Situation
Coronavirus: England to lift mask, distancing rules July 19
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday revealed plans to lift most of England’s legal coronavirus restrictions, including face masks and social distancing from July 19, urging personal responsibility rather than government edict. Johnson had initially aimed for a full reopening on June 21, but was forced to push back the date because of a surge in the highly contagious Delta variant. That variant now accounts for nearly all new Covid-19 cases in Britain, and infection rates have soared, sparking concern. But mass vaccinations have stopped a resultant surge in hospital admissions or deaths. “This pandemic is far from over, it certainly won’t be over by the 19th,” warned Johnson. “We must reconcile ourselves, sadly, to more deaths from Covid. “There’s only one reason why we can contemplate g...
Imo council chairs petition President Buhari over ‘lopsided appointments’ in NDDC
The Oil Producing Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Imo State under the auspices of Urashi Peoples’ Congress (UPC) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to reverse what it described as persistent lopsided appointment in the management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). In an open letter addressed to the president, which was signed by the Coordinator, Mr. Reginald Uwakwe, a copy of which was made available to newsmen yesterday, the group lamented that the appointments into key positions i.e. the managing director of the NDDC, have been allegedly skewed in favour of only four states of Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa and Delta, out of the nine member states that made up the commission. It said between 2001 and 2021, the list of managing directors and their states included Dr. God...
Akwa Ibom: Police confirm attack on station
The police command in Akwa Ibom has confirmed Saturday’s attack on its Udung Uko Divisional Police Headquarters by gunmen. The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Odiko MacDon, confirmed the incident to newsmen in Udung Uko in Akwa Ibom on Sunday. Mr Macdon, a superintendent of police, said the situation would have been worse but for the gallant policemen on duty who repelled the attack. He, however, said that the three officers who sustained gunshot wounds were receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital in the state. “Gunmen on Saturday night attacked the Divisional Police Headquarters in Udung Uko Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom. “At least three officers sustained fatal injuries, resulting from heavy gunshots as policemen on duty tried to repel the attack,” he said. Acco...
Provost advocates national confab on education
Provost of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Isu, Ebonyi state, Prof Ruben Okey Okechukwu, has advocated an education conference in the country to discuss the way out of the many challenges confronting Nigeria’s education system. According to the professor, the report of the conference will help in addressing the many challenges that have bedeviled the nation’s education system. He noted that a similar conference convoked immediately after the civil war in 1970 had developed education immensely which led to the introduction of the universal primary education. On the ravaging insecurity plaguing some parts of the North, leading to kidnapping of students in exchange for ransom, he urged government to urgently arrest the ugly trend. Okechukwu, who spoke in Abuja after he was confe...
Mexico coach: Victory vs Nigeria good test ahead Concacaf Gold Cup
Gerardo Martino, Technical Director of the Mexican national team, has described the win against the home-based Eagles as a good test for his side ahead of this year’s Concacaf Gold Cup. A brace from Atletico Madrid midfielder Hector Herrera and a goal each from Jonathan Dos Santos, former Barcelona forward and Rogelio Funes Mori, earned Mexico a comfortable 4-0 win in Los Angeles, USA, in the early hours of Sunday. Speaking at a virtual press conference, the former Barcelona coach said: “It always gives peace of mind, especially since we are on the eve of a very important tournament for us. “Recovering feelings of the game and scoring goals, gives a greater margin of tranquility, this is a friendly match, it has been a good test and a good way to introduce ourselves into what is to come.” ...
PDP: Zamfara governor’s reason for defection confirms APC behind insecurity
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) noted that Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle’s statement that he joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) in order to get the Federal Government to end insecurity in his state is a confirmation that APC and its government are responsible for the banditry, terrorism and kidnapping ravaging that state. According to the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, “The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the confession by Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle, that he joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) in order to get the Federal Government to end insecurity in his state, reinforces public stance that the APC and its government are responsible for the banditry, terrorism and kidnapping ravaging that state.” The party believ...
PSG send contract offer to free agent Lionel Messi amid Barca talks
Lionel Messi has been a free agent since this Thursday after his contract at Barcelona came to an end. PSG have taken advantage of the situation to send an offer to Barca’s number 10, who is currently concentrating on the Copa America with Argentina. Since he became a free agent this Thursday after his previous contract at Barcelona terminated, meaning any team is free to sign Messi. According to reports the Argentine is yet to reach an agreement with his boyhood club, teams from around the round are looking to pry him away. Among his suitors is Paris Saint-Germain. ‘AS’ report suggest that the French side has taken advantage of the current situation to send an offer to the player. The Ligue 1 outfit are looking to build add to a set of strong summer reinforcements, as Donnarumma, Hakimi a...
South Africa’s Jacob Zuma mounts last-ditch legal fight against jail term
South Africa’s ex-president Jacob Zuma on Friday mounted a last-ditch legal bid to avoid prison after the country’s top court ordered him jailed for failing to appear before graft investigators. In a landmark ruling, the Constitutional Court on Tuesday handed Zuma a 15-month term for contempt after he snubbed a probe into the theft of state assets under his tenure. If the 79-year-old fails to turn himself in by Sunday, police will be given a further three days to arrest him and take him to jail to start the sentence. As the deadline loomed, Zuma pleaded on Friday that the order be “reconsidered and rescinded.” “It will not be futile,” Zuma said in papers filed to the court, “to make one last attempt to invite the Constitutional Court to relook its decision and to merely reassess whether it...
PDP cautions Zamfara governor, lawmakers over plan to defect to APC
The Peoples Democratic Party has cautioned the Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, and those of the National Assembly from the state against defecting to the All Progressives Congress. Newsmen reported that Matawalle will dump the PDP for the APC tomorrow. Reacting, the PDP stated that Matawalle defecting to the APC amounts to a decision to vacate office. According to the party, “No law allows him to cross over to any other party with the governorship mandate statutorily given to the PDP through the ballot box.” This was disclosed in a statement titled, ‘Zamfara: PDP Cautions Matawalle, NASS, SHoA Members Against Defection,’ signed by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan. It read, “The PDP is watching developments i...
2021 UTME results: Candidates, parents decry low scores
File Photo Reactions have continued to follow the recently released results of the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Some candidates and parents who spoke in separate interviews with newsmen on Monday in Bwari, Abuja, expressed their displeasure. NAN recalls that the board on Friday, June 25, released the first batch of results of candidates who sat for the examination between Saturday, June 19, and Tuesday, June 22. While some candidates expressed satisfaction with their scores, others expressed disappointment on the results. Oluwakemi Moses, a candidate, who said that she wanted to study medicine, said she scored 167, a score she explained, was not only too low but also below her first attempt of t...
CMD: Lafia specialist hospital meets requirements for teaching hospital
The Chief Medical Director of the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Dr Ikrama Hassan, has said that ‘DASH has fulfilled all requirements for a Teaching Hospital take off in Lafia.’ Hassan said this at the National Assembly during the public hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Health, as part of the procedures for the passage of the bill, seeking the establishment of a teaching hospital for the medical college of the federal university; a bill sponsored by the former governor, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura. Dr Hassan explained the situation on the ground saying that it is a ‘win-win situation’, adding that the federal government does not need to put in so much as adequate infrastructure, equipment and manpower are already on the ground. ‘If the federal government gives the additional neede...
Petrol smuggling: Nigerian government using device to track trucks, smugglers
The Federal Government says it has facilitated the use of a tracking device to track every truck loading petroleum product from any of its depots as part of efforts to nip smuggling in the bud and arrest culprits. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, said this at a forum organised by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to gauge the achievements recorded in the oil and gas sector in the last two years. Sylva noted that a lot had been achieved in the industry but that the activities of smugglers had continued to overshadow the successes especially as it concerned fuel subsidy and the quantity of petroleum products consumed in the country. “This is one big question that we try to answer ourselves because when we look at the number of load-outs from our depots every day...
