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DR Congo parliament ousts pro-Joseph Kabila premier
Lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have dismissed the Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba on Wednesday evening during a parliament plenary session held in Kinshasa. The dismissal came after the majority of the lawmakers passed a vote of no-confidence to the Premier alleging his inability in the management of the country. The National Assembly approved a motion of censure against Ilunga Ilunkamba and his government by 367 votes to seven. Under the Democratic Republic of Congo’s constitution, parliamentary censure requires the prime minister to step down within 24 hours. The Prime Minister boycotted the session terming it illegitimate under the constitution and internal regulations of parliament. The session was also boycotted by pro-Kabila party Mps who also stressed ...
Gani Adams: Food crisis looms in Southwest due to herders attacks
File Photo The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Aare Gani Adams, says food crisis is imminent in the South-West region of Nigeria due to the onslaught on farmers by Fulani herdsmen. According to him, farmers in attack-prone areas have stopped going to their farms for fear of being assailed by suspected herders. “They have discouraged Yoruba people from farming now and if care is not taken within one year, there will be famine in Yorubaland,” Adams said on Wednesday while featuring on a Channels TV programme. The chieftain described the situation in the South-West as “a serious invasion”, adding that drastic measures must be taken quickly to stop the ugly trend. “We have been seriously infiltrated by Fulani herdsmen. Most of the reserved forests have been taken over by the Fulani herdsmen an...
Gani Adams: Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution is satanic
File Photo The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, has called for the correction of the 1999 Constitution for peace to reign in Nigeria. Adams who described the constitution as satanic added that it is a wrong structure which Nigeria is running on. He said this in an interview on a Channels TV programme on Wednesday. “The major problem now is that Nigeria is being run on the basis of a wrong structure and on the basis of a wrong constitution,” he said. “The constitution of 1999 is wicked, it is satanic. If we don’t correct it, I can’t guarantee that peace will be in this country.” Adams also spoke on the necessity of the notice issued by the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, which required herdsmen to vacate the forest reserves in the state. “If the Governor did not give t...
WSJ: China’s Ant Group plans revamp amid regulator pressure
China’s Ant Group Co Ltd is planning to refashion itself as a financial holding company under the supervision of China’s central bank in the face of regulatory pressure, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The fintech affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has submitted an outline of a restructuring plan, which could be finalised before China goes into the week-long lunar new year holiday in mid-February, the Wall Street Journal said, citing sources. Chinese regulators had asked Ant to consider folding up most of its financial businesses into a holding company that would be subject to more stringent capital requirements, two sources told Reuters in December. The country’s central bank, People’s Bank of China, has said Ant controls a range of financial institutions, including sec...
Zambia leader removes 246 inmates from death row
Zambian President Edgar Lungu has removed 246 inmates who were on death row and commuted their sentences to life sentences, a government official said on Wednesday. Minister of Home Affairs, Stephen Kampyongo, said that among the inmates includes 225 males and 21 females. He announced the commuting of the sentences during an event held at Mukobeko Maximum Prison in central Zambia’s Kabwe town which was streamed live on Facebook. Mr Kampyongo said this made the clemency of death to life sentences over 500 after 332 inmates had their sentences commuted in 2015. He said the commutation of sentences of inmates would help to congest the section of condemned inmates at the prison which was meant for 50 people but now has over 400 inmates. The move, he said, was also meant to protect inmates from...
Timi Frank: Sack, appointment of service chiefs late
Silverbird Television Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on Tuesday, attributed the rising spate of insecurity in the country to the retention, for far too long, of Service Chiefs who were no longer delivering as expected by President Muhammadu Buhari. Frank who was reacting to what he described as the earlier reluctance and eventual sack of the Service Chiefs, as well as appointment of new ones in a statement in Abuja, lamented that despite a whooping one term and a quarter of Buhari’s administration (about six years), that the administration “has not achieved any decisive victory against Boko Haram, murderous herdsmen, bandits and kidnappers.” “It became apparent early in the life of this regime that the set of Security ...
President Buhari hailed for sacking service chiefs
An environmental activist, Chief Sheriff Mulade, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for relieving service chiefs of their positions and appointing their replacements, saying the development showed that the president has a listening ear given the growing agitation from Nigerians for a change of guard in the nation’s security architecture. This was as he called for the urgent restructuring of the country following what he referred to as “the mismanagement of the nation’s resources, as well as the endless marginalization of the South-South region of the country.” The peace advocate, while reacting to the president’s action, at a media conference in Abuja, expressed optimism that the action would bring improvement in security management in the country. Mulade, who is the National Coordin...
APC welcomes appointment of new service chiefs
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed confidence that the new service chiefs will consolidate on the remarkable achievements of their predecessors in keeping the country safe and peaceful. President Muhammadu Buhari had Tuesday sacked the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar. He replaced them with Major-General Leo Irabor, Chief of Defence Staff; Major-General I. Attahiru, Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral A.Z Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff; and Air-Vice Marshal I.O Amao, Chief of Air Staff. The National Secretary of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the party, Sen. John Akpanudoedehe, in a sta...
Delta governor congratulates new CDS Leo Irabor
Delta Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, has congratulated Major-General Leo Irabor on his appointment as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, January 26, 2021. In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Olisa Ifeajika in Asaba, Okowa said that the sacrifices of the new Defence chief towards peace and progress of the nation, especially his acknowledged gallantry at assignments, were outstanding. He thanked Buhari for appointing an illustrious son of Delta into the exalted position of Chief of Defence Staff, and said that it is an elevated responsibility given to a deserving officer. According to him, Irabor, who hails from Agbor in Delta, has the requisite experience for his new job having served as Theatre Commander “Operation Lafiya Doyle”, Force Commander of the...
What’s Your Favorite Song on Morgan Wallen’s ‘Dangerous: The Double Album’? Vote!
Morgan Wallen‘s Dangerous: The Double Album is spending its second consecutive week atop the Billboard 200, but which of the supersize album’s 30 songs is your favorite? Wallen became the first artist ever to debut simultaneously at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Country Albums chart and the airplay-, streaming- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart last week, when “Wasted on You” launched at No. 1. “7 Summers” took the lead back on Aug. 25, 2020. Meanwhile, Luke Bryan had his eyes on Wallen’s top 10 country hit “Sand in My Boots.” “Luke Bryan fell in love with it too…. I don’t know how he heard it, but we were all like, ‘Man, we wanted you [Wallen] to have it....
Lagos chamber projects positive economic recovery by Q2
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has projected a return to positive growth path for the Nigerian economy in the second quarter of 2021. Mrs Toki Mabogunje, President, LCCI, addressing journalists at the first edition of the chamber’s quarterly news conference, said the projection was subject to the absence of major economic shocks. Mabogunje, however, said that the projected recovery was expected to be subdued within the region of one per cent. “Projections by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund put Nigeria’s annual average growth for year 2021 at 1.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively. “Expectation of slow growth momentum reflects the lingering effects of the pandemic on the Nigerian economy and prospects of stricter containment measures considering th...
Nigerian government urged to lift restrictions on SIM card registration
A telecommunications expert in Owerri, the Imo capital, Mr Charles Okeke, has advised the Federal Government to remove the restrictions placed on SIM card registration. Okeke gave the advice at a news briefing in Owerri on Tuesday, while speaking on the effects of the federal government’s SIM Card-National Identification Number (NIN) linkage policy. He urged the government to embrace a more robust system that would encourage healthy partnership between the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and service providers to ensure a seamless linkage. He said that the partnership would fast-track the process and alleviate the “unnecessary hardship” faced by Nigerians due to tight deadlines for the exercise. He further said that large crowds of people struggling for attention at NIMC offi...
