Governor Samuel Ortom, on behalf of the government and people of Benue State, has congratulated Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) on his victory at the November 6, 2021, Anambra State governorship election.

Ortom’s felicitation was contained in a statement on Wednesday by Benue’s Chief Press Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur.

He described Prof. Soludo’s victory as a true reflection of the wishes of the people of Anambra and not the machinations of some individuals or groups outside the state.

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Governor Ortom commended the dogged determination of the Anambra people –  from the beginning of the campaign till the declaration of results  – to overcome “intimidation, coercive threats of force and uphold their wishes and express their franchise by freely electing their choice”.

He also commended security agencies deployed in the state for maintaining law and order, before, during, and after the conduct of the polls with no known cases of violence.

The governor equally congratulated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and said they also deserve commendation for the credible conduct of the polls “without yielding to external pressure to frustrate the will of the people of Anambra State”.

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He said the outcome of the election in Anambra is a pointer that democracy will flourish when all agencies and participants play according to the dictates of the process guiding the democratic principles.

Governor Ortom prayed that God will guide the Anambra State governor-elect to enable him to serve the people faithfully and to actualize his vision for the State.

governor of benue state congratulating Professor Charles Soludo 

Anambra Polls: Ortom Congratulates Soludo On Guber Victory

After a three-week recess,plenary has resumed at the Senate and House of Representatives.

At the House of Representatives, the lawmakers began the day by wading into the matter of the missing journalist, Tordue Salem.

The minority leader Ndudi Elumelu, who raised the matter as a motion of urgent public importance informed the House that Mr Salem has been missing for almost a month.

Consequently, the committees on National Security and Intelligence Police and Interior, have been given two weeks to liaise with the service chiefs and security agencies to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance and report back to the House.

The House of Representatives is concerned about what it describes as the Fast deterioration of the FCT.

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Another lawmaker, the deputy minority leader, Toby Okechukwu, raised concerns about what was described as the fast deterioration of the FCT, describing the situation as the most unsafe that the FCT has ever been.

The lawmaker also drew the attention of his colleagues to what he termed the decaying infrastructure and poor waste management in the nation’s capital.

The House then resolved to summon the FCT minister on the matter, as the deputy minority leader insisted that the minister is not doing the job for which he was hired.

At the floor of the Senate the first matter that was discussed was the siege on the residence of Justice Mary Odili.

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The Upper Chamber condemned the situation saying it was an invasion.

They, therefore, mandated the Inspector General of Police to make public the outcome of investigations into the incident.

Thereafter, the issue of electronic transmission of results was again brought to the fore.

The Electoral Act Amendment Bill was passed and electronic transmission of results, approved.

Plenary Resumes At NASS After Three-Week Recess

A retired Airforce officer, Air Vice Marshal Muhammed Maisaka has been killed by gunmen suspected to be bandits in Rigasa area of Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The retired military officer, who is also the Chief Medical Director of MSK hospital in Rigasa, was murdered in the early hours of Tuesday, in his residence alongside his grandson.

Although the identity of his killers is not yet clear, residents said the attack could be a clear case of assassination.

According to Saleh Bala, an eyewitness and in-law to the deceased, the bandits first went to the boys’ quarters where they picked his physiotherapist (also a NAF personnel) and they forced him to lead them into the main house.

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Bala added that the attackers left the house without stealing anything or threatening anyone further.

The Kaduna State Police Command has also confirmed the incident.

The command’s Public Relations Officer,  Mohammed Jalige said the gate man of the deceased sustained injuries from the attack.

He explained that the body of the retired officer has been evacuated to the hospital while the gate man has been rushed to the hospital for treatment.

The police spokesman appealed to Kaduna residents to assist security agencies with useful and timely information that could lead to the arrest of the perpetrators of the dastardly act.

Airforce officer, Air Vice Marshal Muhammed Maisaka 

Gunmen Kill Retired Airforce Officer Maisaka in Kaduna

The Lagos State Government says a robust vaccination strategy has been established to ensure four million residents of the state are fully vaccinated before the end of December 2021.

The state Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday explained that the mass vaccination is important to prevent a fourth wave of the deadly Coronavirus in the state.

“The Lagos State Government has developed a robust vaccination strategy leveraging on both the strengths of the public and private sectors of our healthcare system with a full understanding that a substantial proportion of the population will need to be vaccinated to mitigate the impact of the fourth wave in Lagos and reduce the impact of the ongoing spread of the COVID-19 virus and prevent the re-emergence of the catastrophes witnessed during the previous waves.

“This strategy dubbed ‘Count Me In! 4 million Lagosians Vaccinated Against COVID-19’ is aimed at targeting the full vaccination of four million Lagos residents before the end of December 2021; and was launched by the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu alongside the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi and the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, in a side event of the 7th African Conference on One Health and Biosecurity which focused on Vaccine strategies,” Abayomi said.

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The Commissioner said once this is achieved, it will bring the State closer to the state governor’s mandate to vaccinate 30% of the Lagos population within one year which started in August of 2021.

“This is a concerted effort to achieve the World Health Organization’s (WHO) target of vaccinating 40% of the world before the end of this year. Lagos thus far has only been able to fully vaccinate just under 3% of its population,” Abayomi added.

He stressed that a partnership between public and private companies is essential to achieve the goal.

Abayomi said the State Government, through the Primary Health Care Board, does not have the capacity alone to ramp up vaccination to this massive level in such a short time and before the deadline, hence the need to include the private sector.

“The public-private partnership is similar to the strategy deployed for escalating COVID-19 testing which resulted in a dramatic increase in testing done in Lagos from an average of 200 a day to over 2,000 a day culminating in a total of 800,000 tests in less than a year and Lagos State accounting for more than 30% alone of all COVID-19 PCR tests done in Nigeria.

“This demonstrates the power of public-private partnerships, with the inclusion of the significant capacity of the private sector but government retaining strict regulatory oversight and quality function.

“With this approach, we intend to ramp up our vaccination strategy using the existing public facilities as well as the inclusion of some private facilities. It is imperative to emphasize that the vaccines administered in public facilities is free and would remain free to the public as they were contributed to us by the Federal Government and our donor partners, those wishing to receive the vaccines can go to any of the designated 206 government facilities and receive their dose totally free of charge.”

The Commissioner said those that wish to receive the vaccines within the comforts of a private facility can do so “at a minimal administrative cost of N6,000 for two doses which cover the cost that the private sector will incur to facilitate the administration of the vaccine which includes logistics, personnel, quality oversight, administrative and overhead costs. The cost will be proportionally lower for single-dose or those wishing to take a single booster dose.”

He said no one is compelled to receive their vaccines at any private facility as the vaccines in both are of the same quality and brand.

“The decision to leverage the private sector is based solely on our resolve to include private health facilities and corporate institutions as additional sites for the COVID-19 vaccination administration.

“This is in furtherance of the effort to increase the reach and access to the available vaccines provided through the generous contributions and donations by the Federal Government and our donors,” he added.

Those that require their vaccination at any of the public facilities should visit the national platform at https://publicreg.vaccination.gov.ng to register and schedule their vaccination or register on arrival at any of the 206 public sites.

Those requiring vaccination at any selected private facilities should please, in addition, visit https://lagosvaccine.com to book and pay for their vaccination, either before or after registering on the national platform.

Lagos state plans on mass vaccinating her citizens 

Lagos Outlines Mass COVID-19 Vaccination Plans

The dress singer Amy Winehouse wore for her final performance sold Sunday for $243,200, 16 times its estimated value, as part of a trove of memorabilia from the late diva’s life auctioned in California.

Winehouse wore the green and black bamboo print dress at a concert in Belgrade in 2011.

A month later, on July 23, she died from acute alcohol poisoning. She was 27.

Her death was the culmination of a lengthy — and often very public — struggle with alcohol and drugs.

The dress was the highlight of an 800-item collection of personal effects, ranging from bras and DVDs to books and make-up that were sold by Winehouse’s parents, Mitch and Janis.

The entire collection brought in $4 million, twice the original forecast, according to auction house Julien’s, which managed the sale that ran from Saturday to Sunday.

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“Of course, there are fans and museums and collectors all over the world that will want to own some of these items, care for them, show them at museums, keep her legacy and her memory alive and at the same time raise some money for the foundation,” Martin Nolan of Julien’s said ahead of the auction.

The proceeds will go to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which supports vulnerable young adults struggling with addiction.

“All of these dresses represent Amy — fantastic musician, songwriter, but also a fashion icon,” Nolan said.

Multi-Grammy-winning Winehouse, whose seminal and soulful 2006 album “Back to Black,” is counted as a modern classic, often spoke of her personal experiences battling alcohol and drug addiction.

Another highlight of the sale was the heart-shaped handbag custom-made by Moschino that Winehouse used at the 2007 Brit Awards, which sold for $204,800.

Many of the other dresses she wore in performances sold for between $12,500 and $150,000.

The 400-plus-page catalogue put together by Julien’s was a walk-through of the singer’s influences and career, but also her distinctive retro style that made her a fashion icon.

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Amy Winehouse’s Last Concert Dress Sells For $243,200

The six persons abducted from the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have regained freedom.

They were rescued about three days after gunmen attacked the staff quarters of the university in Gwagwalada Area Council of the nation’s capital.

In a statement on Friday, the spokesman for the FCT Police Command, Josephine Adeh, confirmed that the victims were rescued by a joint team of operatives from various security agencies.

“The FCT Police Command wishes to inform members of the public that all abducted victims of the University of Abuja were rescued and reunited with their families through a joint operation with other security agencies,” she said.

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Those abducted included two professors, a senior lecturer, and three of their family members.

Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), UNIABUJA Chapter, Dr Kasim Umar, who also confirmed that the victims have been rescued, stated that no ransom was paid.

Channels Television had reported that gunmen attacked the senior staff quarters of the university at about 1am on Tuesday.

The invaders were said to have forced their way into the houses of the victims through the windows, before abducting them.

In one of the houses seen during a visit to the scene, the ceiling and windows were broken while books, clothes, and other wares were littered on the floor.

The operation, according to eyewitnesses, lasted over two hours, with heavy gunshots.

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Abducted UNIABUJA Professors, Four Others Rescued

Barcelona are set to announce Xavi Hernandez’s dramatic  return to the club as coach, after Al Sadd confirmed on Friday a deal  has been agreed between the clubs.

The Qatari club said  in a statement Barca had paid the release clause for Xavi, who has been  coaching in Qatar since 2019 and now rejoins the club where he enjoyed  huge success as a player.

Al Sadd chief executive Turki Al-Ali  said in a statement: “The Al Sadd administration has agreed on Xavi’s  move to Barcelona after the payment of the release clause stipulated in  the contract.

“We’ve agreed on cooperation with Barcelona in the  future. Xavi is an important part of Al-Sadd’s history and we wish him  success.”

Barcelona sent vice-president Rafa Yuste and director of football Mateu Alemany to Doha for talks on Wednesday.

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But  Turki Al-Ali insisted earlier on Wednesday that Al Sadd were “committed  to keeping Xavi” and they appear to have held their ground in the  negotiations, with Barca needing to pay Xavi’s release clause,  reportedly set at five million euros ($5.8 million).

“Xavi  informed us a few days ago of his desire to go to Barcelona at this  particular time, because of the critical stage his hometown club is  going through, and we understand this and decided not to stand in his  way,” Turki Al-Ali added in his statement on Friday.

Barcelona had to let Lionel Messi leave the club before the season began and have admitted they are saddled with huge debts.

Xavi’s Qatari Club Agrees Deal With Barcelona

The death toll from the collapsed high-rise building on Gerrard road in Ikoyi, Lagos

This was confirmed on Thursday morning by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

“So far, 36 people – 33 males and three female — have been confirmed dead, while there were nine survivors,” Acting Coordinator of the Lagos Territorial Office of the NEMA, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye wrote in a message to journalists.

The survivors include one female and eight male.

The operation to rescue those trapped in the rubble of the 21-storey building which collapsed on Monday afternoon, trapping dozens of people is still ongoing.

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Families and friends of people trapped in the rubble have kept vigil at the scene, clinging onto hope and seeking answers, three days after the disaster.

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu put the death toll at 21 when he visited the scene on Wednesday afternoon.

The cause of the collapse has yet to be determined, but the governor has said there were obvious violations and “mistakes from all angles” in the tragedy.

He has set up a panel of inquiry into the incident and promised that those found culpable after investigations by the panel, will be punished.

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dead people being pulled out of a collapsed building in lagos 

Breaking News: Ikoyi Building Collapse: Death Toll Rises To 36

Tesla shares sunk in early trading on Tuesday after founder Elon Musk cast doubt on a deal to supply Hertz with rental cars.

The Hertz announcement last week of an agreement for Tesla to supply the car rental firm with 100,000 of its electric autos helped push Musk’s company to a $1 trillion market valuation alongside tech titans like Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Apple.

But Musk on Monday said no agreement had been finalized.

“If any of this is based on Hertz, I’d like to emphasize that no contract has been signed yet,” Musk tweeted in response to a chart showing Tesla’s share price ascending.

“Tesla has far more demand than production, therefore, we will only sell cars to Hertz for the same margin as to consumers. Hertz deal has zero effect on our economics.”

Tesla shares were trading 2.3 per cent lower just after the open on Wall Street.

Separately, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday announced the recall of nearly 12,000 Tesla cars due to errors with their communication software.

Tesla’s Elon Musk Downplays Deal To Supply Cars To Hertz

“I always said that I would love to be able to help the club. I would love to be a technical director at some point. I don’t know if it will be at FC Barcelona or not.”

Lionel Messi says he will return to live in Barcelona with his family when his time at Paris St Germain is over.

He said he would like to help the LaLiga club in the role of a technical director.

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Messi ended a two-decade stay at FC Barcelona, where he was their record scorer with 672 goals.

In the off-season, he joined PSG on a free transfer on a two-year deal.

“What is almost confirmed is that we are going to live in Barcelona again and that our life will be there,” the 34-year-old Argentine said in an interview with Spanish outlet Sport. “It’s what my wife wants and what I want. I don’t know when my contract with PSG ends, but we’ll go back to Barcelona to live.”

He added, “I always said that I would love to be able to help the club. I would love to be a technical director at some point. I don’t know if it will be at FC Barcelona or not. If there is a possibility, I would like to contribute again because it’s the club that I love, and I would love for it to continue doing well, to continue being one of the best in the world.”

Barca, who are ninth in LaLiga, sacked coach Ronald Koeman last week.

Meanwhile, Messi limped off injured in PSG’s 2-1 win over champions Lille on Friday. 

Mauricio Pochettino is hopeful he will be available for this week’s Champions League game at RB Leipzig.

former Barcelona footballer talks about returning to football club 

Messi wants to return to Barcelona as technical director

Protesters and thugs on Monday stormed the Plateau State House of Assembly complex in what appears to be a new twist to the crisis in the Assembly.

Both groups occupied the gate of the Assembly complex in Jos, chanting solidarity songs and displaying placards while 13 lawmakers led by the impeached Speaker, Ayuba Bok, were in the chambers.

While the protest was ongoing outside the complex, some thugs gained access into the complex through the back entrance, smashing the entrance door to the chambers.

On the other hand, the group outside the complex confronted the invaders to protect the members in the chambers, a situation that led to pandemonium.

It took the intervention of security operatives before normalcy was later restored at the assembly complex.

The Commissioner of Police in Plateau, Edward Egbuka, who was at the scene in the company of some police officers, also met with members of the assembly.

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The crisis in the parliament deepened after eight members of the Assembly impeached Bok as the speaker on Thursday last week.

Mr Yakubu Sanda, who later emerged as the new speaker, assured his colleagues that he would work in synergy with the executive and judiciary for the peace, progress, and development of the state.

According to him, the House will use its full legislative powers to ensure that government programs and projects impact the people at the grassroots level.

The new speaker was later received at the Government House by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Danladi Atu, on behalf of Governor Simon Lalong.

Reacting to his impeachment, Bok said he would continue to stand for truth, justice and the rights of the Plateau people.

He said he was not disturbed by the development, rather it has only given him more strength to stand for the people.

“We have been standing for the people of Plateau, we stand for truth, we stand for justice, we stand for the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and we stand for democracy,” the lawmaker had said.

Youths Protest Impeachment At Plateau Assembly Complex

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden demanded that Sudan’s military immediately restore the nation to civilian rule, joining European and UN calls for an end to violence against peaceful demonstrators and the release of detainees.

“Our message to Sudan’s military authorities is overwhelming and clear: the Sudanese people must be allowed to protest peacefully and the civilian-led transitional government must be restored,” Biden said in a statement.

The American president described the events of recent days as “a grave setback” for Sudan, referring to the military coup which plunged the poverty-stricken African country into chaos.

Several protesters have been killed in days of street violence in the capital Khartoum, as the abrupt collapse of Sudan’s transition to democracy sparked an international outcry.

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“I urge Sudan’s military leaders to immediately release all those detained and restore the institutions associated with the transitional government,” Biden said.

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan — Sudan’s de facto leader since the 2019 ouster of veteran autocrat Omar al-Bashir after huge youth-led protests — on Monday dissolved the country’s fragile government.

Washington joined world powers, the UN Security Council, the African Union and Arab League in what Biden said was an “international chorus” of condemnation against the military takeover.

The United States “will continue to stand with the people of Sudan and their non-violent struggle to advance the goals of Sudan’s revolution,” Biden said.

“Freedom, equality, government under rule of law, and respect for human rights must be the foundation for future security and prosperity in Sudan, just as they are all around the world,” he added.

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Sudan’s Civilian-Led Govt ‘Must Be Restored’, Biden

Nigerian newspapers,on one page.