Thursday
West African delegation ‘very hopeful’ after meeting Mali junta
A West African delegation visiting Mali to push for a speedy return to civilian rule following a coup said it was “very hopeful” on Saturday after meeting with the country’s military junta and the president it ousted. The head of the delegation from the regional Ecowas bloc, former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, said that detained Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was doing relatively well. “We saw him, he’s very fine,” said Jonathan, who had earlier met for half an hour with the soldiers who seized power on Tuesday, including new strongman Colonel Assimi Goita. Jonathan told AFP that negotiations were going well and he was “very hopeful”. Rebel soldiers seized Keita and other leaders after a mutiny on Tuesday, dealing another deep blow to a country already struggling with a b...
Harry Maguire avoids questions after appearing in court over Mykonos ‘fight’
Harry Maguire avoided answering questions following a court appearance in Greece. The England footballer was arrested following an alleged fight on the island of Mykonos on Thursday night, along with two other Britons. Police said there had been an altercation and an exchange of words with officers, and that the three men would appear before a prosecutor on the nearby island of Syros on Saturday. When asked whether Maguire was still a free man, his lawyer replied: “Right now, yes.” Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help...
Journalists’ forum tasks Nigerian government on fight against human trafficking
Mr Ajibola Abayomi, President, Journalists International Forum For Migration (JIFORM), has urged the Federal Government to evolve stricter measures in the fight against human trafficking. Abayomi who made the call in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, also urged the government to continue the ongoing evacuation mission beyond the Aug. 25 deadline. According to him, such extension will enable the evacuation of more Nigerians, especially women who are currently stranded in foreign countries. He said that the group had already written the Foreign Affairs Ministry and other relevant agencies, alerting them of the need to continue the rescue exercise. Abayomi said that the letter also contained detailed information about stranded Nigerian migrants to ensure easy identification and evacuation. “T...
Edo poll: Court approves substituted service on Pastor Ize-Iyamu, Comrade Oshiomhole, others
The Federal High Court in Abuja has approved service through substituted means in the suit seeking an order disqualifying Osagie Ize-Iyamu as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the forthcoming September 19, 2020, Edo State. The order for substituted means was issued by Justice Taiwo on August 18, 2020, but newsmen saw the certified true copy of the enrolled order on Thursday. In the order issued at the instance of the plaintiff, Charles Ude, who is a member of the APC, Justice Taiwo directed that a former Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, a former acting Chairman of the party, Victor Giadom, Hilliard Eta, and Ize-Iyamu, be served the suit through the pasting of the court documents at the entrance gate of the party’s national secretariat in Abuja. While Os...
Nigeria confirms 476 new virus cases
The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), has confirmed 476 new cases of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in the country. The NCDC confirmed this through its official Twitter handle on Thursday. The agency said that seven deaths were recorded in the country. NCDC said that till date, 50,964 cases have been confirmed, 37,569, discharged and 992 deaths recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. According to it, the 476 new cases are reported from 18 states. It said that Lagos has the highest figures of 235 cases, followed by FCT with 44 cases. Others were Kaduna (41), Borno (33), Plateau (28), Abia (13), Edo (13), Rivers (12), Imo (11), Oyo (10), Kano (9), Kwara (7), Enugu (5), Katsina (5), Gombe (4), Ogun (4), Nasarawa (1), and Zamfara (1). The NCDC stated that...
Spezia win promotion to Serie A for first time despite defeat
Spezia have reached Serie A for the first time in history and follow Benevento and Crotone despite Thursday’s 1-0 defeat to Frosinone in the Serie B play-off. The Ligurians lost 1-0 against Frosinone but it was enough to take them to the top flight after the 1-0 win at the Benito Stirpe last Saturday. However, Spezia were promoted on the tiebreaker rule of having finished higher in the table in the regular season. Spezia finished third and Frosinone eighth. The other promoted teams are Benevento, which won Serie B by 18 points, and Crotone. Spezia was founded in 1906 and last played in Italy’s first division in the 1920s, before the Serie A was formed. The team is based in La Spezia, a city along Italy’s northwestern coast with a population of less than 100,000. However, Spezia were promot...
Governor Obaseki: Edo election will put final end to godfatherism
Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo on Thursday said that the Sept. 19 governorship election would put a final end to godfatherism in the state. Obaseki, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said this during his ward to ward campaign tour across the 10 wards in Esan North East Local Government Area. He said that the election was very vital for, not just the state, but the country at large, as the decision had to be made whether or not the state should move forward. Describing Edo Central Senatorial District of the state as a PDP enclave, he urged members of the party and its supporters not to succumb to threats and intimidation. He said that the state and Nigeria did not belong to a few people. Earlier, Chief Dan Orbih, Chairman of the PDP state campaign council, had urged party members...
Senator Akpabio: NDDC received N15 trillion in 19 years
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has faulted the National Assembly inquest into the financial activties of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) between February and July 2020 rather than embark on a comprehensive probe of the interventionist agency’s 19 years of existence. The NDDC, he stated, received over N15 trillion in the last 19 years, with nothing on the ground to justify the huge funds, wondering why the lawmakers decided to probe five months’ activities in the commission. Speaking when members of the Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) visited him in Abuja, Thursday, he noted that discretionary probe would not address the problem of the commission, which he described as cesspit of corruption. He, however, assured Niger Delta ...
PTF: Nigerians poor attitude towards virus testing is worrisome
The Presidential Taskforce, PTF, on COVID-19, on Thursday, decried the poor attitude of Nigerians towards COVID-19 testing and safety protocols, saying, despite the increased capacity, sample collection remains very low. Expressing displeasure during the weekly COVID-19 briefing in Abuja, the Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce, Boss Mustapha, further lamented that the numbers of local governments, LGAs, that are hot spots have increased from 16 to 20 and regrettably happened to be a hard-to-reach area. “Initially, we have 10 local government areas that are hot spots which eventually increased to 16 but now we have 20 LGAs that are hot spots. Regrettably, this recent local government is more remote. “Presently, Nigeria now has the capacity to test 15,000 people daily but sadly, what we ...
Ivory Coast bars public protests until September
Ivory Coast has banned all outdoor protests until 15 September, according to a statement Thursday issued after deadly clashes ahead of presidential elections in October. The cabinet late Wednesday “decided to suspend protests in public areas, authorising them only in enclosed spaces… until 15 September,” the government said in a statement. The measure “draws the consequences of the impact, in human and property terms, from previous demonstrations and the risk that pockets of inter-community conflicts could open up,” it said. On 13 August, angry protests erupted in the economic hub Abidjan, and demonstrations in the central town of Daoukro turned to bloody ethnic clashes, after President Alassane Ouattara announced he would bid for a third term. Critics of Ouattara say the 78-year-old is on...
Mali: ECOWAS to hold emergency meeting
The Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) will on Thursday hold an Extraordinary Summit on the socio-political situation in Mali. The Directorate of Communications of the ECOWAS Commission made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja. The summit would be held virtually through video conference. The summit became necessary following the military coup d’etat that took place in the Republic of Mali on Tuesday. Newsmen recall that President Ibrahim Keita and his government resigned after soldiers arrested him. The soldiers have set up a body to work out modalities for elections. ECOWAS has strongly condemned the undemocratic change of government, adding that it is against its protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. The Au...
Premier League rocked by 14 mystery coronavirus cases at 12 pre-season camps
Premier League has been hit by 14 new cases of coronavirus since teams returned to training, reports claim. According to The Telegraph, the new cases have been recorded at 12 clubs who began preparations for next season last weekend. The figures are unofficial, but the Premier League are only expected to regularly publish test results when the new season starts on September 12. Club officials are said to be concerned cases could continue to rise after players were pictured partying on holiday with pals from rival clubs over the past few weeks. Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli was snapped with James Maddison and Jack Grealish in Ibiza. And Chelsea transfer target Declan Rice holidayed with life-long friend Mason Mount on the Greek island of Mykonos, where Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Chri...
