Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Sunday 7th June 2020
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 07/06/20
Read also
Lagos Discharges 42 More COVID-19 Patients
The Lagos State Government has announced the recovery and discharge of 42 more Coronavirus patients after they tested negative twice to the virus.
Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said in a statement on Saturday that 994 patients had now been discharged from the isolation centres.
He said, “42 fully recovered COVID-19 Lagos patients; 11 females and 31 males have been discharged from our isolation facilities today (Saturday) to reunite with the society.
“The patients; 20 from Gbagada, 11 from Eti-Osa (LandMark) and 11 from Lekki isolation centres were discharged today after testing negative to COVID-19.
“This brings to 994, the number of #COVID19 confirmed cases that have been successfully managed and discharged in Lagos.”
PUBLIC HEALTH
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
Saharareporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
MURIC Warns Miyetti Allah Against Divisive Statements
Prof. Ishaq Akintola, Director of MURIC
The Muslim Rights Concern has condemned a statement credited to National President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Bello Abdullahi Bodejo, that the Fulani will rule Nigeria forever.
In a statement on Saturday by Director of the organisation, Prof Ishaq Akintola, MURIC said that Nigeria belonged to no particular tribe or ethnic group.
The group warned Miyetti Allah against divisive, explosive and provocative statements capable of causing disharmony in the society.
Prof. Ishaq Akintola, Director of MURIC
The statement reads, “We call on Miyetti Allah to confirm or deny the alleged statement. We affirm that Nigeria belongs to no particular tribe and every ethnic group has a stake in the Nigerian project. Leadership is therefore not the birthright of any ethnicity.
“We appeal to Nigerians to ignore the statement allegedly made by Miyetti Allah and to allow the group to make clarifications. We call on leaders to avoid divisive, explosive and provocative statements.”
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
Saharareporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
E2%80%99s-private-jet-canada-over-13bn Nigerian Government Seizes Former Minister, Dan Etete’s Private Jet In Canada Over $1.3bn Malabu Oil Deal
The Nigerian Government has seized a private jet bought by Dan Etete, a former Minister of Petroleum, with some of the alleged proceeds of the $1.3bn Malabu oil deal.
The seizure was confirmed to Finance Uncovered by Nigeria’s lawyer, Babatunde Olabode ‘Bode’ Johnson.
Johnson said that the order was served on the jet’s owner, a company called Tibit Ltd, which has until Tuesday next week (9 June) to file court papers opposing the seizure.
Tibit Ltd is an anonymously owned company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.
He said government had been on the trail of the Bombardier 6000 jet with tail number M-MYNA since it landed in Montréal-Trudeau International Airport in Canada on May 29.
The news medium said a Quebec judge granted the seizure order for the aircraft in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The jet had just flown from Dubai via Shannon Airport in the West of Ireland and it is not known whether any passengers were on board.
Etete is alleged to have paid a total of $57m for the jet in 2011.
It has a range of up to 6,000 nautical miles and a luxurious interior for 17 passengers.
The jet was part of an epic spending spree Etete is said to have embarked on after allegedly receiving $336m from the OPL 245 deal.
As Nigerian Petroleum Minister in the last weeks of the late General Sani Abacha military regime in 1998, Etete had effectively awarded the prospecting rights of the OPL 245 block to a company he secretly controlled, Malabu Oil and Gas.
After Abacha’s death, Etete retained the rights as a private citizen until he offloaded them to oil giants, Shell and Eni in 2011, who paid a combined $1.3bn to the Nigerian Government.
Investigators allege that some $336m then trickled down to Etete via several bank accounts and that one of the first payments he made, $54m, was the main installment on this jet.
Also in January, a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Gwagwalada issued a warrant of arrest against Etete following an ex-parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over the deal.
In 2011, the Nigerian Government brokered a deal between Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd, the original allotees of the enormously endowed but controversial OPL 245, and Shell/Eni, who wanted to buy the oil block from the company.
While Shell and ENI paid a signature bonus of $210m to the Nigerian Government, they paid $1.1bn to buy 100 per cent interest in the oil block from Malabu.
The entire $1.3bn was transferred to the account of the Nigerian Government in London, United Kingdom, from where Malabu was paid its $1.1bn.
Subsequently, it was alleged that bribes were paid to officials of the government to facilitate the deal, which is considered unfavourable to Nigeria as the value of the oil block is estimated to be worth much more than what was paid for it.
Corruption
Oil
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
Saharareporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
Sixteen Persons Jailed In Ogun Over Internet Fraud
Sixteen Internet fraudsters have been sent to jail for criminal impersonation and possession of documents containing false pretences by Justice Mohammed Abubakar of the Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
In a statement, Dele Oyewale, EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, said the convicts, who are in their mid 20s, all pleaded guilty to one-count charge of impersonation filed in separate motions against them by the Ibadan zonal office of the agency.
The convicts, who are in their mid 20s, are Ajibola Ibikunle; Victor Solomon Osahun; Adeniyi Afeez Adebayo; Enitan Babajide Ganiu, Ashore Gbogbo Ayo and Sobayo Oladapo.
Others are Odebode Abiola Jamiu; Dairo Emmanuel Olajide; Stephen Mathew; Hussain Abdulkabir; Ayanniyi Quadri Ayansegun; Ajibike Kehinde Segun; Ibironke Tomiwa Emmanuel; Agboola Olanrewanju Shakiru, Abdulrauf Adam Opeyemi and Akinlabi Royal Ebube.
A breakdown of their prison sentences showed that Odebode was sentenced to two months; Ajibola, Osahun, Adebayo, Enitan, Ashore, Matthew, Ajibike and Akinlabi were sentenced to three months each, while Ayanniyi, Sobayo, Ibironke and Abdulrauf bagged four months each.
Dairo and Abdulkabir were handed six months jail term each, while Agboola was sentenced to 11 months’ imprisonment. Others are Odebode Abiola Jamiu;Â Â Dairo Emmanuel Olajide;Â Â Stephen Mathew;Â Â Hussain Abdulkabir;Â Â Ayanniyi Quadri Ayansegun;Â Â Ajibike Kehinde Segun;Â Â Ibironke Tomiwa Emmanuel;Â Â Agboola Olanrewanju Shakiru, Abdulrauf Adam Opeyemi and Akinlabi Royal Ebube.3/ pic.twitter.com/tRkbMU7hOT— EFCC Nigeria (@officialEFCC) June 6, 2020
The convicts will forfeit all items recovered from them to the Nigerian Government and also “restituted sundry sums to their respective victims”.
Corruption
CRIME
Internet
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
Saharareporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
COVID-19 Dealt Seriously With Us, Nigerian Private Jet Operators Say
Private Jet operators in Nigeria under the banner of Private Jets Nigeria have lamented the economic loss they suffered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.Nigeria had shut down it’s airports to local and international flights to stop the spread of Coronavirus.Omotade Lepe, Chief Operating Officer of the association, said during a Facebook live meeting that operators had lost at least $5bn.
He said, “COVID-19 has dealt seriously with the aviation sector generally but for the private jet operators, we can say we have lost over five billion dollars while the pandemic ravaged the world.”The official said that the association had put in place some measures to revamp the business post-COVID-19 in order to recover some lost revenue, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.“The private jet business does not ordinarily warrant marketing but in view of the business outlook now, we will be reaching out to improve patronage. We are going to stop our previous attitude of ‘our customers know us’ and take our services to the customers,” he explained.Lepe further said that in line with the requirements of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the private jet operators would ensure strict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines in addition to some other safety rules.“Private jets give room for automatic social distancing as against commercial flights,” he said, adding that mandatory temperature checks, use of face masks, sanitisers, among other protocols would be enforced when flight operations resume later this month.
Business
PUBLIC HEALTH
Travel
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
Saharareporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
E2%80%99s-2885m-loan-tackle-covid-19-pandemic AfDB Approves Nigeria’s $288.5m Loan To Tackle COVID-19 Pandemic
The African Development Bank has approved $288.5m loan to help Nigeria tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate its impact on the economy.
The loan, according to the development finance institution, will bolster the government’s plans to improve surveillance and response to COVID-19 emergencies, ease the impact on workers and businesses and strengthen the social protection system.
The loan is the bank’s initial response to help mitigate the slump in oil prices and its impact on the national economy.
Nigeria had in April secured $3.4bn from the International Monetary Fund in emergency financial assistance under the fund’s Rapid Financing Instrument to support government’s efforts in addressing the severe economic impact of the COVID-19 economic shock and the drastic fall in oil prices.
“The proposed programme will ensure that the fiscal position and the economy are sufficiently supported to weather the COVID-19 shocks, thereby limiting its potential adverse impact on livelihoods and the economy more generally,” Ebrima Faal, the bank’s Senior Director for Nigeria, said.
The bank said its active portfolio in Nigeria as of December 2019 comprised 61 operations, with a total commitment of about $5bn.
These active operations include 29 in the public sector, with a commitment of $2bn (43%) and 32 non-sovereign operations with a total commitment of $3bn, equivalent to 57 per cent of the total portfolio.
Finance
PUBLIC HEALTH
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
Saharareporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
E2%80%99m-nigerian-not-igbo-fredrick-nwabufo We Must Renounce Our Tribal Identities, I’m Nigerian Not Igbo By Fredrick Nwabufo
Fredrick Nwabufo
The recent current of the #BlackLivesMatter movement in the United States has surged tremendously in Nigeria – a country in the thrall of its own unique kind of “racism’’ – tribalism. Nigerians held protests at the embassy of the US in Abuja, condemning the murder of George Floyd, an African-American, by a Caucasian Minneapolis police officer a few days ago. Really, while the protests are for a righteous cause, no doubt, we need to re-wheel and deepen them to square up to our own fundamental imbalances.
The US is a society that is attuned to its frailties and rises to the occasion when need be to confront them. While there are laws to address issues of racism in America like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, there are no laws assiduously tackling tribalism in Nigeria. In fact, the laws we have in Nigeria are designed to accent tribalism and nepotism; for example, the Quota System, “Federal Character Principle’’ and “catchment area’’ policy.
I must say, while the Quota System and the Federal Character Principle were ideated to rugby-tackle concerns of ethnic representation in the public sector, they have over the years become the fulcrums on which tribalism, nepotism and ethnic dominance are scaffolded. These policies have also enthroned incompetence, discrimination, lack of healthy competition, indolence and indiscipline in the national life while supplanting meritocracy and competence.
Fredrick Nwabufo
I scored 284 in JAMB – high above the cut-off mark of the course I applied to study at university. But I could not secure admission at the university I wanted which was in another part of the country where I am supposedly not a native. I was robbed of choice because of the “catchment area’’ policy. This was many years ago, but the academic apartheid still persists in Nigeria today. There is no change even in 2020!
Now, I have an eight-year-old son, and if I elect that he studies in Nigeria, that will be putting him through the same mill of discrimination and institutional apartheid that I faced. I think, this is the worst kind of “native racism’’. We really have got to make Nigeria work for all Nigerians.
We live in country where to transact any official matter you have to declare your “state of origin’’ and not your “state of residence’’ – even when you have lived in a particular area in the country since your nativity.
I recall in March, the Cross River State House of Assembly rejected the appointment of Akon Ikpeme as substantive chief judge of the state — because she is from Akwa Ibom, even though she is married to a Cross Riverian.
In a voice vote at a plenary session, the assembly rejected Ikpeme’s appointment after receiving a report by the committee on judiciary. In the report, Godwin Akwaji, representing Obudu state constituency, and five others, recommended her rejection on the loony grounds that she is not a native of the state. Ikpeme hails from Akwa Ibom State, but she is married to an indigene of Cross River.
Is this not apartheid? We subsist on the worst kind of discrimination based on tribe and religion. And what is more tragic is that these prejudices are institutionalised.
We cannot pontificate on racism in the US, when some Nigerians cannot buy land in certain parts of the country. We cannot sit in judgment on racism in the US, when some Nigerians kill other citizens in the cognomen of ethnicity and religion. We cannot be indignant with racism in America when some Nigerians cast ethnic slurs like — Inyamiri, Ofe nmanu, Aboki – on their fellow countrymen. We cannot be more outraged by a foreign blight than by the sickening plight of our own people and the system. That is classical hypocrisy.
We must begin to erode “tribal identities’’ and revive the “Nigerian identity’’ to make progress as one country. I am Nigerian. That is my tribal identity.
#TheNigerianNottheTribe
Fredrick Nwabufo is a writer and journalist.
Twitter: @FredrickNwabufo
Opinion
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
Fredrick Nwabufo
Disable advertisements
:
Businessman Arrested In Anambra Over Possession Of Unlicensed Gun
A prominent businessman in Anambra State, Chief Pius Nweke, has been arrested by the police over alleged unlawful possession of firearm.
He was arrested at about 12pm on Friday in Awada Street, Onitsha, Anambra State while driving to his office.
It was gathered that Nweke is one of those leading Abba people of Njikoka Local Government Area to protest against the Supreme Court land judgment in favour of Prince Arthur Eze Na’Ukpo.
He was said to be driving a Lexus SUV when the Inspector-General of Police team stopped, searched and arrested him.
An automatic pistol was found in his possession with 10 rounds of ammunition in it.
Haruna Mohammed, spokesperson for the Anambra State Police Command, told SaharaReporters that the arrest was not effected by the command operatives but the IGP team.
CRIME
News
AddThis
:
Featured Image
:
Original Author
:
Saharareporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
Sokoto Discharges All 101 COVID-19 Patients In Its Isolation Centres
The Sokoto State Taskforce Committee on COVID-19 has discharged the remaining five patients from the state’s isolation centres.
Commissioner for Health in the state, Dr Muhammed Ali Inname, disclosed this while speaking with journalists on Friday.
Inname confirmed the discharge of the patients, which he said were the last batch of patients from the total number of 115 positive cases in the state.
The total number of discharged patients so far from the state isolation centres has now moved to 101, while the total number of deaths related to COVID-19 in the state remains 14.
He said that the patients were from eight local government areas of the state.
The commissioner said that the committee’s activities would continue as many test results were still pending.
PUBLIC HEALTH
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
Saharareporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
Thirty COVID-19 Patients Discharged In Abuja
Thirty COVID-19 patients receiving treatment in Abuja have been discharged after making full recovery from the infection.
Mohammed Bello, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, broke the news on Saturday, noting that the total number of discharged patients in the nation’s capital had risen to 245.
He said, “Dear FCT residents, I bring you good news as we successfully treated and discharged additional thirty (30) #COVID19 patients from our treatment facilities in the FCT.
“The total number of discharged patients in the FCT is now 245. #StaySafe #TakeResponsibility.”
Abuja has the third-highest cases of Coronavirus in Nigeria.
PUBLIC HEALTH
News
AddThis
:
Original Author
:
Saharareporters, New York
Disable advertisements
:
Read also
You can also check
