Very Important Personalities, top chieftains and candidates of political parties have been procuring customised vehicles that offer special protection in the run-up to the campaigns and elections.
Apart from ordering armoured vehicles, it was also learnt that politicians were applying for special police protection and procuring other security wares.
The member representing Ovia federal constituency in Edo state, Hon Denis Idahosa on Sunday, October 2 called for the scrapping of the Senate and the introduction of a unicameral legislature to reduce the cost of governance in Nigeria.
The federal lawmaker made the comment in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.
Hon Idahosa ; Photo credit: @HouseNGR Source: Twitter
He said the Senate, one of the two chambers of the National Assembly, should give way if the country is serious about cutting the cost of governance.
His words:
‘’I strongly believe that the Senate should be scrapped, not because I’m a House of Representatives member, but because most of the legislative jobs are done by the lower house, which is the House of Representatives.
“And then to reduce the spending. We have limited resources now as a nation. So having these two houses, I don’t think it’s a smart thing.
“If we are going to cut our expenses or spending, I think one of the houses should be scrapped, which I suggest should be Senate.
“This is because we only sit three times in a week. We are being paid salaries to work for Nigerians; we can extend the three days to five days, while we have one house taking care of both jobs.
“So I think to reduce the unnecessary spending that we are actually involved in, the best thing to do is to reduce it to one for more accountability.”
On the performance of the 9th Assembly, Mr Idahosa, who is the chairman of the House Committee on Legislative Compliance, said the assembly had done remarkably well.
A man holds a placard outside the Minnesota governor's residence during a protest on March 6, 2021; a UN group of experts was appointed after Floyd's murder to investigate global systemic racism. Photo: Kerem Yucel / AFP/File Source: AFP
A dearth of data in many countries on the race and ethnicity of people arrested or killed by police presents a major barrier to tackling systemic racism, UN investigators warned Monday.
Speaking before the United Nations Human Rights Council, a group of experts appointed after the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a white US police officer insisted it was vital to make systemic racism around the world "visible".
There is a "crucial need to collect, analyse, use and publish data, disaggregated by race or ethnic origin", Yvonne Mokgoro, a former South African judge who heads the UN's so-called Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in the context of Law Enforcement.
The team of three independent investigators were presenting their first report to the rights council since it appointed them last year, with a broad mandate to investigate racism by police worldwide.
Mokgoro said it was clear "racial profiling, excessive use of force, and other violations of international human rights law, during and after interactions with law enforcement officials and the criminal justice system, continue to be reported throughout the world".
But, she warned, this "largely does not show in official statistics".
Mokgoro acknowledged that more data alone would not resolve "longstanding racism".
But she said it was "an essential first step to highlight the magnitude of systemic racism against Africans and people of African descent and its manifestations in law enforcement and criminal justice".
"It is essential that systemic racism, including its structural and institutional dimensions, become visible."
In the United States for instance, where the killing of Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed black man, in Minneapolisin on May 2020, sparked mass protests, there is no centralised system to collect such statistics across more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies.
But some NGOs and media organisations scramble to gather the data to get an overview.
Collette Flanagan, who founded Mothers Against Police Brutality after her black son Clinton Allen was killed by police in Dallas, Texas in 2013, told the council his case was emblematic of "the current crisis in policing in the United States".
She said a black person was "2.5 times more likely to be shot" to death by police in the United States.
Her son was unarmed, yet the white officer who shot him seven times "perceived my son as a threat", she said.
"This officer escaped all criminal and civil accountability for killing my son."
The United States is not the only country facing this problem.
Presenting a separate report Monday, acting UN rights chief Nada Al-Nashif provided updates on seven cases highlighted by her office last year of police-related fatalities, including Floyd's, but also cases from Brazil, Britain, Colombia and France.
She said none of the cases had "yet been brought to a full conclusion, with those families still seeking truth, justice and guarantees of non-repetition".
She highlighted some positive examples of efforts in various countries to act against systemic racism, but warned they largely "remain insufficient".
US Ambassador Michele Taylor welcomed the report, and that it acknowledged "the progress, continued efforts and dedication to this issue in the United States".
"We will continue our efforts to dismantle racial discrimination in law enforcement against people of African descent."
Singer Post Malone suffered apparent injuries to his ribs Saturday night after taking a hard fall on stage during a show in St. Louis.
Malone was performing “circles” when he tripped on an uncovered hole in the stage that was used to lower equipment. He laid on the stage for several minutes after the fall before medics assisted him to received medical treatment after falling on stage at his show in St. Louis on Saturday night.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Post took a tumble while performing “Circles.” Medics came and took the rapper away.
He eventually stood and was helped off the stage, but told the crowd he would return.
After a 15-minute delay, he came back and resumed with an abbreviated set, holding his ribs and visibly wincing at times before performing “Rockstar,” “Cooped Up,”
“St. Louis, I’m so fucking sorry I ruined the show tonight, ladies and gentleman,” he said. “I promise next time I come around, I won’t fucking wreck y’alls night, I’m sorry for that. That being said, fuck… That being said, I want to thank you for your patience and I’m sorry.”
“There was a bigass hole in the middle of the stage that I busted my ass on,” he continued. “I want to say thank you to everybody for hanging in there and thank you to everybody for… I got the best fucking fans in the world.”
The tour has just started for Post Malone, with dates planned through the middle of November.
No statements on his condition or the status of those shows has been issued as of yet.
The ongoing trial of Ramon Abbas, akaHushpuppimay be delayed for a few more months following a request by his defence attorney, Louis Shapiro.
Hushpuppi’s trial has been scheduled for Wednesday, September 21 but his legal team is pushing for a later date, November 3.
Hushpuppi Photo: UGC Source: Instagram
Mr. Shapiro said he needs more time to prepare for his client’s sentencing case and get all documents intact for the Juma case.
Mr. Shapiro’s prayer for an extended date is geared toward getting his embattled client a shorter sentence and challenging three-point role augmentation.
Mr. Shapiro said:
“On September 7, 2022, the government filed its position paper stating- that it agrees with the PSR’s request for a 3-point role enhancement per 3B1.1(b) as related to conducting in a separate case – USA v. Juma 2:21-cr-00203-RGK.
“Defendant would not be prepared to go to sentencing on September 19, 2022, or September 21, 2022, without the information in the possession of the government that Mr Abbas requires to address the 3-point enhancement in the Juma case.
“Because the government is taking this position, Mr Abbas is requesting the court to grant a brief continuance to November 3, 2022, and to order the government to produce all the discoveries in the Juma case."
It was gathered that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the legal team of the accused reached a truce for some charges to be dropped against Huspuppi in the ongoing Juma case.
Prior to this arrangement, the accused was said to have defrauded a Qatari business owner earlier in 2019. The victim is said to be a Kenyan, Abdulrahman Imraan Juma and a host of others.
It was gathered that they had obtained bank accounts with a United States-based financial institution, Wells Fargo Bank located in Canoga Park, California in which Hushpuppi falsely presented himself as a staff of the financial institution.
It was later gathered that Hushpuppi and his cohorts ripped the victim of $330,000 in a bid to falsely facilitate a $15 million loan.
The investigation also linked Nigeria's embattled police officer, DCP Abba Kyari, as one of the accomplices in the $1.1 million scheme linked to the Juma case.
Contrastingly, the prosecuting counsel countered the prayers of Huspuppi's counsel.
They said:
“There is no good cause to grant the Motion, or to further delay the already long-delayed sentencing in this case.”
Prior to the latest development, Hushpuppi has stirred reactions from many in the online community.
According to reports, the embattled socialite who is expected to be sentenced in a couple of weeks has pleaded for a light jail term.
Hushpuppi’s record sighted by People’s Gazette equally shows that the internet fraudster has maintained good behaviours.
National President of NIWE, Mrs Chinyere Igwegbe, and others during the induction of some members into NIWE’s Fellowship in Abuja.
The NigeTThe Nigerian Institution of Water Engineers (NIWE), a division of Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) on Wednesday night inducted 23 of its members into its fellowship category. The National President of NIWE, Mrs Chinyere Igwegbe, performed the induction at NIWE’s Seventh Fellowship Conferment Ceremony in Abuja. Igwegbe said that 17 of the 23 members got the conferment based on application while six received it on merit. “We conferred it on them because of their enormous contributions to the institution and the water sector in Nigeria. “My charge to them is that they should know that they are ambassadors of NIWE; so, wherever they go, they must talk water, protect water and represent the institution. The President of NSE, Mr Tasiu Gidari-Wudil, said that the conferment was the last segment of the Fifth NIWE International Water Conference. Gidari-Wudil said that he believed that the conference achieved it purposes and it was necessary to recognise those who deserved it. “In the process of developing water resources, many professionals are involved. “You can’t collect data without the input of electrical engineers and you cannot analyse data without a data analyst,” Gidari-Wudil urged. One of the conferees, Dr Gina Ihekweme, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that she was delighted. “To whom much is given, much is expected; I will put more efforts toward technological advancement of the nation, especially as regards water infrastructure, purification and challenges associated with water. “We can’t do without water because water is life. “As a new fellow, I and my other conferees will work with the institution to ensure that it is respected and Nigeria and Nigerians at large benefit from the Institution,” Ihekweme said. Mr Sylvester Anjekele, who also got the conferment, said that it meant much to him. “We hope to do better. We need to improve the lives of young engineers and improve ourselves,” Anjekele said. In a lecture he delivered, Mr John Onwualu urged collaboration of engineers with relevant stakeholders and professionals for efficiency. Onwualu said that an engineer must involve a surveyor in design. “After you finish your design and implementation, it is good to go and monitor what has been done to see if the design is effective and efficient. “If it is not working, then you make modifications to have a perfect design.
“NIWE should keep striving to get more members. The conferees have become ambassadors to the institution; they should train the younger ones and lead them by example. “The new president should go higher and make the institution one that will be the envy of other institutions in NSE,” Onwualu said. NAN reports that the ceremony attracted officials from NSE, Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria and other associations. (NAN)
The world has never been in a better position to end the COVID-19 pandemic, the head of the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, his most optimistic outlook yet on the years-long health crisis which has killed over six million people.
"We are not there yet. But the end is in sight," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters at a virtual press conference.
A woman walks past a mural depicting a frontline worker amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Dublin, Ireland, on 12th January. PICTURE: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
That was the most upbeat assessment from the UN agency since it declared an international emergency in January 2020 and started describing COVID-19 as a pandemic three months later.
The virus, which emerged in China in late 2019, has killed nearly 6.5 million people and infected 606 million, roiling global economies and overwhelming healthcare systems.
The rollout of vaccines and therapies have helped to stem deaths and hospitalisations, and the Omicron variant which emerged late last year causes less severe disease. Deaths from COVID-19 last week were the lowest since March, 2020, the UN agency reported.
Still on Wednesday, he again urged nations to maintain their vigilance and likened the pandemic to a marathon race.
"Now is the time to run harder and make sure we cross the line and reap the rewards of all our hard work."
Countries need to take a hard look at their policies and strengthen them for COVID-19 and future viruses, Tedros said. He also urged nations to vaccinate 100% of their high-risk groups and keep testing for the virus.
The WHO said countries need to maintain adequate supplies of medical equipment and healthcare workers.
"We expect there to be future waves of infections, potentially at different time points throughout the world caused by different subvariants of Omicron or even different variants of concern," said WHO's senior epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove.
With more than one million deaths this year alone, the pandemic remains an emergency globally and within most countries.
"The COVID-19 summer wave, driven by Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, showed that the pandemic is not yet over as the virus continues to circulate in Europe and beyond," a European Commission spokesperson said.
"It's probably fair to say most of the world is moving beyond the emergency phase of the pandemic response," said Dr Michael Head, senior research fellow in global health at Southampton University.
Governments are now looking at how best to manage COVID as part of their routine healthcare and surveillance, he said.
Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States have approved vaccines that target the Omicron variant as well as the original virus as countries prepare to launch winter booster campaigns.
In the United States, COVID-19 was initially declared a public health emergency in January 2020, and that status has been renewed quarterly ever since.
The US health department is set to renew it again in mid-October for what policy experts expect is the last time before it expires in January, 2023.
US health officials have said that the pandemic is not over, but that new bivalent vaccines mark an7 important shift in the fight against the virus. They predict that a single annual vaccine akin to the flu shot should provide a high degree of protection and return the country closer to normalcy. Source: Sightnews.
Governor Akeredolu said his mother died peacefully in her sleep just as he announced that the burial announcement will be made by the family.
He wrote:
"My siblings and I announce, with deepest regret and total submission to the will of the Almighty, the passing into glory of our adorable, dutiful and ever dotting mother, Lady Evangelist Grace Bosede
Akeredolu JP, this morning. She died peacefully in her sleep.
"Though saddened by the departure of Maami, the one Abiyamo we knew, we are consoled with the knowledge that, even as she transits to eternity, she will be guided by the strong hands of the angels of the light in which she dwelt during her eventful and fruitful sojourn on the terrestrial plane.
"Maami rest in perfect peace. Burial announcement will be made by the family."
Meanwhile Nigerians now commiserates with the governor on the social media.
Olufemi Adebanjo said on Facebook:
"May her soul find eternal rest in the LORD'S bosom. Eyin mama a dara ooo."
Omole Vincent Opeyemi said:
"My dear Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu sir, accept my condolences sir, May her soul rest in peace."
' x='0' y='0' height='100%25' width='100%25' xlink%3Ahref='data%3Aimage/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wBDABALDA4MChAODQ4SERATGCgaGBYWGDEjJR0oOjM9PDkzODdASFxOQERXRTc4UG1RV19iZ2hnPk1xeXBkeFxlZ2P/2wBDARESEhgVGC8aGi9jQjhCY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2P/wAARCAAFAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQF/8QAHhAAAgIBBQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIAAwUEERIhUWH/xAAVAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADBP/EABgRAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIBAAMh/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwCXG4CizE6Vja3O8G3fiNh4Jn36FEvsQN0rEDr7ESbg0kpbkU8m/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
