Meaning
Senator Tinubu: Terrible people want to break Nigeria’s appointment with destiny
All Progressives Congress chieftain, Bola Tinubu, says terrible people and strong forces want to break Nigeria’s appointment with its greater destiny by attacking “agricultural players” in the country, thereby creating food scarcity. He spoke on Saturday on the occasion of the 23rd to 25th convocation ceremonies of the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, the Benue State capital. Tinubu was also awarded a honorary doctorate at the event by the university Senate and Governing Council. The former Lagos State governor said, “We approach a defining moment as a nation. A reckoning of special importance beckons. We must decide whether to give the truest meaning to our national motto “peace and unity” or we allow the agents of destruction and merchants of violence to have their way with us...
George Floyd murder: Minneapolis police to face US federal probe
A US federal investigation has been launched into policing practices in the city of Minneapolis, a day after one of its former officers was convicted of the murder of George Floyd. The justice department will look at whether there has been a pattern “of unconstitutional or unlawful policing”, Attorney General Merrick Garland said. It follows national outrage over the killing of Floyd by Derek Chauvin. The former officer was convicted of all charges against him on Tuesday. Chauvin was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest in May 2020. Floyd, an unarmed African American, was pronounced dead an hour later. His death sparked protests across the US and worldwide, and calls for police reform. Tuesday’s verdict has been widely welcomed in a country where poli...
Akwa Ibom wins CIRDDOC 2020 best budget transparency award
In a move that gives credence and endorsement of the commitment of the Udom Emmanuel led administration in ensuring openness, transparency and accountability in budgeting and governance, the Akwa Ibom State Government has been ranked one of the best performing states in the 2020 sub-National Budget Transparency Survey. The survey which was conducted by the Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC) to ascertain the level of budget performance by states of the federation revealed that Akwa Ibom and four other states topped the budget performance index for the year, 2020. The Nigerian States Budget Transparency Survey Report also revealed that Akwa Ibom and some other Nigerian States have significantly improved budget transparency and participation, and has improved the ro...
West Ham boss allays fears of serious Jesse Lingard injury after substitution
West Ham manager David Moyes has moved to allay fears Jesse Lingard picked up an injury in the defeat at Newcastle on Saturday. The loanee, who scored his ninth goal for the club in the game, was withdrawn late on after going down with cramp. Lingard’s goal from the penalty spot made this season his best every in terms of goals scored in the top flight, doing so in just ten games for the Hammers. If they are to make the top four this season, the England international will be key, meaning that his going down sparked fears among many supporters. Lingard was quickly back on the pitch after the game and Moyes was quick to calm any worries. “I think it was just cramp, I don’t think it was anything serious,” said Moyes. Arthur Masuaku and Aaron Cresswell missed the game through injury, with the ...
Prince Charles pays tribute to ‘my dear papa’ Philip for devoted service
Britain’s Prince Charles paid a personal tribute on Saturday to his “dear papa” Prince Philip, saying the royal family missed him emormously and that the 99-year-old would have been amazed at the touching reaction across the world to his death. Philip, the husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth who had been at her side throughout her record-breaking 69-year reign, died at Windsor Castle on Friday. “As you can imagine, my family and I miss my father enormously,” Charles, the couple’s eldest son and heir to the throne, said outside his Highgrove House home in west England. “My dear papa was a very special person who I think above all else would have been amazed by the reaction and the touching things that have been said about him and from that point of view we are, my family, deeply grateful f...
Clubhouse’s new direct payments let users pay creators
Social audio app Clubhouse will let all users pay other creators starting Monday. It’s the first monetization tool built right into the app. Clubhouse says it won’t take a cut of payments, meaning that creators get the entirety of what somebody sends them. Not everyone will be able to receive payments just yet, though; that will be rolling out in waves, “starting with a small test group,” Clubhouse says. To pay a Clubhouse creator who can receive payments, tap on their profile, then tap on the “Send Money” button, and then choose how much you send them. You’ll also have to pay a “small card processing fee” that goes to Stripe, which is Clubhouse’s payments processing partner. The first time to try to pay someone, Clubhouse will ask you to add a credit or debit card. The news of direct paym...
US Supreme Court dismisses case on Donald Trump blocking Twitter critics
The U.S. Supreme Court set aside a federal appeals court ruling that former President Donald Trump violated the First Amendment when he blocked critics from following his Twitter account. The case had already lost its practical impact given Trump’s election defeat and Twitter’s Jan. 8 decision to permanently ban his @realDonaldTrump account for glorifying violence. But the two sides in the case continued to spar over the fate of the appeals court decision. Before Trump left office, the Justice Department asked the justices to wipe away the precedent, while those suing him sought to keep it intact. The appeals court said a social media account run by government officials can become a constitutionally protected “public forum” if used to conduct official business. The Supreme Court has said t...
Namibian president caught in new fishing corruption allegations
Informante The president of Namibia has been implicated in new allegations of corruption involving the country’s lucrative fishing industry by an investigation released by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and The Namibian newspaper. According to a lawyer who allegedly arranged the deal, President Hage Geingob instructed his close associates to embezzle millions of dollars from a state-run fishing enterprise in order to bribe electors at the 2017 congress of the ruling SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organization) party, reports the new investigation released on Friday. The lawyer, who is not named by the OCCRP, claims that Hage Geingob – elected as President of Namibia in 2014 and re-elected in 2019 – allegedly asked James Hatuikulipi, then chairman of the sta...
South Africa signs J&J vaccine deal, eases restrictions
South Africa has signed an agreement with Johnson & Johnson to secure 11 million COVID-19 vaccine doses and will ease restrictions due to a decline in new cases, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday. South Africa has been the hardest-hit on the continent by the pandemic, recording almost half of the COVID-19 deaths and more than a third of reported infections. But daily cases have fallen below 2,000, from a peak above 20,000 last month during a second wave of infections. Ramaphosa said in a televised address that 2.8 million of the J&J doses would be delivered in the second quarter, with the rest spread throughout the year. South Africa started administering the single-dose J&J vaccine this month in a research study targeting healthcare workers but has not yet rolled out sh...
Archbishop Kaigama: Why Nigerians are afraid to accept coronavirus vaccine
File Photo Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, His Grace Most Revd. Ignatius Kaigama, on Sunday, said many Nigerians are afraid to accept the COVID-19 vaccine because they believe that the health crisis was being manipulated by some people. Kaigama, who stated this in Abuja during his homily at St. Jude’s Parish Zuba, however, urged Nigerians to disregard insinuations that the vaccine was not medically safe and affordable. He said, “Even though many today will seriously question facts about COVID-19 and fear that there is manipulation by some people, we know that the disease is real. “People very dear to us have died of coronavirus disease. There is no doubt that our world is currently sick, ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic. “The fear today is that the menace of Coronavirus will continue to be w...
Arsenal agree deal with Real Madrid for Martin Ødegaard
Real Madrid playmaker Martin Ødegaard will join Arsenal on loan for the rest of the season after the clubs agreed to terms this evening. That is according to The Athletic, who report that a temporary move has now been given the green light by both parties. The Norwegian will fly to London on Sunday ahead of undergoing a medical with the Gunners on Monday morning, when it is expected the deal will be made official. Given his status as an elite sportsperson, Ødegaard is also exempt from COVID-19 quarantine protocols, meaning he will not have to self isolate, if he returns a negative test. The 22-year-old will be Arsenal’s second signing of the window after the acquisition of Mat Ryan from Brighton. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for ...
Rumble in Edo as governor runs government without cabinet
Precisely 129 days into his second tenure as governor of Edo State after his election on September 20, 2020 and inauguration on November 12, 2020, Godwin Obaseki, has not formed his cabinet. This has generated some flaks from different quarters, including the opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC), constitutional lawyers, political analysts, public commentators, residents among others. While others feel that Obaseki has not committed any crime or breached any law, others believe that he is running a one-man administration and must go ahead to form his cabinet. They argued that going by Section 192 of the 1999 Constitution, the governor is obliged to form a cabinet, saying this is a circumvention, which the state House of Assembly should take action on. Obaseki had said that his ...