But information on how the suspects successfully broke away is still sketchy.
Details shortly…
source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/07/breaking-nine-escape-from-police-cell.html
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Sunday, July 19, 2020
Breaking: Nine escape from police cell in Abia
But information on how the suspects successfully broke away is still sketchy.
Details shortly…
source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/07/breaking-nine-escape-from-police-cell.html
Killer of Flying Officer Arotile unveiled, case transferred to police
The case has now been handed over to the Nigeria Police Force being a civil case.
NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Ibikunle Daramola, made this known on Sunday at a just-ended briefing in Abuja.
The NAF spokesperson, while giving the report of a preliminary investigation carried out, said the late Arotile met three of her former schoolmates at the Air Force Secondary School now Air Force Comprehensive School) Kaduna on the day of the unfortunate incident.
He said, “Mr Nehemiah Adejoh, Mr Igbekele Folorunsho and Mr Festus Gbayegun, drove past her in a Kia Sorento SUV, with Registration Number AZ 478 MKA. It is noteworthy that Messrs Adejoh, Folorunsho and Gbayegun are all civilians who live outside NAF Base Kaduna, but were on their way to visit one Mrs Chioma Ugwu, wife of Squadron Leader Chukwuemeka Ugwu, who lives at Ekagbo Quarters on the Base.
“Upon recognising their schoolmate, Arotile, after passing her, Mr Adejoh, who was driving, reversed the vehicle, ostensibly in an attempt to quickly meet up with the Deceased, who was walking in the opposite direction. In the process, the vehicle struck Flying Officer Arotile from the rear, knocking her down with significant force and causing her to hit her head on the pavement. The vehicle then ran over parts of her body as it veered off the road beyond the curb and onto the pavement, causing her further injuries.”
Daramola said Arotile was rushed to NAF hospital in the base but was confirmed dead at 04:45 pm.
He explained that the three ex-classmates were immediately detained and subjected to alcohol test but no such substance was found in their systems.
“It was however discovered that the driver of the vehicle, Mr. Nehemiah Adejo, did not have a valid driver’s license.
“Being a civil case, the matter will be handed over to the Nigeria Police with a view to further investigating and charging the suspects to court in accordance with extant laws,” he added.
The NAF spokesperson, however, confirmed that the details of the 24-year-old pilot have been communicated to her family who is still mourning.
source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/07/killer-of-flying-officer-arotile.html
Twitter removes Trump retweet video after Linkin Park complain
The video, which featured a cover of the band’s 2001 hit “In the End,” was posted by White House social media director Dan Scavino and retweeted on Saturday by Trump.
The tweet now says: “This media has been disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner.”
Linkin Park said they did not authorize the use of their music by Trump or his campaign.
“Linkin Park did not and does not endorse Trump, nor authorize his organization to use any of our music. A cease and desist has been issued,” the rock group said on Twitter.
The group’s late lead singer Chester Bennington was outspoken in his disapproval of the Republican president.
“Trump is a greater threat to the USA than terrorism!! We have to take back our voices and stand for what we believe in,” Bennington tweeted in 2017.
Linkin Park are not the first band to take issue with the president’s use of their music. The Rolling Stones last month threatened legal action against Trump if he does not stop using their songs at his campaign rallies.
Queen, Rihanna, Aerosmith, Adele, Neil Young, Dexys Midnight Runners, Panic! at the Disco and the family of the late Tom Petty have also complained about Trump’s use of their music.
Entertainment industry bible Variety said commentators had noted the pro-Trump video’s bizarre choice of “In the End,” whose lyrics include the chorus: “I tried so hard, And got so far, But in the end, It doesn’t even matter.”
source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/07/twitter-removes-trump-retweet-video.html
Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Onyeama hit with Coronavirus
This is the fourth time he is testing for Coronavirus, but he was unfortunate this time as his test came back positive.
Onyeama took to his twitter on Sunday to announce that he has tested positive for the pandemic.
He described his situation as unfortunate, saying that he is heading for isolation in a health facility and praying for the best.
The minister said he did his fourth Coronavirus test because he had a sign of a throat irritation.
He wrote: “Did my fourth Covid-19 test yesterday at the first sign of a throat irritation and unfortunately this time it came back positive.
“That is life! Win some lose some. Heading for isolation in a health facility and praying for the best.”
source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/07/nigerias-foreign-affairs-minister.html
Killer of Gokada CEO Fahim Saleh caught on video buying electric saw
According to the New York Post, one of the video evidence was one that showed Haspil buying electric saw and cleaning supplies at a Home Depot.
The items were found at the scene of crime last Tuesday.
Manhattan assistant district attorney Linda Ford said at the arraignment of Haspil early Saturday morning, that there is enough evidence to prove that Haspil murdered and chopped up his boss.
At the arraignment held just after midnight, Haspil, 21, Saleh’s executive assistant, was ordered held without bail on charges of second-degree murder for the gruesome crime on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
Haspil allegedly stabbed and dismembered his boss in Saleh’s $2.2 million Houston Street apartment after getting caught embezzling more than $90,000 from him — even though the kind-hearted Saleh had offered to not call the police if Haspil paid the money back in instalments.
Apart from being seen buying an electric saw, the clothing Haspil was seen wearing on surveillance footage at the Home Depot matched garments found in Haspil’s Brooklyn home.
Investigators have also been able to digitally track Haspil to and from the crime scene, Ford added.
“The evidence, in this case, is overwhelming,” Ford said during Haspil’s remote arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court.
“He is on video surveillance before and after the crime. He has been identified by at least two individuals from the videotape.”
A masked Haspil allegedly followed Saleh into his apartment elevator Monday around 1:45 p.m., Tasing him as soon as the elevator opened onto Saleh’s seventh-floor property.
Saleh then fell to the floor, and Haspil allegedly fatally stabbed him multiple times in the torso and neck, Ford said.
Haspil then left the apartment with Saleh’s body inside.
The next day, he allegedly visited Home Depot to buy the saw and other supplies he is believed to have used to cut off Saleh’s limbs.
Sources told The Post Haspil was allegedly in the process of chopping up Saleh’s body and stashing it in construction bags when Saleh’s cousin rang the apartment buzzer, prompting him to flee down the stairs.
Prosecutors at the arraignment did not elaborate on why they believe Haspil left the scene on Tuesday.
Ford confirmed Haspil had stolen more than $90,000 from Saleh, who in 2018 founded Gokada, a Nigerian motorcycle ride-sharing company, and an investment firm, Adventure Capital.
When the CEO discovered the embezzlement of his funds, instead of going to the police, he and Saleh agreed on a payment plan to repay the money, Ford said in court.
Judge Jonathan Svetkey ordered Haspil to be held without bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 17.
source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/07/killer-of-gokada-ceo-fahim-saleh-caught.html
Kanye West to hold first presidential campaign today
The event will be held at the Exquis Event Center in North Charleston and is “for registered guests only.”
According to a statement, all attendees will be asked to sign a COVID-19 liability release form, social distance, and wear a mask.
West will also be holding a pre-rally press event.
The 43-year-old rapper tweeted to urge his fans to sign up as he is looking to acquire signatures to get on the ballot in South Carolina.
He wrote: “Hi guys please sign up to put me on the ballot in South Carolina at any of these locations,”
Sharing a list of locations. “You can also sign up at the website kanye2020.country.”Hi guys please sign up to put me on the ballot in South Carolina at any of these locations You can also sign up at the websitehttps://t.co/ZURvTEW9ee pic.twitter.com/3rV5ujExPm— ye (@kanyewest) July 18, 2020
However, it is unclear how West would qualify to get on the ballot in South Carolina as the deadline to file signatures as an independent candidate was July 15. He has also missed the deadline to qualify for the ballot in several states.
source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/07/kanye-west-to-hold-first-presidential.html
Abba Kyari's Best Friend, Foreign Affairs Minister Onyeama Test Positive To COVID19
"Did my fourth Covid-19 test yesterday at the first sign of a throat irritation and unfortunately this time it came back positive. That is life! Win some lose some. Heading for isolation in a health facility and praying for the best."
Those Secretly Fighting VP Osinbajo
In the last five years, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has been the most castigated and perhaps traumatized senior member of the Buhari administration. The humiliation and disrespect he suffered under the former Chief of Staff to the President were legendary. No public official should be put through such dishonour by another member of the same government.
Now, there seems to be a well-organized network of persons determined to denigrate and humiliate the VP with a constant barrage of malicious publications.
Femi Fani Kayode, often without a good cause and lacking in merit, constantly demeans the Vice President for reasons that are not clear.
Just two weeks ago, Jonathan Ude, another PDP member who publishes a blog known as Pointblank News from a base in the US, manufactured a grievous rumour that the suspended EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, had given Prof Osinbajo N4 billion from the N39 billion he allegedly looted from the agency. Last year, there was a sensational, but false publication which alleged that Prof Osinbajo had collected some N90 billion from the FIRS to fund that year’s elections in Lagos.
Just this week, as I was concluding this piece, a man who claims to be an assistant to the suspended chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, has come up with another bizarre story and Fake News of how the VP had met with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, some Igbo leaders and a judge to plot the imprisonment of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu so as to clear the way for Asiwaju to clinch the presidential ticket effortlessly. It has now come to air, no such assistant worked with Magu.
As if this was not strange enough, it was further revealed in another publication that Shehu Garba, one of the President’s spokespersons, was behind the tale of Magu giving billions to the VP. Garba has denied and the curiosity continues.
In all the cases, the Vice President’s Media Team has strongly debunked his involvement in any sleaze, scheme, conspiracy theory or any wrongdoing at all. Since this story broke over the weekend, I have tried unsuccessfully to speak to Garba and hear his own side of the story. I am so worried that his name could be linked to something so evil. It is not long ago that the First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari, had accused him of spreading negative stories about her. May be Garba himself is a victim of another plot in a bigger plot! He should clear his name vigorously.
But who are behind these flurries of fabrications against the Vice President and for what purpose? I ask because what is clear is that some people somewhere are set to turnaround what many regard as Osinbajo's sterling reputation and rising profile.
According to an official statement from his Office released soon after the Jonathan Ude publication: ‘’such mindless, vicious and reckless publications have now become the preferred tool of unscrupulous and reprobate elements in our society who are procured with monetary inducement to peddle blatant falsehood, tarnish the image of upright public officials and mislead unsuspecting Nigerians’’.
I believe that the attacks against the VP are mostly politically motivated. Nigerians will recall that Jonathan Ude, the main purveyor of these acerbities, had worked in the Public Affairs unit of the Jonathan administration with Dr. Doyin Okupe. The two were the major attack dogs hired by that administration, and together with FFK, the Campaign Communication Director, they sniped at President Jonathan’s opponents in the build-up to the 2015 elections.
So it stands to reason that both FFK and Ude are still bitter at the crushing defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan, and are still nursing grudges against the VP who remains a major asset to the APC ticket and has become an important member of the Buhari team.
There is also the view that the sponsors of these noxious publications are not comfortable with the warm relationship between the President and the Vice President. Their assumption is that the cordiality will give the professor a better competitive edge in the politics of 2023. The presidential interests of both Governors Femi Kayode of Ekiti State, Nasir el Rufai of Kaduna and Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu are not hidden. I do not imagine that they are not concerned with a potential challenge from a Vice President who enjoys both the trust of the President and a rising profile among Nigerians. Although the VP has, apparently overburdened and distracted by all the scheming and permutations, recently announced that he has no such ambition, at least for now, Nigerians continue to expect that he will give it a shot.
There are very few Vice Presidents in a presidential democracy who don’t want to succeed their bosses. It is therefore reasonable to expect that other contenders will not take Yemi Osinbajo lightly. I have personally spent a long enough time in politics and political communication to know that desperate aspirants will do everything possible to destroy a perceived strong opponent before the race begins. They employ smear campaigns in the media and spread damaging rumours and unsubstantiated claims. Those of them with strong media influence, especially the newspaper publishers, can also instigate hostile press coverage against their perceived opponents.
Another possible source of the persistent attacks on the VP is some disgruntled persons in the State House. ‘The Villa boys’, as these middle-level officials are called, have been known to play damaging roles in our politics. While some work with politicians to upstage or spread dirt on their opponents, others deceive desperate candidates to part with huge cash in the pretext of getting them party nominations, helping to tip court judgments in their favour or arranging meetings with the First Lady or the Chief of Staff.
I know many candidates who have been duped by these ‘Villa Boys’. They are merciless and ruthless.
Prof Osinbajo has never really been a favourite of some of the ‘Villa Boys’, especially those who operated within the orbit of the late CoS. The reader may wish to refer to my article titled ‘The Abba Kyari we did not know’ published soon after his passing in which I detailed how they and their late boss dealt with the VP.
The VP’s rave coverage in the media when he acted for his sick boss in 2017 stung some of them to the quick. They just could not stand the diminutive lawyer being presented as a better alternative to the ailing boss. Obviously, those grudges still persist three years after. The mention of Shehu Garba’s name in connection with one of these publications has therefore alarmed me a great deal. I am waiting anxiously to hear from him. Can Shehu, a thorough media professional of over 35 years, be involved in a smear campaign against the nation’s number two citizen?
Prof Yemi Osinbajo’s credentials and reputation are never in doubt. The President himself regularly gushes over ‘his intellect and youth’. There is no doubt that the VP is loyal to his boss and is delivering on his assignments. The recently published Economic Sustainability Plan designed by him and Committee attests to his depth and rigor. A humble gentleman who connects easily with the people, he does not even flaunt these qualities like an Atiku Abubakar would. Remember how the former Vice President tried to upstage his boss midway into their tenure?
As 2023 comes close, I have no doubt that those who see Yemi Osinbajo as their potential rival will not let up in their plan to make him look bad before Nigerians. It is up to him to push back vigorously in Defense of his true character. The good thing is that Nigerians already know who the real Osinbajo is. Let's hope truth prevails and good overcomes evil.
Woman Commits Suicide In Lagos After Fighting With Her Husband
City Round learnt that the deceased, who lived on Ebewi Street at Agodo area of Lagos State with her husband, was rushed to the General Hospital, Isolo, Lagos where she was confirmed dead.
Her cousin, Mr Lawrence John, who reported the case to the police, said the family suspected foul play, alleging that the husband had a hand in her death.
He said, “My cousin, Clara, was said to have taken her own life after drinking sniper. She was rushed to the General hospital, at Isolo, where she died.
“We were surprised that the husband had packed up the body and ready to take her to his hometown in Umuezeala in Imo State for burial without the knowledge of her family members. We suspect that the husband killed her based on the misunderstanding they had in previous times.”
The husband was in police custody for interrogation.
John added, “Her remains have been deposited at the hospital mortuary for autopsy. The husband has been arrested by the police and the case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, for further investigation.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana said, “I am aware of the case and I can tell you that investigation is ongoing while we await the result of the autopsy.”
Oshiomhole, Ize-Iyamu, Obaseki In Last Fight
What an irony of history for both men who had to switch party, dramatically with Pastor Ize-Iyamu moving from the PDP to the APC, while Mr. Obaseki left APC to the PDP.
This represents the complexities associated with the Nigerian politics in contemporary times. An enemy of yesterday is a friend of today and vice versa.
It will be recalled that in 2016, Mr. Ize-Iyamu, a former secretary to the Edo State Government under Governor Lucky Nosakhare Igbinedion, had a bright chance to become the APC governorship candidate for that year’s election and, most likely, would have won the general election, but for Mr. Adams Oshiomhole who, as governor then, foisted Obaseki on the party.
While several APC members and supporters, including Oshiomhole’s allies, were rooting for Ize-Iyamu in 2016, the Comrade Governor not only resisted him but turned the table against him, despite the fact that Ize- Iyamu led his 2012 re-election campaign.
Obaseki, Oshiomhole’s favourite then, was widely considered as an ‘outsider’ in the APC and in the politics of Edo State since he was recruited into the party by Oshiomhole’s administration as a technocrat from the banking sector, an action that almost rocked the boat soon after the primary.
Ize-Iyamu, out of frustration, defected from the APC to the PDP where he ran for the governorship in the 2016 election, but at the end, lost to Obaseki narrowly despite the fact that Oshiomhole almost went naked to campaign for Obaseki. While canvassing votes for Obaseki during the 2016 election, Oshiomhole denounced Ize-Iyamu as being unworthy of public office.
According to Oshiomhole, “It is true we found ourselves in the region of politics working together, but I never gave him government job,” Oshiomhole said of Ize-Iyamu in an undated video of a 2016 APC campaign rally in Benin City.
“I kept him (Ize-Iyamu) busy, let him be holding midnight meeting which he is used to. Ask him, since he was the DG (of my campaign organisation), why did I not appoint him into government?
“We kept him away, nothing near government circle, no access to public fund.” Oshiomhole, in the 10-minute video which is an excerpt from Channels TV’s live coverage of the rally, said Ize-Iyamu was a “GM of one wuru-wuru” company and accused him of ruining the administration of Lucky Igbinedion in Edo State. Oshiomhole said the likes of Ize-Iyamu would never be allowed to return to the government of Edo State.
On the other hand, Oshiomhole in the video praised Obaseki as one who used his “brain” and “creativity” to work for the good of the state and the people. He even raised a song that said Obaseki was “a winner and not a loser.”
Just like the Oshiomhole-Ize-Iyamu relationship, the immediate past PDP chairman of Edo State, Chief Dan Orbih had also in the past attacked Obaseki’s educational certificates as being fake.
“I have had Oshiomhole refer to him as a technocrat and the candidate himself has described himself as one” Orbih who is now leading Obaseki campaign trail as the chairman of the South-South Zone of the PDP said of Obaseki in August 2016, during the governorship election.
“Here with me is the school certificate he used to gain admission to the University of Ibadan. In this result, he did not pass Economics, yet he calls himself head of economic team. In the same certificate, he made P7 in English and failed Mathematics.
“He claimed he entered the university the year he left secondary school. How could he have gained admission with such result? The result was not even good enough for any form of preliminary studies.
“This can only mean that Obaseki forged the certificates to gain admission. It is obvious that the man has no academic qualifications as he had only three credits,” Orbih further said then.
Very interestingly, the APC, which defended Obaseki’s certificates in 2016, later deployed the same controversy to disqualify him in 2020, and the PDP, which started the controversy, has not only welcomed Obaseki into the party, but has made him its governorship candidate for the September 19 election.
Now, this is 2020 and the political game has completely changed for the trio of Oshiomhole, Obaseki, and Ize-Iyamu. There has been a reversal of roles.
Obaseki, who was once a darling, has become Oshiomhole’s worst political enemy. They have fought a protracted political battle that sapped the strength from the Edo governor. He was eventually disqualified, most likely through Oshiomhole’s prompting, from contesting in the APC governorship primary, thereby forcing him to defect to the PDP.
Obaseki, already exhausted after his battle with Oshiomhole and the APC, entered his new party, the PDP, only for him to encounter another challenge – the uncertainty about him getting the PDP governorship ticket – with some of the aspirants who were already in the party before him vowing that they would not step down for him.
The PDP leadership in Abuja shifted the Edo governorship primary to allow room for Obaseki to negotiate his way through thereby securing a waiver from the party to dislodge the three aspirants, Ogbeide Ihama, Gideon Ikhine and Kenneth Imasuangbon, all of whom were prevailed upon to step down from the race.
However, it could easily be assumed that the biggest factor, perhaps, for Oshiomhole and the APC in the Edo election is Ize-Iyamu who is an experienced politician, with a strong connection with voters across party lines.
This could probably explain why Oshiomhole ate back his words and conceded to backing Ize-Iyamu for the election, for the ‘last fight’ against Obaseki.
It is difficult, for now, to predict who between Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu would win the Edo election, especially as politicians from outside the state such as the Kano state governor, Alhaji Umar Ganduje who is the chairman of Ize-Iyamu’ campaign Council and his Rivers State counterpart, Nyesom Wike who is also the Chairman of Obaseki Campaign Council are threatening to undo each other in the election as they would likely use the state as an experiment desk to test-run their preparedness for 2023 presidential elections.
Chances Of Obaseki, Ize- Iyamu On September 19
Firstly, a victory in the Edo election may just be the last thing Oshiomhole could grab for now to save himself from complete humiliation, having lost out unexpectedly in a power-tussle in a party he successfully led to win the presidential election just last year.
If Obaseki wins re-election, it would be a double humiliation for Oshiomhole, one that could lead to his quick retirement from politics and that is the last thing the former Edo state governor would want to experience, especially when he remembers the battle he fought to get Obaseki to succeed him as a governor in 2016 against all odds. This is why Oshiomhole and his supporters will go all out to ensure victory for the APC candidate, Ize-Iyamu who is also banking on his political experience and grassroots support.
On the other hand, Obaseki as the sitting governor has so many things to his advantage by pointing to what he has done and what he is doing in the state.
However, despite the fact that Ize-Iyamu has no project to point to as one to his credit, he is still being seen by the political observers as the candidate to beat in this election especially with the air of confidence with which he is conducting his campaign since launching what he described as his “Six Point Agenda” where he declared that the four cardinal programmes of the Unity Party of Nigeria of the second republic reshaped his interest in politics and the importance of manifesto for a political party and politicians.
“My Six Point Agenda for the state which I tagged, ‘The SIMPLE Agenda’, shows every component of manifesto which creates room for employment generation as well as to continue to programme what I would inherit from the current administration if I win the election particularly the Benin Water Storm project designed to check flooding in the state. I wish to recall that when Chief Obafemi Awolowo in 1978 formed the Unity Party of Nigeria, even though I was quite young, I was fascinated by the manifesto of his party, the four cardinal programmes of the UPN namely: free education, free health services, integrated rural development and employment for all.
“It was very easy to understand and it was all encompassing and that manifesto alone made me to take an interest in the party and I became a member of the youth wing. From an early age, I appreciate the role of manifestoes in party formation and to me it was key in the choice of the party to belong to.”
On projects, Ize-Iyamu said “The water storm project cannot be abandoned, we must commend those who planned it even when four years ago I was contesting for office, I commended the foresight because I realised that flooding was becoming a major problem in our state and especially in Benin.
“There are many areas where when it rains not only are the roads impassable but the houses there are in serious danger so when the storm water was conceived and execution started, it offered a lot of hope, if you look at Airport and environ you will know that the storm water project has been able to bring that place back to normal. These were areas before that were completely impassable.
“To have abandoned the project the way it has been abandoned is senseless and wicked especially coming from an administration that was part of the administration that actually conceived the project.
“Even though it is difficult to see, if there are projects that Obaseki has started, I can assure you that we will complete them, it does not make sense to abandon projects. On the moribund Bendel Breweries, I will ensure that the brewery is revived because people are making money from breweries so why will Edo State not make money from what it has? No matter the problem it has, it can be resolved. We will discuss with all those involved in the Bendel Brewery matter it is better for the factory to be functional than for the factory to be closed.”
For Obaseki, his strongest campaign point to the people is that Oshiomhole and other APC leaders were fighting him because he refused to share the state’s funds to them which is the simple reason he went for Ize-Iyamu as his replacement.
To the understanding of Obaseki’s supporters, what that implies is that Oshiomhole is bringing Ize-Iyamu to be governor because he will agree to share the state’s resources with him and other APC leaders.
This campaign is stronger in the Edo South Senatorial District which is populated by the Benin speaking people of the state that control almost 60% of the state’s total population. Added to this, is the governor’s development projects in the three Senatorial Districts many of which are actually visible and verifiable.
Edo State development report today states that the poor masses, artisans, market men, women and the poorest of the poor are happy and at peace with the state of development, especially with the elimination of double taxation, “Agberoism” touts and other extortions. The state and the local governments can now pay salaries as and when due.
Before 2016, local governments, like the cosmopolitan local government in the state, that could hardly realize N10 million monthly from their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), today now get about N100 million on the average every month from the same IGR.
This has engendered statewide positive change and revolution rendering previous administrations’ performance as poor in comparison.
The past efforts became acknowledged as small fractures and tissues in the development trajectory of Edo Society. They have therefore, proclaimed the emancipation of the Edo people under the government of Obaseki.
Like what his predecessor Oshiomhole said, “All positive and progressive changes in human endeavour goes with pains and perhaps stepping on toes. Obaseki vowed to put his life on the line for the development of Edo and to erect his administration on a tripod; of urban renewal, Agricultural infrastructure and Industrial template.
To this end, Obaseki has so far done noble, in his implementation and execution of this with a strong will.
In a recent analysis, Ihimekpen Okharedia, a veteran journalist indicated that, within the first three years of his administration he took the mantra of urban renewal and environmental discipline to the door steps of the ordinary Edo citizen.
He outlawed the nightmare of crass insubordination and hooliganism otherwise called, “Agberos” from the state revenue collection, built and replaced them with human relation, friendly and modern technology models. He gave the land transfer transaction a human face with a deliberate policy that crashed the cost of obtaining certificate of occupancy “C of O” from over N1 million to N50,000.00. These actions no doubt, may have made him step on the toes of some privileged powerful few, but the people are happy with their governor.
On infrastructural development, Obaseki engaged on complete reconstruction of the Sam Ogbemudia Stadium, rehabilitated schools and established three other technical colleges, one in each Senatorial District to complement with the newly built Government Science and Technical College, among many others too numerous to mention.
If Obaseki is to be commended for these giant strides, his passion for the future of Edo State will ensure the engraving of his name in gold and for refocusing the state’s vision to our natural and human resources.
The thought that crude oil and the not too consistent Federal Allocation will not be with us forever and that we must start thinking of Technology and Agriculture as a fallback position to Edo State without oil has been articulated.
Contrary to the uninformed critics, it is with the support of the Presidency, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and Dangote Refineries, that the Obaseki administration embarked on the construction of Edo Seaport, a project which is aimed at decongesting the Lagos, Warri and the Port-Harcourt Seaports and making the Bight of Benin a Cargo Ship-berthing destination.
On Agriculture, he has facilitated the return of the Michelin Rubber Estate to Uronigbe Rubber Plantation Reserve, revitalized the Ikpeshi Rice Farm and flagged-off the N78 billion palm plantation investment in the state. These gestures have brought and ushered into the economy the associated benefits of employment opportunities for our youths and women.
In contrast some seemingly powerful members of his party, (APC), felt the developmental strides though noble, ought to have been executed differently where majority of them would have been on the driver’s seat. No matter how you dislike a messenger; it is good to accept the good message. It is on the side of wisdom for all to accept the message of the good tidings in the overall interest of Edo People.
Consequently, taking a critical look on how the two governorship candidates will perform in the three Senatorial Districts, one could categorically say with all emphasis that Edo South voters will decide the winner of the election.
This is so for the fact that while Ize-Iyamu of the APC is already singing victory songs for the result of Edo North, courtesy of Adams Oshiomhole’s popularity in the area, Obaseki of the PDP is home and dry in Edo Central for two reasons.
Obaseki has made some developmental strides in some towns of Esanland in terms of road construction especially in Ekpoma, the Ambrose Alli University town where he constructed some of the township roads and carried out major infrastructural development at the University main campus.
This feat has endeared the governor to the people of Esanland of the Edo Central immensely.
The second strong point that most elicited the people is the promise by the governor to the Esan people that his successor after his second term will come from Edo Central.
This alleged promise has changed the political countenance of majority of Esan people who are now alleged to be carrying out door to door campaign for Obaseki.
The effect or otherwise of the house to house campaign in Esan land will become manifest after the voting on September 19.
However, some pessimists insist that it is not always difficult for politicians to make promises but to fulfil them is the problem and only time will tell.
Coming to Edo South Senatorial District where the two leading candidates hail from, it would be difficult to predict the candidate that would get the upper hand as both of them and their parties are well known in the entire area of the senatorial district.
Only God knows what will happen in the seven local government areas of Uhunmwode, Orhionmwon, Ovia South, Ovia North East, Ikpoba- Okha, Egor and Oredo local government areas that make up the Edo south senatorial district. This senatorial district is where the winner and loser of September 19 election will emerge?
Source: INDEPENDENT
653 New Cases Of Coronavirus In Nigeria, Total Now 36,107
Lagos-115, Kwara-85, Enugu-80, FCT-78, Rivers-36, Ondo-35, Oyo-30, Katsina-28, Kaduna-19, Abia-19, Nasarawa-18, Plateau-17, Imo-16, Ogun-9, Ebonyi-9, Benue-9, Kano-9, Delta-8, Bauchi-7, Ekiti-6, Gombe-4, Bayelsa-4, Adamawa-4, Osun-4, Cross River-1, Yobe-1, Borno-1, Zamfara-1.
A total of 36,107 confirmed cases in Nigeria. The breakdown;
Saturday, July 18, 2020
Trump clashes with Fox interviewer over Biden police defunding claim
During the interview conducted on the patio outside the Oval Office, Trump blamed rising violence in some cities on their Democratic leaders.
“They’ve run them poorly,” Trump said after reporter Chris Wallace pointed out that many of the cities had been run by Democratic mayors for decades.
“It was always bad, but now it’s gotten totally out of control. And it’s really because they want to defund the police, and Biden wants to defund the police,” Trump claimed.
“No, sir, he does not,” Wallace countered during a testy moment in the exchange shown in a clip tweeted by Fox News Sunday.
Trump then claimed Biden had signed a charter with left-wing Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders to cut law enforcement budgets.
When contradicted, Trump demanded his aides find the policy charter but was not able to find any such statement, Wallace said in later comments on Fox.
The movement to defund the police followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis late in May when an officer held him to the ground with a knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
It has had some impact, with New York cutting its annual police budget by $1 billion after weeks of protest in the city.
The full interview is scheduled to be broadcast on Sunday.
source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/07/trump-clashes-with-fox-interviewer-over.html
Nigerian Soldiers Leave Their Job Over Intimidation From Superiors
Military sources told INDEPENDENT in Abuja, that there was so much disenchantment among the fighting troops following the turn of events at the front line.
All these are happening as the Boko Haram insurgents and the Islamic States of the West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters, appear to be gaining grounds, especially in the North East, while bandits hold sway in the North West and North Central, amid pockets of other security challenges in Southern Nigeria.
A close look at those resigning, showed that they are the Non Commissioned Officers (NCOs) and the other ranks in the army, who mostly constitute the fighting troops.
Top military sources said these crops of troops are presently very disenchanted by their experiences at the front line, which over the years have left little to be desired.
Already, those that resigned cut across different formations and Units, serving as a very bad signal to others and a pointer that all was not well in the Nigerian Army.
Just last week, it was reported that the soldiers wrote to the Chief of Army Staff, (COAS), Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, on July 3, 2020, under Reference NA/COAS/001, quoting the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service soldiers/rating/airmen (Revised) 2017.
Their request for voluntary disengagement as approved was contained in a 17-page circular from Buratai, AHQ DOAA/G1/300/92, signed by Brig Gen T.E. Gagariga for the COAS.
Headquarters, Theatre Command, Operation Lafiya Dole, Borno State, the Headquarters of 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 81, and 82 Divisions of the Nigerian Army and other formations, were said to have received the document.
A military source told Independent Correspondent that, “Most of them want to leave, but they are denying them the opportunity, using excuses to delay them and pulling them out of dead zones.
“Many soldiers will like to die for their fatherland if the right things are done,” the source stated.
A foremost security analyst and Public Relations Practitioner, well familiar among the security services, who just preferred anonymity, told our Correspondent that the army had ignored every entreaty to do it right with troops at the frontline, banking on propaganda and lies.
“It’s bad. You can sensor narratives, but you can’t lie. When you start lying, you lose your credibility. I have been telling them.
“The problem with the military is that the soldiers realised that they have been sacrificing for nothing, the military does not care, the system has failed .”
The analyst cited lack of trustworthy leadership as the major challenge in the ongoing war, saying that most of the troops no longer have confidence or respect for their commanders, causing them to lose hope.
It added that the troops were not happy with the over staying of some commanders in the theatre, especially those that were inflicting pains on them, as well as the continuous stay in office of the COAS, General Buratai.
It further said that most of those troops were not happy that they have overstayed in a dead zone, signaling that they were dumped there to face their fate, while some of their colleagues were granted respite.
The source said that the troops, in view of their overstay at the front line, suffered health trauma, and lose mental alertness, as they continue to see the corpses of their colleagues rolled in from time to time.
It further said that lack of motivation has brought upon them a low morale, since they are fighting a war that they don’t understand, with many of them complaining that the very locals they were there to protect, were the same associates of Boko Haram and ISWAP, serving as informants to the terrorists against them.
Consequently, since there were no respites for them by the Army Headquarters, the only way left to them now was to apply for voluntary disengagement, at least as covered under extant rules, rather than running away and being tagged deserters.
However, a top army commander, who himself, has remained in the North East theatre for over four years now, dismissed the retiring troops as cowards and failures.
The Colonel, who did not want his name mentioned, wondered how these soldiers were enlisted into the army, saying that they never had interest in the service from the beginning.
He claimed that the lack of jobs in the country must have propelled their enlisting in the army, stressing that their interests were the welfare packages, salaries and allowances they could get.
The Colonel insisted to our Correspondent that no true soldier would take the steps these disengaging ones were taking, knowing full well the kind of profession they were called into.
He said a true soldier, no matter what, even unto death, would stay at his post, forward ever, backward never.
“To resign from the army is cowardice. No matter the challenges, as they are presently, a true soldier will stoop to conquer.
“I have been in the North East for four years now, and I am still here. I love the army and I am doing the job happily, no matter the challenges ahead.
“As many cowards that have also lost interests are free to go, so that there can be space for true soldiers to be enlisted.”
He said this must have informed the decision of the COAS to approve their disengagement requests without looking back.
Independent correspondent sought the position of the Army Headquarters on this issues but it was not forthcoming.
Colonel Sagir Musa, the Director of Army Public Relations, (DAPR), was contacted, but he said he had no comment on it.
When pressured to speak, he told our Correspondent, “talk to the Defense Headquarters. Thank you.”
He was however reminded that the issues in question were administrative, within his purview, as the DHQ handled basically operations issues, but he would not confirm.
It was clear that barely few days after the reports of the soldiers’ resignation, there was a major shakeup in the army that replaced top commanders and officers across the country, especially in the North East theatre of operations.
Outrage as Dangote truck kills one, injures three in Ogun
The incident happened around 8 am on the Old Ibadan Roundabout Road, Ago-Iwoye, in the Ijebu-North Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The accident involved the truck and a motorcycle, said the Public Relations Officer of the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, Babatunde Akinbiyi.
Akinbiyi said the truck driver lost control of the vehicle and ran over the moving motorcycle, killing the rider and injuring three others.
Irked by the incident, protesters thronged the road and set ablaze the truck while the driver was reportedly beaten.
The driver was later rescued from the clutches of the mob by security operatives.
Akinbiyi in a statement explained that the Dangote truck driver was coming from Ago-Iwoye inbound Ijebu-Ode when the incident happened.
He said, “The driver, due to overspeeding, could not control the vehicle as it approached Ibadan roundabout and rammed over a Bajaj motorcycle rider who was trying to negotiate the roundabout at that time.
“The driver of the Dangote truck was later apprehended after making attempts to run away and was beaten to stupor by the angry mob that also set the truck on fire.
“But for the intervention of TRACE, Police, NSCDC, and the FRSC, the driver would have been killed and the truck would have been completely burnt down.
“The driver has been arrested and taken to Igbeba Motor Traffic Division, Ijebu-Ode, as well as the motor boy.
“The body of the deceased has been deposited at the mortuary of Femtop Hospital, Ijebu-Ode, GRA.”
Akinbiyi, who sympathised with the family of the deceased, urged drivers of articulated vehicles to be more responsible when driving, adding that they avoid speeding especially when approaching bends, corners or roundabouts.
source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/07/outrage-as-dangote-truck-kills-one.html
Woman allegedly commits suicide after fighting with husband
City Round learnt that the deceased, who lived on Ebewi Street at Agodo area of Lagos State with her husband, was rushed to the General Hospital, Isolo, Lagos where she was confirmed dead.
Her cousin, Mr Lawrence John, who reported the case to the police, said the family suspected foul play, alleging that the husband had a hand in her death.
He said, “My cousin, Clara, was said to have taken her own life after drinking sniper. She was rushed to the General hospital, at Isolo, where she died.
“We were surprised that the husband had packed up the body and ready to take her to his hometown in Umuezeala in Imo State for burial without the knowledge of her family members. We suspect that the husband killed her based on the misunderstanding they had in previous times.”
The husband is now in police custody for interrogation.
John added, “Her remains have been deposited at the hospital mortuary for autopsy. The husband has been arrested by the police and the case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, for further investigation.”
source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/07/woman-allegedly-commits-suicide-after.html
How COVID-19 Restrictions In Nigeria Led To Deaths Of Pregnant Women
The organisation said in some cases hospitals refused to attend to mothers and would-be mothers.
“In Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda, women died after failing to access medical care due to transport restrictions or because health workers refused to treat them.
“Transport restrictions also prevented women from reaching medical care in Ethiopia, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe,” the report said.
According to the study, which covered about 100 cases across 45 countries, women had their vagina cut open to hasten delivery without any medical urgency requiring the process.
The report also knocked hospitals for separating mothers and new-borns without any medical proof that the baby could be infected with COVID-19 from contact with its mother.
It said some of the mistreatment pregnant women endured due to COVID-19 enforced restrictions and its interpretation by health workers included, “Giving birth without support as companions were banned from hospitals – in some cases, even after other lockdown restrictions had been lifted; forcible separation from their new-borns and being prevented from breastfeeding – despite no conclusive evidence to date that the virus can be transmitted in this way; more medical procedures performed including C-sections, induced births and episiotomies (cutting a woman’s vagina) to speed up women’s labour – in many cases where patients believed they were not medically justified and did not want them; pain medication withheld because hospital resources, including anaesthesiologists, were diverted to the COVID-19 response.”
OpenDemocracy noted that these actions against pregnant women breached World Health Organisation guidelines and some national laws.
It said health experts predict that the fight against COVID-19 would unwittingly set developing countries back in their quest to reduce maternal and child mortality.
Reacting to the findings by the news platform, a spokesperson for the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said, “States need to bring their practices in line with the WHO guidance in this area without delay. Welcoming a child into the world should be a time of joy, rather than stress, trauma and potential human rights violations.”
The findings by OpenDemocracy echoes several reports made by SR.
The news publication had in May reported that some hospitals in Ondo State refused to treat pregnant women because they lacked Personal Protective Equipment.
In Lagos, a general hospital barred pregnant women from receiving antenatal care because they had run out of drugs.
Several health workers in Nigeria were exposed to the virus, with some of them dying from the ailment.
After three months, Kaduna directs civil servants to resume work on Monday
A circular by office of the Head of Service, stated different category of workers will work on different days of the week from 9am to 3pm.
The circular signed by Ibrahim Jere, Permanent Secretary (Public Service Officer), said all Permanent Secretaries, Directors General, Chief Executives of Agencies and Parastatals as well as Directors will work from Monday to Friday.
The circular further stated officers on Grade Level 14 and above will work for three days, including Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while officers on Grade Level 7 to 13 will work on Tuesdays and Wednesdays only.
The circular also noted, in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, visitors will be restricted from offices, adding the order will be ‘’enforced by assigning staff officers to identify their staff at the entrance gate from 8.30 am to 9.30 am.’’
Jere pointed out that COVID-19 prevention protocols would be strictly complied with by all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as all arms of government.
The COVID-19 protocols include social distancing at work places, subjecting all workers to daily temperature checks at the entrance of the MDAs, observing respiratory hygiene and hand washing among others.
source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/07/after-three-months-kaduna-directs-civil.html
Cossy Ojiakor explains she has gone for a second surgery
The actress explained this while speaking to Saturday Beats and also used the opportunity to deny rumours that one up coming singer, Oba DC r3ped her inside a club in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Hear her; ‘I don’t know any Oba DC. People just like to use my name to gain popularity. He should have paid me some money so that I can also claim to know him. Oba DC cannot r3pe me. I would have brutalised his genitals. It’s funny how people come up with untrue stories but it’s okay. Perhaps, the guy r3ped another person with big breasts.
“The only person that looked for my trouble was my neighbour and I made him do frog jump and posted it on my page. It was part of the steps for our reconciliation.’’
The controversial entertainer also revealed that she underwent a second plastic surgery earlier in the year because she didn’t stick to post-surgery instructions she was given the first time.
“I have undergone two plastic surgeries because I have flat buttocks. I had my first butt enlargement surgery in Lagos State, while the second one was done by a doctor-friend. The first surgery was successful but I didn’t adhere to the instructions I was given. I was told not to sleep on my butt but I did. I didn’t also use the pillow that I was meant to. So, my buttocks weren’t as huge as I wanted them to be and that’s why I went for a second one earlier this year. It’s so difficult not to lie on one’s buttocks for a month. Both surgeries lasted for two hours and I went home that day. However, I wouldn’t tell you how much I spent on my body because I have leant a lesson from my earlier revelations,” she said.
Ojiakor also stated that she loved her boobs the way they were and wouldn’t consider surgery on them for now. She added, “My boobs are fine. They are bouncy, full and firm, and that’s perfect for me. Right now, I’m not touching my boobs. However, if it gets bad, I would do something about them. My boobs are natural. I have the biggest boobs in my family and I’ve never suffered inferiority complex or felt insecure because of it. My parents gave me the best of everything.’
source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/07/cossy-ojiakor-explains-she-has-gone-for.html
Hushpuppi dumps top Chicago lawyer as court transfers trial to California
Mr Abbas, 37, who was resident in Dubai and known for flaunting extravagant lifestyle on social media, was arrested last month over money laundering allegations. He was extradited to the U.S on July 3.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation had earlier alleged that Mr Abbas was part of a network that made “hundreds of millions of dollars” from business email compromise frauds and other scams.
Also, the American government said Mr Abbas funded his extravagant lifestyle with stolen money.
Mr Abbas hired a top lawyer in the U.S., Gal Pissetzky of the Pissetzky & Berliner law firm as his attorney.
Mr Pissetzky, renowned for handling criminal cases in Chicago, had argued that his client sourced his money from promoting designer products on social media and a real estate investment.
It should be noted a Chicago court, on Monday, denied him bail and ruled that he remains in detention till his next trial date later in the year.
However, documents obtained by Premium Times showed that Mr Abbas’s case has been transferred to the Central District of California for prosecution.
American prosecutors had earlier said Mr Abbas would still be transferred to Los Angeles, a city in California.
During the detention hearing on Monday, the government orally renewed its motion for removal in custody and the government’s oral motion was granted.
“Accordingly, Defendant is ordered removed to the Central District of California in the custody of the U.S. Marshal forthwith. As provided by 18 U.S.C. § 3142(f), Defendant is remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal and shall remain in custody until further order of the Court,” Justice Gilbert ruled.
Transfer documents signed by Thomas G. Bruton, the Clerk of the U.S Court in Chicago, indicated that Mr Abbas was moved on Tuesday.
Moreover, in the commitment letter sent to California, Mr Abbas refused to retain Mr Pissetzky as his attorney. Rather, he requested that a court-appointed counsel be assigned to him.
If convicted, Mr Abbas would get a minimum sentence of 20 years in the U.S. federal prison.
source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/07/hushpuppi-dumps-top-chicago-lawyer-as.html
Bollywood star Aishwarya Bachchan, daughter moved to isolation centre
Her actor husband Abhishek Bachchan and superstar father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan are already in the same hospital, the highest-profile personalities to have been infected in India, which has now recorded more than one million cases in the pandemic.
Aishwarya Bachchan, a former beauty queen who went on to become one of India’s top actors, and her daughter Aaradhya were revealed on Sunday to be suffering from the coronavirus.
They had been in self-quarantine at home but the Times of India newspaper said they were moved to the Nanavati Hospital on Friday after complaining of “breathlessness”.
“They are fine,” a hospital source told Press Trust of India news agency.
Amitabh Bachchan, 77, and his son Abhishek, 44, are in the hospital’s isolation ward. When they entered hospital their cases were described as “mild”.
No health update has been given since but Amitabh has been regularly issuing Twitter messages.
“In happy times, in times of illness, you our near and dear, our well wishers, our fans have ever given us unstinting love,” he said Friday.
Aishwarya Bachchan won the Miss World Crown in 1994 and has since become one of the most famous faces in Bollywood. She has been a regular on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival and married Abhishek Bachchan in 2007.
The elder Bachchan, idolised in India and affectionately known as “Big B” — has a more than four-decade-long career in the film industry.
He was voted “actor of the millennium” in a BBC online poll in 1999 and became the first Indian actor to gain a lookalike at London’s Madame Tussauds waxworks museum.
City authorities said India’s financial and film capital has now seen nearly 100,000 cases, with more than 1,200 new patients being reported each day. More than 5,582 people in the city have died.
Nationally, the country of 1.3 billion people has reported 26,000 dead.
source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/07/bollywood-star-aishwarya-bachchan.html
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