The political climate in Abuja is a bit charged. The National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has named Sen. Abiola Ajimobi as its acting National Chairman.
The development followed Tuesday’s affirmation of the suspension of the National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
The party in a late statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu said it has received the news indicating the Appeal Court has upheld the suspension of the Party’s National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole by an FCT High Court pending the determination of the substantive suit.
“Guided by advice from the Party’s legal department in line with the provisions of Section 14.2. (iii) of the Party’s constitution, the Deputy National Chairman (South), Sen. Abiola Ajimobi will serve as the Party’s Acting National Chairman.
“According to Section 14.2. (iii),of the APC constitution, the Deputy National Chairman, North/South “Shall act as the National Chairman in the absence of the National Chairman from his zone”, the NWC stated.
Oshiomhole is said to be determined to fight on, to regain his office.
In the last 24 hours, 490 new cases of COVID19 were reported in Nigeria; Lagos-142, FCT-60, Bayelsa-54, Rivers-39, Delta-37, Oyo-30, Kaduna-26, Imo-23, Enugu-19, Kwara-17, Gombe-11, Ondo-10, Bauchi-8, Ogun-7, Borno-6, Benue-1.
A total of 17,148 confirmed cases in Nigeria. The breakdown;
A video of Angel Gomes, a Manchester United player, is currently trending on social media where he was seen receiving prayers of healing at TB Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN).
In the video, which appeared to have been shot in 2016, the talented attacking player identified himself as a 16-year-old whose parents are big fans of the cleric.
The English player also narrated how frequent injuries including hip, groin and ankle hindered him from playing in times of important tournaments, matches, and breakthrough moments. He said;
“My name is Angel Gomes, I’m from Manchester. I’m sixteen. I play for the Manchester United Football Club. And I’ve been struggling really with injuries.
“I’ve been having injuries around my hip and groin which have been affecting me playing. I also suffered ankle injury not long ago which kept me out for a long time.
“These injuries would come at hard times for me, times when I was having a breakthrough or times when I had to go to a tournament or playing games, these injuries would happen quite frequently.
“I play for Man United, I also represent England national team under-17 level as captain. I’ve known about the Synagogue Church of Nations for a long time.
“As my family follows the prophet, my parents are big fans. So we thought it would be a good time for me to come and be touched by the prophet.”
Nigeria’s tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases rose to 16,658 as 573 new infections were announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Four deaths were recorded from the virus on Monday bringing the total number of confirmed deaths from the virus to 424.
The health agency in a tweet Monday night said the new cases were reported in 20 states.
These are Lagos, Rivers, Oyo Edo, Kano, Gombe, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Delta, Plateau, Bauchi, Niger, Kebbi, Ogun, Ondo, Abia, Nasarawa, Kwara, Benue and Anambra.
All the reporting states already had at least a case of the virus.
As of the time of reporting, 35 states and the FCT had recorded at least a case of the disease. Only one state, Cross River, is yet to report any case of the virus.
Lagos State recorded the highest daily figure for the confirmed cases on Monday with 216 cases.
The 573 new cases are reported from 20 states- Lagos – 216, Rivers – 103, Oyo – 68, Edo – 40, Kano – 21, Gombe – 20, FCT – 17, Delta – 13, Plateau – 12, Bauchi – 12, Niger – 10, ,Kebbi – 9, Ogun – 8, Ondo – 8, Abia – 7, Nasarawa – 5, Borno – 1, Kwara – 1, Benue – 1 and Anambra – 1.
“Till date, 16658 cases have been confirmed, 5349 cases have been discharged and 424 deaths have been recorded in 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory,” the NCDC stated.
Hon. Settle Olaide Popoola, the Caretaker Chairman of Oluyole, Ibadan in Oyo State has allegedly just commissioned a concrete pedestrian bridge in Ibadan.
Police in Machakos have arrested a 33-year-old man accused of killing his 26-year-old wife and 11-year-old son on Friday night.
The incident happened in Joska, Matungulu Constituency in Machakos County, Kenya.
Neighbours reported that they saw the suspect, a boda boda operator, loading a black 50-litre drum on his motorbike, and when he ignited the motorbike’s engine to take off, a human head fell off the container.
Shocked, they rushed to the scene to establish whose head the suspect was carrying. On arriving near the suspect’s house, they discovered that the severed head belonged to the suspect’s 11-year-old son.
The neighbours then filed a report at the nearby KBC Police Station in Matungulu.
Law enforcement officers, who arrived at the suspect’s home, broke down his door and were shocked to discover that the 33-year-old man had also killed his 26-year-old wife.
The body of the suspect’s spouse was found naked on their bed, with deep cuts inflicted to her head.
Matungulu OCPD Kipkemoi Kirui told K24 Digital that the suspect was going to bury his son’s body, when the boy’s head fell off the drum he had loaded onto his motorbike.
“Fearing that neighbours would lynch him, the suspect hopped off the motorbike and ran into his house, where he locked himself in,” said Kirui.
On arrival at his home Friday night, police arrested the suspect and moved the bodies of mother-and-son to Kangundo Level 4 Hospital morgue.
“We have launched investigations into the murders, and soon, we will arraign the suspect,” Kangundo OCPD Kipkemoi Kirui said.
The reason(s) for the killings remain unclear, police said.
Rev Paul Abam, the head pastor of Word Based Prophetic and Deliverance Ministry in Cross River State, has allegedly being caught with charms.
He was caught planting charms in his cousin's land, in a bid to extort money from him.
According to a family source, the Pastor told his cousin that he needed money to uproot a charm someone planted on his land.
He was however traced and caught redhanded with some fetish stuffs at a shrine in Itigidi after a resident of the community saw him planting the said charm on the land.
It was also alleged that the Pastor is known for giving out fake prophecies and extorting people of their hard earned money.
Donald Trump has said he won't be watching any more United States football matches after US Soccer said it wouldn't insist players stand for the national anthem.
Protests have been rife in America following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a white policeman knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
One way in which people have been showing their solidarity is 'taking a knee', inspired by Colin Kaepernick, the NFL player who knelt during the anthem before games.
US Soccer has now said it won't ask players to stand for the national anthem prior to games, a decision that hasn't gone down well with the President, who previously slammed Kaepernick for the gesture.
Trump tweeted: "I won’t be watching much anymore!" after Florida Republican congressman Matt Gaetz had raised the issue.
He said: "I’d rather the US not have a soccer team than have a soccer team that won’t stand for the National Anthem.
"You shouldn’t get to play under our flag as our national team if you won’t stand when it is raised."
US Soccer have released a statement claiming their previous position on the matter was incorrect.
"The US Soccer Board of Directors voted yesterday afternoon to repeal Policy 604-1, which required our players to stand during the national anthem," the federation said in a statement.
"The policy was put in place after Megan Rapinoe kneeled in solidarity with the peaceful protest inspired by Colin Kaepernick, who was protesting police brutality, and the systematic oppression of Black people and people of color in America.
"It has become clear that this policy was wrong and detracted from the important message of Black Lives Matter.
"We have not done enough to listen -- especially to our players -- to understand and acknowledge the very real and meaningful experiences of Black and other minority communities in our country.
"We apologise to our players -- especially our Black players -- staff, fans, and all who support eradicating racism."
US Soccer has also recently been involved in a clash with the Women's Team as they seek equal pay.
A 'Pedophile' from Oregon is facing one of the longest jail sentences in American history for hundreds of rapes, sodomizations and sexual attacks against a six-year-old girl.
David McCutcheon, 39, faces 2,750 years in jail if he is found guilty of the 220 counts to which police say he has confessed.
McCutcheon, from Cottage Grove, OR, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with 70 counts of first-degree rape, 40 counts of first-degree sodomy, and 110 counts of criminal mistreatment.
His alleged crimes took place over a number of years against a little girl who was only six years old when the sickening abuse started.
McCutcheon was interviewed by detectives from Eugine for two days and was then handed over to Cottage Grove investigators, where the alleged attacks happened, following a May 26 report.
He is currently being held in the Lane County Jail on at least 220 total charges.
The district attorney will review the case for formal charges.
220 CHARGES TOTALLING 1,750 YEARS
Rape carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years under Oregon's Measure 11 sentencing guidelines.
Sodomy normally carries a mandatory minimum sentence of over 8 years, but that increases to 25 years if the child is under the age of 12.
Under Oregon's laws, prosecutors can negotiate a guilty plea with a defendant in exchange for dismissing some charges.
A judge can also choose to sentence someone convicted of multiple counts to serve the prison time concurrently (at the same time) or consecutively.
If the judge chooses to make him serve the time consecutively then he would theoretically face 70 counts of first-degree rape, which is 1,750 years, and his 40 counts of sodomy would add another thousand years.
His potential sentence will be greater than that of serial rapist Billy Joe Godfrey, who is serving 35 life sentences, totaling 1050 years for 35 counts of forced sodomy of his stepson who was only three when the attacks began.
McCutcheon was arraigned Wednesday on eight charges of first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy according to KOMO news.
Before her death, she was one of the top newscasters and a popular face of African Independent Television (AIT).
According to a report she died on Sunday night at a private hospital in Lagos after unsuccessful surgery.
She studied Mass Communications at Institute of Management and Technology Enugu and then worked in her local church at Christ’s Embassy before joining DAAR Communications PLC where she started as a news reporter.
She later became the face of AIT and top news caster with the novel African Independent Television.
The police in Zamfara have confirmed the arrest of a 25-year-old man, Aminu Bala, for allegedly r*ping and killing his elder brother’s wife in Gusau, the state capital.
SP Mohammed Shehu, the command spokesperson while parading the suspect on Monday, said Bala had already confessed to the crime.
Shehu said the suspect hailed from Damaga village of Maradun Local Government area of the state.
He said, “the Tudun Wada Area Command, Gusau on June 15, at about 04.30 hours, received a distress call from Damba quarters of Gusau metropolis that the suspect had killed his brother’s wife.
“The police immediately rushed to the scene and discovered the victim, Hauwa’u Iliyasu in the pool of her own blood having suffered from multiple machete cuts.
“She was then taken to the Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital, Gusau where she was certified dead by doctors.”
The spokesman also said the police had contacted the victim’s husband, Kabiru Bala via phone call.
”He was not in the state, but told the police that the suspect had once threatened to kill the victim,” he said.
Shehu said that the command was awaiting the arrival of the victim’s husband and his written statement which would form part of evidence before the suspect would be prosecuted in court.
Hauwa’u left behind two children including, a nine-month-old baby.
A last-minute meeting summoned to discuss the fate of Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has failed to save the embattled chief executive as the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday said that it would go ahead with June 22, 2020 governorship primary election.
The APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, fielded questions from State House reporters after a meeting with the Chief of Staff (CoS) to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari.
The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) and Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, as well as four members of the APC National Working Committee (NWC), including the National Vice Chairman (North West), Barr. Inuwa Abdulkadir; National Treasurer, Adamu Panda; National Welfare Officer, Ibrahim Masari; and National Publicity Secretary, Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu.
Bagudu, who represented the APC governors at the meeting, did not wait while Oshiomhole was speaking with journalists after the meeting.
The meeting was believed to have discussed the fallout of the disqualification of the incumbent Governor Obaseki from participating in the state governorship primary election.
Oshiomhole, who said the APC had followed all necessary guidelines and standard practice required ahead of the primary, expressed optimism that the process would be “free, fair, and transparent” and produce a candidate that would unify the party.
According to Kemi Olunloyo, she got an exclusive on the former governor of Oyo state, Abiola Ajimobi;
"I was briefed that my late grandmother's nephew fmr Governor Ajimobi was on a ventilator at the same hospital Abba Kyari died at.
Reports online said he had CORONAVIRUS. He is battling an underlying ailment secondary to #COVID19 and is in critical condition. Many government officials caught this virus from each other. Pray for him."
In the last 24 hours, 573 new cases of COVID19 were reported in Nigeria; Lagos-216, Rivers-103, Oyo-68, Edo-40, Kano-21, Gombe-20, FCT-17, Delta-13, Plateau-12, Bauchi-12, Niger-10, Kebbi-9, Ogun-8, Ondo-8, Abia-7, Nasarawa-5, Borno-1, Kwara-1, Benue-1, Anambra-1.
A total of 16,658 confirmed cases in Nigeria. The breakdown;
The Federal Government Monday warned states considering reopening of schools to jettison such plan, says the current situation of COVID-19 did not in any way support such initiative.
Speaking during a daily briefing in Abuja, Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha said that the reopening of schools at this critical time amounts to exposing the general public to more danger.
“We get report that some states are considering reopening of schools, viewing centres and other gatherings that encourage large crown, such step is not encouraging at this moment. PTF is emphasising that it’s not yet safe to do so. We need to be cautious and adhere to the PTF guideline.
Mustapha regretted that the COVID-19 battle is no longer in the hand of health workers but rather in the hand of the general public, “before, health workers were our front line but that is no longer so, the war has shifted to the community, our health works are now our last line of defence.
The Oyo State COVID-19 Task Force announced on Monday that it has relaxed the curfew imposed on the state following the advent of the ravaging coronavirus pandemic.
The Task Force, which made the decision public after a two-and-a-half-hour meeting presided by its chairman, Governor Seyi Makinde, added that the curfew would now run from 10 pm to 4 am.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Makinde, Mr Taiwo Adisa, confirmed that other decisions reached include the resumption of classes for Primary Six, JSS3 and SS3 students from Monday, June 29; resumption of work by all category of workers at the state secretariat from June 22; opening up of mosques and churches, which are to operate at 25 per cent capacity; and the decision to limit public gathering to not more than 25 persons.
The statement indicated that the state secretariat, which was earlier shut on March 27 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and later reopened to staff on grade level 13 and above from Monday, April 27, would now be open to all other staffers from Monday, June 22.
According to the statement, students in critical classes are to resume at the end of June to ensure they are well-prepared for the public examinations ahead of them.
The statement read: “The schools are to observe the COVID-19 protocols as released by the Task Force, ensure that stations for washing of hands are provided in all schools, while all students are to compulsorily wear face masks. “Schools are to provide hand wash points with the support of their Parents/Teachers Associations (PTA).
“The resumption of critical classes at the end of June 2020, would be two clear weeks ahead of the state’s drop-dead date of July 15. By that date, it would be decided whether other categories of students will return to the classes.” The statement further read: “Mosques and Churches are to reopen and operate at not more than 25 per cent capacity.
The situation will be reviewed within the first two weeks. All worshippers are to compulsorily wear face masks. “Night clubs are to remain shut even though the existing curfew, which used to run from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. is being aligned with that of the Federal Government, which runs from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
“The Task Force will not mind shutting down everywhere if evidence emerges that the COVID-19 safety protocols are being violated, or should there be an explosion in the number of cases; however, the state government will intensify enlightenment campaigns to ensure the safety of our people.”
The statement also added that the resumption order will not affect the tertiary institutions for now, as the Task Force would review their situation and determine their state of readiness.
