had raised hopes of a detente between the ruling family and their critics in the perpetually deadlocked and fractious parliament. The final count carried on state media on Sunday showed that 31 new lawmakers had been elected to the 50-seat assembly, which is unusually outspoken for the highly authoritarian Gulf region. None of the 29 female candidates who stood in the election were successful. There was no official figure for turnout but local med...
