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Ebonyi State APC Cautions Against Violent Politics

Nnenna Okoronkwo
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The governing All Progressives Congress APC in Ebonyi State, Southeast Nigeria has cautioned opposition parties in the state to eschew campaign of violence, saying that it would not be distracted by the antics of the opposition parties in its quest to win the forthcoming elections in the state.

The Director-General of the Divine Mandate Campaign Council, All Progressives Congress in the state, Chief Austin Umahi , who stated this in Abakaliki, said the party will not bulge to the distractions of the opposition to take to violence in the electioneering process.

Chief Umahi lamented the situation where the opposition elements have resorted to destruction of billboards and posters of the APC just to push the Party and Campaign Council to provocation.

He gave the assurance that despite provocation, the Divine Mandate Campaign Council would remain undaunted and operate in tune with global best practices.

“That has to stop, we are warning it must stop, otherwise they would be pushing us to the wall.

“We are working assiduously hard, we are convinced, we know and believe very well that God is the one who blesses the one who diligently works his way, we are convinced that there is no other party.

“We have decided to be mature and let them count themselves lucky that we have a God-fearing Governor, a man that believes that no contest is worth the spilling of blood.

“They are trying to provoke us into crises but we have said no, we can not do their bidding.”

The Campaign Council Director General expressed hope that the All Progressives Congress would cruise to victory at all levels during the general elections despite the antics of the opposition.

While remarking that the APC governorship candidate was massively chosen by the people for his vast experience in governance, Chief Umahi decried how the comments of the candidate in Ezza South was twisted by the opposition, insisting that Chief Nwifuru means well for the Ezza Nation.

“This young man advised the fathers, the Ezza Nation to please invest in this venture because there are dividends in the investment.

“People play politics with everything, and I want to say, he couldn’t have meant otherwise because he is a seasoned politician, you can not play with Ezza Nation in the political equation of Ebonyi State, you can not play with them but our joy, unspeakable joy is that these so called opposition, they are only on Facebook..”

He assured Ebonyi people that the APC and the governorship candidate has articulated the budding needs of citizens with a view to addressing them headlong on assumption of office in the month of May.

N.O

Court Orders INEC To Accept Labour Party’s Candidates In 24 States

Mercy Chukwudiebere
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A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Nigeria’s Electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to accept the nomination of candidates of the Labour Party, LP, in 24 States of the Federation ahead of the general election.

The Court ordered that the electoral body must accept the list of the candidates in those states either manually or through its electronic nomination portal.

Justice Inyang Ekwo in his judgments in different 24 suits brought before him by Labour Party held that INEC violated sections 31, 33 and 36 of the Electoral Act 2022 in rejecting the Labour Party’s candidates in the affected States on the ground of non functional of its nomination portal.

The 24 States affected by the Court order are Kwara, Plateau, Nasarawa, Lagos, Kaduna, Oyo, Benue, Bauchi, Ebonyi and Ekiti States.

Also affected are Katsina, Bayelsa, Niger, Rivers, Sokoto, Akwa Ibom, Gombe, Borno, Osun, Adamawa and Cross River States among others.

The Labour Party had last year November conducted substitution nomination for its candidates who withdrew from the 2023 general election in the affected states.

The withdrawals were communicated to INEC by the National Chairman and National Secretary of the party along with notification of October 27 date to conduct substitution nomination primary elections.

However, at the point of uploading the fresh candidates names, INEC claimed that its nomination portal was faulty and declined to accept the candidates list manually promoting the 24 legal actions.

Justice Ekwo in the judgment said that “the evidence of the Labour Party through exchanged letters with INEC in the nomination issue was credible and proceeded to attach probative value to it.”

The Judge held that the consequences of non functional electronic nomination portal cannot be visited on the Labour Party.

The court agreed with the Labour Party that nomination and submission of candidates list cannot be rejected by INEC from any party untill 90 days to the general elections.

The Judge said that “the time the Labour Party sought to submit list of its candidates in the 24 States was more than 90 days to the 2023 general elections, hence, its within time allowed by law.”

Justice Ekwo held that INEC was bound to accept the Labour Party’s candidates list manually once its electronic nomination portal is faulty.

The Judge subsequently ordered INEC to open its website for the purpose of allowing the Labour Party to submit list of its candidates or accept same manually with immediate effect for the purpose of the 2023 general elections.

 

 

Mercy Chukwudiebere

Beyonce UK Tour Ticket Pre-sales Causes Huge Rush

Oluwasola Akintonde
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Beyoncé fans have joined the rush to get tickets for her first solo tour in seven years, as the first pre-sale opened for her UK dates.

O2 customers were the first to have access at 10:00 GMT, but some reported problems with its app and website.

Those who did manage to purchase tickets reported prices ranging from £56 to £199, with VIP “on stage” seats at a wallet-busting £1,950 to £2,390.

There will be further pre-sales on Friday and Monday.

Tickets for the pop superstar’s five UK stadium shows in Cardiff, Edinburgh, Sunderland and London will then go on general sale on Tuesday

World tour

The UK concerts are part of a 43-date world tour in support of her Grammy-nominated Renaissance album.

The shows kick off in Sweden on 10 May, before landing at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium a week later.

She will then visit Edinburgh’s Murrayfield on 20 May, Sunderland’s Stadium of Light on 23 May and London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 29 and 30 May.

Beyoncé has set the standard ticket prices at roughly the same level as her last stadium tour, with her husband Jay-Z in 2018, when entry started at £51.

However, the VIP packages, some of which included guaranteed front row seats, are more than four times that tour’s top price of £475.

Many fans on social media ridiculed the cost, reminding Beyoncé that she advised people to “quit their jobs” on her recent single, Break My Soul.

 

BBC/Victoria Ibanga

Worku Leads World-Class Runners To Gold-Label Marathon

Christopher Ojilere
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Ethiopia’s Hayla Worku will be leading the team of foreign world-class runners that will compete at the Gold-Label 8th Access Bank Lagos City Marathon on February 4th.

Worku, is one of the fastest full marathon runners in the world, having run six World class marathons in less than 2 hours and 9 minutes.

He was crowned 2014 champion at the Houston Marathon where he run 2:07:32. His fastest time of 2:05:25 was at the Berlin Marathon in 2010, where he finished third.

While at Paris Marathon in 2009, he ran a time of 2:06:16 and finished second place.

Another world-class foreign runner ready to burn the route at Gold-Label Marathon is Kenya’s John Komen, a 2019 Athens Marathon winner at a time of 2:16:34.

The 42 years old Komen had recorded better times in past races; 2:07:13 in 2011 when he won the La Rochelle Marathon, 2:08:06 in 2008 at Reims Marathon, 2:08:12 at Paris Marathon, and 2:08:13 when he won the Venezia Marathon in 2009.

Meanwhile, the 2020 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon winner, Kenya’s Barmasai David has a very rich resume and the brightest opportunity to stay on top.

This is due to his familiarity with the Lagos City Marathon route, having won the 2020 race at 2:10:23 and placed second in 2022, at the 7th edition of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon at 2:13:37.

David has a personal best of 2:07:18 when he won the 2011 Dubai Marathon, the same year he placed fifth at the World Marathon Championships.

Report says David is also a winner of the 2010 Kenyan Standard Chartered Marathon where he ran 2:10:31.

In the women’s class, the top leading world-class foreign runners include; Tinbit Gidey, former champion of the Marrakesh Marathon, and Esther Macharia, a former winner of the Graz Marathon and winner of the Bregenz Marathon. She has a personal best of 2:27:15 recorded in 2022 at the Grandma’s Marathon in USA.

Kenya’s Mercy Jerop Kwambai, is yet another world-class runner, with the most recent performances that may change some expectations at the Gold-Label Marathon.

Ms. Jerop in the last two years has been hot in her races across the world; at the Asics Firenze Marathon in 2021, she ran 2:27:32 and placed 3rd. In 2022, at the Sparkasse 3-Lander Marathon, she finished second place at 2:30:15 and 3rd place also at the 2022 Adidas Stockholm Marathon at 2:33:43.

A total of 76 foreign runners were invited by the organisers, Nilayo Sports Management Limited, for the Gold-Label 8th Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, made up of 47 men and 29 women world-class runners.

The men’s class include; Julius Tuwei, Japhet Kosgei, Edwin Koech, Kiprotich Kipkoech, Ezekiel Koech, and Cosmas Kiplimo. Others include Francis Cheruiyot, Bernard Sang, and Kibiwot Kipkoech among others.

For the women’s class, we have Jackline Chelai, Naomi Maiyo, Kebene Chala, and Catherine Jerotich.

The foreign Elite athletes are from 22 countries across the world and a total of 50,000 runners in all will be running in the Gold-Label 8th Access Bank Lagos City Marathon on February 4.

 

Oyo State Governor Plans To End Brain Drain In Health Sector

Mercy Chukwudiebere
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The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde says his administration is building a legacy that will end the brain drain in the medical profession and make doctors stay in Nigeria.

 

Governor Makinde said he doubted if doctors could be replaced at the same speed at which they leave the country but hoped that the services of doctors and other medical personnel would be retained in Nigeria with the legacy his administration had been trying to build.

 

He disclosed this, on Thursday, while inaugurating a Special Task Force for the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, at the Executive Council Chambers of the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.

 

He said that “the purpose of the Task Force is for the accreditation of the medical programme in LAUTECH and its duty is to ensure that all conditions set to enable the accreditation of the programme, as stipulated by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, are met.”

 

The Governor urged the committee to perform the assignment with excellence, even as he expressed confidence in the ability of its members.

 

Governor Makinde, who went down memory lane, said back in November 2020 when Oyo State took over the sole ownership of LAUTECH from Osun State, the physical infrastructure could not be moved to Oyo State, so he had to negotiate for the sole ownership.

 

 

He further said that one of the structures Oyo State was not able to carry along was the College of Medicine, which used to be in Osun State. He, therefore, invited the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN, to let the Oyo State Government know what needed to be done to get accredited.

 

Governor Makinde stated that: “They gave us interim registration and we trust you, and if you say something, you will follow through’. They gave us the list of things we are supposed to do so that we can continue to run our medicine programme at LAUTECH. So, this Task Force is to ensure these requirements are implemented.

 

“Also, there may be other things which the MDCN is not paying attention to that will make those programmes run effectively and the products from LAUTECH to be one of the best in the country,” the Governor noted.

 

He expressed confidence in the ability of the members of the Task Force to deliver the assignment in the shortest possible time, considering the outlook, qualification and experience of the people there, which speak of excellence.
Governor Makinde said: “I will ask that you perform this assignment with the same degree of excellence and devotion that you have come to be known for and diligently deliver on the mandate we are giving to you this morning.”

 

“So, this is our contribution to the building of the education sector and our dear country. We pray that with the legacy we are trying to build, in no distant future, doctors will be returning to Nigeria to practise rather than leaving,” he asserted.

 

The members of the Special Task Force include; Professor Juwon Arotiba (Chairman); Dr Adefemi Afolabi; Prof. Olawale Olakulehin,  representing LAUTECH Governing Council; Professor Adewale Adeyemi, Provost, College of Health Sciences and Mrs C. Abioye, Ministry of Education.

 

Others are Dr Olusoji Adeyanju, Ministry of Health; Mr Olufisayo Ogunjinmi, Ministry of Public Works and the Registrar & Secretary to the LAUTECH Governing Council, Dr Kayode Ogunleye.

 

 

 

Mercy Chukwudiebere

VP Osinbajo Advocates Education For Young Girls, Inaugurates Academy

Oluwasola Akintonde
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Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo has said the education of young girls should be a top priority, even as children are taught the highest standards of honesty, piety and hard work in order to build a healthier, happier and more prosperous society.
The Vice President expressed these views at the virtual inauguration of the school-based Management Board of Adawiyya Girls Academy, Minannata community, in Sokoto State, Northern, Nigeria.
Osinbajo acknowledged the initiator of the Academy, Hajia Rabiatu Adawiyya, from whose name the school is endowed, adding that despite the fact that she did not undergo formal education, she “understood a reality that even the best minds are only just realizing, that when you educate a girl, you educate a whole society.”
Entrepreneurship
The Adawiyya Girls Academy, established in collaboration with Text Foundation – a digital and foundational literacy nonprofit organisation – is a state-of-the-art school designed to provide high-quality education to young girls from less privileged backgrounds with modern education using advanced teaching tools.
A section of the school, which combines science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in its teaching curriculum, is dedicated to training women in entrepreneurship.
According to the Vice President, “ignorance has no benefit, ignorance is darkness but education is the bright light of knowledge that can help us to live healthier, happier and more prosperous lives.”
He said “education is dangerous without morals and uprightness,”emphasizing that “we must teach our children the highest standards of honesty, piety, and hard work.“I am glad that the students of Adawiyya Girls Academy Sokoto have this great opportunity of being offered both conventional and religious education using the most advanced modern teaching tools available in our time.”
Prof. Osinbajo said Rabiatu Adawiyya was passionate about the education of girls from less-privileged families.
“Her dream is today a reality and has started a movement that will bring about the education of millions of girls from poor families across Nigeria,” he stated.
He further observed that the people of the Minannata, a low-income community, understood the importance of education.
“Education is the ladder by which even the poorest can climb to the top in the society, but the ladder of education is a special ladder, it is not only the educated person who climbs, their family members and others around them can learn from them and also begin to climb the ladder to the top.”
Acknowledging the school’s STEM-based approach, he noted that “a lot of thinking has gone into designing the curriculum for the school and we have ensured that we have the best teachers anywhere in the country.
“Technology and technology tools for teaching and learning are a fundamental part of our pedagogy.  The school’s technology facilities are state-of-the-art and the school, in keeping with best practice, has an intentionally optimized teacher-to-student ratio,” he said.
The Vice President thanked the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu  Tambuwal, the Mutawalle of Sokoto, for the consistent support he has given to the school, especially in enrolling the teachers of the school into the State Civil Service.
He also commended the leadership of the Minannata community, especially the traditional chiefs led by Maigirma Ardo, Alhaji Aminu Riskuwa, for his selfless service to the people.
“The parents and guardians of the girls have also been outstandingly cooperative, in some cases their enthusiasm and commitment to the education of their children has gone perhaps even beyond the call of duty.”
The VP mentioned the example of Malama Zali Bala, the mother of Hafsat Bala, “who when teased about having only female children, will point to examples of great women from within the community and express pride and hope that, with education, Hafsat will one day join that same league of great amazons.”
He also recalled his own experience saying “I value education and one of the things I enjoyed then was taking my young daughters to school.”
Alongside members of the management board, those present at the virtual event included teachers, students, staff of the school, and traditional rulers, who joined in from the School’s environs.
Dr. Balkisu Saidu, who is also the daughter of the endower (Adawiyya), thanked the VP for his selfless service to humanity.

 

 

Olusola Akintonde

Republicans Oust Ilhan Omar from Powerful House Committee

Shakirat Sadiq
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Republicans have ousted Democrat Ilhan Omar from her committee post in a sign of escalating tensions in the US Congress.

They voted to remove Ms Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee over her past comments about Israel.

Republicans said “the move sent a strong statement against antisemitism.”

But Democrats and Ms Omar said it was “revenge” after two Republicans were ousted from committees in 2020 when Democrats held a House majority.

Ms Omar also suggested she was being removed due to her being a Muslim woman who immigrated to the US as a refugee. “Is anyone surprised that I am somehow deemed unworthy to speak about American foreign policy?” she said shortly before the vote.

Republicans secured a majority in the House of Representatives following the midterm elections in November, and members voted along party lines to remove Ms Omar on Thursday.

She is one of three ‘high-profile’ Democrats to lose a committee assignment under the new House majority, which is led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Some Republicans – including Mr McCarthy – argued Ms Omar should not serve on the powerful foreign affairs committee owing to her past comments about Israel that have, at times, been criticised by members from both parties.

Ms Omar apologised in 2019 for implying money was behind support for Israel.

Members of both parties, including then-Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, condemned her comments as antisemitic as they invoked bigoted stereotypes about Jewish people using money for influence.

“Antisemitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of antisemitic tropes,” Ms Omar said in a statement.

On Thursday, Democrats, including Jewish members, also said Ms Omar had taken appropriate steps to educate herself about antisemitism.

 

 

 

BBC /Shakirat Sadiq

APC Council Mobilises Over 5million Farmers For Tinubu

Lateefat Ibrahim
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The All Progressives Congress, APC Campaign Council has mobilised over five million farmers in support of the Presidential Candidate, Mr Bola Tinubu.

The Secretary of the APC Presidential Campaign Council Agro Commodities Directorate, Mr. Retson Tedheke stated this at a summit organised by the Council to meet National Farmers Stakeholders.

Mr. Tedheke said “the Campaign Council intends to raise the figure to 12.5 million before the February 25 Presidential election in Nigeria.”

Explaining the purpose for the summit, he said they brought the farmers together to discuss the benefits of the manifesto which would in turn mobilise votes for the APC Presidential Candidate as it relates to agriculture.

“The summit is pulling together all farm leaders across the country. Let’s have the conversation, let us look at the Tinubu’s manifesto, look at the farmer’s challenge, look at his contract with the farmers and then look at his promises. With that focus, we can drive mobilisation across the country. As we speak over 5 million farming members across the country are committed to the course. We want to be able to take that number to about 12.5 million” Mr Tedheke said.

He also said that three key areas of the Tinubu Manifesto would addressed some challenges farmers face in Nigeria.

“Three Key outlines on his agriculture manifesto are; Rural infrastructure. Rural Nigeria needs basic infrastructure to be able to move goods to the market, have access to what they need to survive. So, solving the problem of Rural infrastructure solves the problem of Nigerian farmers.

“Also access to cheap funding and long-term funding. The Anchor Borrowers Programme is a fantastic programe bur Agriculture must be treated as a National Security issue not a commercial venture. If you give farmers cheap money and it’s for the long term, farmers will be able to utilise it for the greater good. So, the manifesto speaks to what the farmers challenges are.

“Now the herders/farmers clash is talking to the issue of insecurity, if you solve insecurity, you solve that problem,” Mr Tedheke explained.

He further urged Nigerians to take a look at Mr. Tinubu’s performance in terms of infrastructure development of Lagos State when he was a governor as well as his running mate, Kashim Shettima’s development of Agriculture in Borno State when he was governor.

Also speaking, the Director of the APC Presidential Campaign Council Agro Commodities Directorate, Abubakar Udulu Bello said they intended to build on the 5m figures by convincing all their supporters in Nigeria of Mr. Tinubu’s good qualities.

He said; “We are reaching out to all our farmers and all our support structures across the country. We know that he is the man, we know that he has the vision and the capacity… He is the only one that will ensure that the successes that have been built is going to be sustained.”

 

Lateefah Ibrahim

Germany Drops To No. 2 WHO’s Donor

Mercy Chukwudiebere
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Germany will give 130 million euros ($141.87 million) to the World Health Organisation this year.

Health Minister, Karl Lauterbach said on Thursday following a meeting with the U.N. health agency’s head.

“We are happy to contribute 130 million euros to WHO this year,” Lauterbach told reporters at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, following a meeting with Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

He said on Twitter tyat; “The WHO must be strengthened financially so that humanity is better prepared for the next pandemic.” 

Lauterbach met with Tedros on the sidelines of the agency’s executive board meeting this week where it is seeking a reinforced role in global health but still seeking answers on how to fund it.

The body’s funding system, which currently has a nearly $1 billion gap, is widely seen as needing major reform given its over-reliance on donor whims.

However, the announcement was not enough to return Germany to the top donor spot after Berlin temporarily overtook the main historical contributor Washington in the last funding period 2020-2021 due to Trump-era funding cuts, WHO data showed.

 

 

Reuters/ Mercy Chukwudiebere

 

Trading Appreciates At Stock Market

Confidence Okwuchi
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The Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX built-up on Wedenesday’s gain to appreciate for the 4th consecutive trading session for this week.

Investors interest in MTN NIGERIA COMMUNICATIONS PLC(+3.9%) and SEPLAT ENERGY PLC (+9.5%) stimulated Thursday’s positive performance as the benchmark index grew 0.93%.

The Market capitalisation increased by ₦271 billion or 0.93% from ₦29,140 trillion and settled at ₦29,411 trillion. While the All-Share Index advanced from 53,499.68 basis points to 53,998.12 basis points by 498.44 basis points or 0.93%.

Also, the total volume of shares traded increased to 2.87 billion units of share, valued at ₦8.07 billion, and exchanged in 3,940 deals.

UNIVERSAL INSURANCE PLC was the most traded stock by volume at 2.72 billion units of shares, while AIRTEL AFRICA PLC was the most traded stock by value at ₦3.49 billion.

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive with 27 advancing issues outnumbering 13 declining ones.

Top of the gainer’s log is MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. with an increase of ₦1.60k or 10.00% in price from ₦16.00 per share to ₦17.60k per share. N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC was next with a growth from ₦8.10k per share to ₦8.90k per share by 0.80k or 9.88%. And INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE PLC rose from 0.82k per share to 0.90k per share by 0.08k or 9.76%.

Conversely, SUNU ASSURANCES NIGERIA PLC led the laggard’s table depreciating by 0.03k or 8.11% to settle at 0.34k per share from 0.37k per share. Followed by MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC falling from 0.39k per share to 0.36k per share by 0.03k or 7.69%. And LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC trailed with a 0.03k or 6.25% loss from 0.48k per share to 0.45k per share.

Sectoral performance was mixed, as the Banking (-0.4%) and Insurance (-0.4%) indices declined, while the Consumer Goods and Industrial Goods indices closed flat. The Oil & Gas (+5.2%) index was the sole gainer for the day.

 

Confidence Okwuchi

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