Politics
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Zimbabwe street vendors sell cloth masks to make ends meet
Zimbabwe market stall owner Aaron Makaya saw a new business opportunity when President Emmerson Mnangagwa made face masks mandatory in public places to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The 21-year old had been stuck at home in the capital Harare and living off meagre savings since the start of a nationwide lockdown at the end of March. Confinement measures were extended by two weeks on May 1 – another month without income for informal workers like Makaya. Meanwhile, factory-made face masks turned out to be unaffordable for most in a country crippled by poverty and hyperinflation. Makaya and other informal workers jumped on the opportunity to make money by sewing and selling cheaper cloth masks at intersections. “We started selling these masks on Monday when we noticed that people intendi...
Ogun PDP gets new executive committee
File Photo The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, deepened on Friday, as the faction loyal to Senator Buruji Kashamu, inaugurated its new state executive members to steer the affairs of the party for the next four years. The oaths of office which was done in batches of 15 persons were administered by a lawyer and notary public, Victor Owokoya and Oluwatoyin Omomehin, respectively. The inauguration, ceremony which took place at the State Party Secretariat in Abeokuta, also saw the new exco members getting cars from the Omo-Ilu Foundation, courtesy Senator Buruji Kashamu. Ogun PDP had been enmeshed in a battle of supremacy between the loyalists of Kashamu and party faithful loyal to a former House of Representatives member, Oladipupo Adebutu. Speaking with newsm...
Nigerian stock market indices record first week loss of 1.27 per cent
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday recorded first week loss with the market indicators dropping 1.27 per cent due to profit taking. Specifically, the market capitalisation of listed equities dipped N161 billion or 1.27 per cent to N12.531 trillion compared with N12.692 trillion achieved on Thursday. Also, the All-Share Index dropped by 308.85 points or 1.27 per cent to close at 24,045.40 points from 24,354.25 on Thursday. MTN Nigeria dominated the losers’ chart, dropping by N8 to close at N112 per share. Guaranty Trust Bank trailed with a loss of 55k to close at N21.95, while BUA Cement was down by 40k to close at N31.90 per share. Guinness lost 30k to close at N18, while C & I Leasing depreciated by 20k to close at N4.50 per share On the other hand, Nigerian Breweries led the...
EU, Britain to start third push on post-Brexit ties
Britain and Brussels embark on a fresh round of trade talks Monday that downbeat EU officials say show little promise of advancing amid the added turmoil of the coronavirus outbreak. The UK left the European Union on January 31 and both sides have until the end of the year to forge a new basis for relations, barring an optional extension that London refuses to contemplate. The new talks round will begin with a virtual head-to-head between Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, and his UK counterpart, David Frost — both of whom have recovered from a bout with the virus. That will be followed by videoconferences involving hundreds of officials throughout the week. The previous round of UK-EU talks broke up on April 24 with little or no progress. European officials accuse Britain of focus...
British-Nigerian rapper dies of coronavirus
A British-Nigerian rapper, TY Ben Chijioke, has died from coronavirus complications. He was 47 . The rapper’s death was confirmed by his team on Thursday. The late rapper, who recorded several acclaimed albums, died of pneumonia as he was being treated for coronavirus. He was hospitalised after contracting the virus and placed in a medically-induced coma. A fundraising to fund his medical bill was closed on April 19 when he appeared to be recovering after leaving the ICU. The fundraising page explained that Ty was admitted to hospital with medical complications related to the coronavirus. The star was then placed into a medically-induced coma, and later put on a ventilator, but was moved out of intensive care after his condition improved. Ty first shot to prominence in 2001 with his album ...
Official: Some coronavirus patients in Lagos on the run
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, said on Friday that many people who tested positive for coronavirus were running away from being taken to isolation centres for treatment. Mr Abayomi said this was one of the reasons the state still has unoccupied beds at the isolation centres despite recording more cases than its bed-capacity. He spoke at the state secretariat on Friday when responding to the question on the discrepancy between the occupancy of the isolation centres and the number of active cases in the state. “There is also a situation that we experience, when we test people, sometimes they find it difficult to find them. The ambulances will go into community, people will flee their homes, and they make it difficult for us to find them.” Speaking on the stress health...
Gombe discharges 20 coronavirus patients after testing negative
Gombe State has discharged 20 COVID-19 patients out of 109 cases in isolation centres across the state after they tested negative twice. Prof. Idris Mohammed the Chairman of the State Task Force on COVID-19, made the disclosure at a news briefing on Friday in Gombe. Mohammed, who was represented by Dr Ahmed Gana, the state’s Commissioner for Health, said that the 20 patients were discharged following directive from the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). “We are happy to inform the general public that NCDC has given us go ahead to discharge a total of 20 cases under our isolation facilities. “Ten from Kwadon Isolation facility and the second 10 were from Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH) Gombe Isolation center,” he said. He added that more patients would be discharged in the next few...
Zamfara sacks Zakkat board secretary, two others
The Zamfara State Government has sacked the Executive Secretary and two other directors of the state’s Zakkat and Endowment Board, with immediate effect. The decision came following an emergency meeting held by the Chairman and board members of the board on Friday. While addressing journalists in Gusau, the board chairman, Prof Kabiru Jabaka said that the board members had raised an alarm that some retired workers were sabotaging the efforts of distribution of Zakkat and Endowment to less privileged persons in the state. Jabaka explained that 13 out of 15 board members had passed a vote of no confidence on the Executive Secretary, Mallam Bashir Surajo, and two of his Directors, Mallam Ibrahim Tudu and Mallam Dalhatu Jauri. According to the chairman of the board, the tenure of the Executive...
Victor Osimhen emerges fourth best scorer in Ligue 1
Victor Osimhen has emerged as the fourth highest goalscorer in the French Ligue 1 this season. The 2019/2020 campaign was cancelled last week, following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Osimhen, who joined Lille from Belgian outfit, Sporting Charleroi last summer scored 13 goals and bagged four assists in 27 league appearances for the Great Danes. Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe won the Golden Boot with 18 goals, while Monaco’s Ben Yedder came second with same number of goals. Mbappe edged out Ben Yedder because he scored more goals from open play. Three out of Ben Yedder’s 18 goals came from the spot while none of Mbappe’s 18 strikes were penalties. Mbappe also had a better goals-per-game ratio, scoring 18 in 20 – the same number in six games less than his rival Ben Yedder. M...
Man jailed five years for trafficking 18-year-old girl to Libya for prostitution
Twitter A 66-year-old man was on Thursday sentenced to five years imprisonment by a Federal High Court, Makurdi, Benue State, for trafficking an 18-year-old lady to Mali for forced labour and prostitution. The man, Lawrence Ogonna, was said to have connived with some other people who are currently at large to trafficked the said teenager from Makurdi to the North African country. Justice Hassan Dikko of the Federal High Court found the man guilty of a three-count charge of organising foreign travels for prostitution and assisting to traffic the victims contrary to sections 18 and 13(4)(c) of Trafficking in Perons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act of 2015. He was dragged to the court by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons. He, however, got an opt...
Ekiti governor considers establishment of coronavirus test laboratory
Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has hinted of a plan to establish COVID-19 Laboratory to facilitate massive testing of residents. The governor also disclosed that blood samples of illegal immigrants to the state are been taking for test . Speaking through the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Mojisola Yaya-Kolade, the governor said this facility is to be provided by Governor Kayode Fayemi , in partnership with well-meaning Ekiti indigenes and other private sponsors . Yaya-Kolade spoke in Ado Ekiti, on Friday, during a Covid 19 update press conference held by the task force in charge of the pandemic. She said: “The Federal government promised to provide a facility but it has not been forthcoming. The Governor, Dr Fayemi now used his own initiative to reach out to well meaning Ekiti Indigenes ...
