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Monday, June 29, 2020

Iceland President Johannesson re-elected with 92 percent of total votes

Iceland’s President Gudni Johannesson has been re-elected with a whopping 92 percent of the vote, according to final results released on Sunday.

The former history professor won his second four-year term in the largely symbolic position in Saturday’s vote, the second election held by a European country after coronavirus lockdowns were lifted.

Since suffering spectacular bank failures in 2008, the volcanic North Atlantic island of 365,000 inhabitants has recovered some economic and political stability, which worked in the 52-year-old independent’s favour.


The final results showed he took 92.2 percent of the 168,821 votes cast, crushing rightwing challenger Gudmundur Franklin Jonsson.

“I am honoured and proud,” the president told AFP in Reykjavik on election night.

“This result of this election is, to me, proof of the fact that my fellow Icelanders… have approved of how I have approached this office.”

The dominant win had been predicted by opinion polls, which had shown the president winning between 90 to 94 percent.

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/06/iceland-president-johannesson-re.html

Taraba declares 3-day holiday for LG poll

Taraba State Government has declared Monday, June 29, Tuesday, June 30 and Wednesday, July 1, as public holidays to enable residents to participate in the local government council poll.

This was contained in a statement by Alhaji Hassan Mijinyawa, Chief Press Secretary to Gov. Darius Ishaku, on Monday in Jalingo.

“The public holiday is to enable civil servants to travel to their respective wards and vote during the local government election slated for Tuesday, June 30, 2020.

“The governor also urged people of the state to be orderly, law-abiding and conduct themselves peacefully while discharging their civic responsibilities,” he said.


Meanwhile, a coalition of Civil Society Organisations under the auspices of Eyes on Democracy of Nigeria (EDON) has activated a situation room to monitor the election to ensure that it was free, fair and credible.

Alhaji Muktar Madaki, the State EDON Chairman, in a statement on Monday, said that a comprehensive report on the electoral process would be made after the election.

“We have been observing the preparations by Taraba State Independent Electoral Commission (TSIEC) and we are so far satisfied with the preparations.

“It now behoves on the people to come out in large numbers to exercise their franchise as responsible citizens.

“We are also calling on security agencies to be civil during the conduct of the election and operate within the ambit of their engagement in regards to electoral matters.

“We also call of TSIEC to ensure that the election is credible, peaceful, free and fair,” he said.

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/06/taraba-declares-3-day-holiday-for-lg.html

Ex-member of Rivers State House of Assembly and Wike critic, Martyns Mannah is dead

A former member of the Rivers State House of Assembly who respresented Ahoada East Constituency I, Hon. Martyns Mannah and unrepentant critic of Governor Nyesom Wike’s administration has died after protracted illness.

It cannot be immediately confirmed the circumstances surrounding his sudden demise but a source disclosed that the lawmaker has been battling a heart complication for a while.

Mannah was until his death an associate of Transportation Minister, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State.


During his first tenure, the late lawmaker, representing Constituency 1, Ahoada East Local Government, under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party, later became an ardent critic of Wike’s style of administration.

He defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/06/ex-member-of-rivers-state-house-of.html

Lagos police arrest 3 paedophiles, two defiled their own daughters, the 3rd defiled his employers 12-year old twins

The Police in Lagos State have arrested three paedophiles in different parts of the state.

One of them arrested by Ikorodu police, was identified as Eke Kanu, a 61 year-old, residing at Ebute Road, Igbogbo, Ikorodu.

He impregnated his 19-year-old daughter.

Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bala Elkana, announced the arrest on Sunday.

According to Elkana, the teenager said that her father started having sexual intercourse with her when she was a young girl and threatened to deal with her if she told anybody.


“She further stated that when her father discovered that she was pregnant, he took her to a chemist where she was administered some drugs and injection to abort the pregnancy.

“The survivor is taken to Mirabel Centre, Ikeja, by the Police, for medical attention and forensic examination.

“The suspect has been arrested and taken to State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, for discreet investigation and diligent prosecution,” the police spokesman said.

Elkana also said that the Bariga Police Station has arrested one Chibuike Kalu, 33, of Amodu Street, Bariga, for defiling his 14-year-old daughter.

“The survivor has been taken to Mirabel Centre, Ikeja, for medical treatment and forensic examination.

“The suspect was arrested and has confessed to the commission of the crime. He will be charged to Court,” Elkana added.

Also, in a similar development, a 26 year-old man, Chinedu Obi, has been arrested by Aguda Police Station for defiling his employer’s daughters at Aguda.

Elkana said that Obi had sexual intercourse with the 12-year-old twins when his employer left the two girls in his custody.

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/06/lagos-police-arrest-3-paedophiles-two.html

Lagos begins enforcement of laws on distressed buildings

The Lagos State Government has begun stiff enforcement of laws against distressed buildings and called on property owners to carry out immediate integrity tests or risk demolition.

The General Manager, Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory (LSMTL), Dr Afolabi Abiodun, told the News Agency of Nigeria that property owners who did not ascertain the structural stability of their buildings risked sanctions.

Abiodun advised construction companies, developers, estate agents, builders and other stakeholders in the built environment to comply by testing their construction materials, ongoing and completed buildings to avert risks.


He said that enforcement would be more proactive in line with the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration’s zero tolerance for building collapse, saying that, using the right materials would prevent construction failure.

The general manager who assumed office in February said that soil test was also very important before any kind of construction to safeguard the construction from imminent collapse.

“Enforcement has taken a new toll in Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory now. Before my arrival, there was no enforcement and that is why I say there is a new Sheriff in town to unleash the law of the agency on all distressed buildings.

“There is need for those who have completed their buildings to do the Non-Destructive Test (NDT) and this test which we call the NDT is to be done every five years,’’ he said.

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/06/lagos-begins-enforcement-of-laws-on.html

Let the girl-child grow before taking her as a wife, Di’Ja pleads

Nigerian singer, Di’Ja who recently welcomed her 3rd child has pleaded with parents to let their girl-child grow, atleast to 18 before giving her out in marriage and start doing adult things. The plea also went out to men.

Writing on twitter and explaining how MM is very common in young girls because of early marriage, Di’Ja whose real name is Hadiza Blell wrote;

“Our young girls need to be allowed to grow up before doing grown man and women things like marriage and anything to do with sexual reproduction. If you really mean well you will at least give her until 18 years old, while honestly guiding her spirit. Not every one means well.

''DO YOU KNOW ABOUT OBSTETRIC FISTULA? Very high in young girls early marriages whose reproductive systems have not fully developed. Ya Allah we ask you for guidance. Our children cannot keep going through pain because of lack of understanding.”

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/06/let-girl-child-grow-before-taking-her.html

Black officer in George Floyd killing has a Nigerian father

One of the black police officers at the scene of the killing of George Floyd by a white officer in Minneapolis in May has a Nigerian father [everyone wants to use Nigeria to trend]

Alex Kueng who joined the police largely because he believed diversity could force change in a Police Department long accused of racism,

New York Times reported that Mr Floyd, whose name has been painted on murals and scrawled on protest signs, has been laid to rest. Mr Kueng, who faces charges of aiding and abetting in Mr Floyd’s death, is out on bail, hounded at the supermarket by strangers and denounced by some family members.

Long before Mr Kueng was arrested, he had wrestled with the issue of police abuse of black people, joining the force in part to help protect people close to him from police aggression. He argued that diversity could force change in a Police Department long accused of racism.

He had seen one sibling arrested and treated poorly, in his view, by sheriff’s deputies. He had found himself defending his decision to join the police force, saying he thought it was the best way to fix a broken system. He had clashed with friends over whether public demonstrations could actually make things better.

“He said, ‘Don’t you think that that needs to be done from the inside?’” his mother, Joni Kueng, recalled him saying after he watched protesters block a highway years ago. “That’s part of the reason why he wanted to become a police officer — and a black police officer on top of it — is to bridge that gap in the community, change the narrative between the officers and the black community.”

As hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated against the police after Mr Floyd’s killing on May 25, Mr Kueng became part of a national debate over police violence toward black people, a symbol of the very sort of policing he had long said he wanted to stop.

Derek Chauvin, the officer who placed his knee on Mr Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes, has been most widely associated with the case. He faces charges of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter; Mr Kueng and two other former officers were charged with aiding and abetting the killing. At 26, Mr Kueng was the youngest and least experienced officer at the scene, on only his third shift as a full officer.

The arrest of Mr Kueng, whose mother is white and whose father was from Nigeria, has brought anguish to his friends and family. “It’s a gut punch,” Ms Kueng said. “Here you are, you’ve raised this child, you know who he is inside and out. We’re such a racially diverse family. To be wrapped up in a racially motivated incident like this is just unfathomable.”

Two of Mr Kueng’s siblings, Taylor and Radiance, both of whom are African-American, called for the arrests of all four officers, including their brother. They joined protests in Minneapolis.

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/06/black-officer-in-george-floyd-killing.html

R.a.p.e would reduce if society embraces p.o.r.n and stop frowning at it - Amara Maduka

Nollywood actress Amara Maduka, has asked Nigerian men to embrace p.o.r.n instead of r.a.p.i.n.g women. She also encouraged the society to stop frowning at p.o/r/n assuring it will help men stop r.a.p.e.

She made this known in an interview with the NewTelegraph saying;

''In my opinion adult contents has nothing to do with r.a.p.e. As a matter of fact, r.a.p.e would reduce if the society embraced adult contents instead of frown at it. It’s basic knowledge that mankind will always long for the forbidden fruit.

Because it’s a big deal, people are going to always crave it. But if it’s embraced and the men know that a woman’s body is just a body.


Everyone has one and it’s not a big deal to see a woman’s body because their sisters have one and their mothers have one, then they would see every woman as human and not an object.

And whatever happened to masturbating? They have plastic vagina now and they won’t burn in hell for wanking when they’re horny, instead of raping they should probably watch some “adult contents” and masturbate. And all that aside, people really need to practice self control.''



source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/06/rape-would-reduce-if-society-embraces.html

List of winners at the just held 2020 BET Awards

This is the list of winners at the 2020 BET Awards, which aired virtually yesterday, Sunday, 28th of June, 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The full list goes thus;

— Video of the year: DJ Khaled featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend, “Higher”

— Best female R&B/pop artist: Lizzo

— Best male R&B/pop artist: Chris Brown

— Best female hip-hop artist: Megan Thee Stallion

— Best male hip-hop artist: DaBaby

— Best new artist: Roddy Ricch

— Best group: Migos

— Best collaboration: Chris Brown featuring Drake, “No Guidance”

— Album of the year: Roddy Ricch, “Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial”

— Humanitarian award: Beyoncé

— Dr. Bobby Jones best gospel/inspirational award: Kirk Franklin, “Just for Me”

— Best actress: Issa Rae

— Best actor: Michael B. Jordan

— Best movie: “Queen & Slim”

— Youngstars award: Marsai Martin

— Sportswoman of the year: Simone Biles

— Sportsman of the year: LeBron James

— BET HER award: Beyoncé featuring Blue Ivy Carter, Wizkid and Saint JHN, “Brown Skin Girl”

— Video director of the year: Teyana Taylor

— Best international act: Burna Boy (Nigeria)

— Viewer’s choice: Best new international act: Sha Sha (Zimbabwe)

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/06/list-of-winners-at-2020-bet-awards.html

Only Use Approved Hand Sanitisers To Avoid Skin Damage

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has vowed to sanction manufacturers of hand sanitisers and liquid hand wash which failed to adhere to global best practices.

It also advised members of the public to use only certified hand sanitisers to avoid skin damage.



In a statement on Monday, the regulatory body said quality hand sanitisers are important in the fight against the lethal coronavirus pandemic, adding that it would “not tolerate any minus in standards.”

“SON urged consumers to always insist on patronising only hand sanitisers certified by SON to avoid harmful effects to their skin while also getting value for their hard-earned money.

“Quality hand sanitisers and liquid hand wash are some of the critical tools to battle the virus. Handwashing with soap and water is one of the most important steps that can be taken to avoid getting sick and spreading the virus to loved ones,” it stated.

SON implored manufacturers to visit its offices to obtain the required standards for producing goods in the country, adding that it would support businesses that have public health safety at heart.


Exotic Cars Worth Millions Seized From Hushpuppi (Photos)

Dubai Police has released photos of the exotic cars seized from Instagram celebrity, Raymond Abbas (aka Hushpuppi) accused of online fraud and money laundering to the tune of Dh1.6 billion.

Recall that Dh150 million ($40.8m) was recovered from him in cash. It has been confirmed that about 13 luxury cars were also recovered from him.



Hushpuppi, according to Dubai police, creates websites that appear identical to those of well-known companies and banks, then sends emails and messages that prompts users to log in or make payments on the fake sites.

Mr Abbas is accused of being part of a gang that hacked corporate emails and directed huge payments to accounts they controlled.

Olalekan Jacob Ponle, known as Woodberry, was also arrested along with 10 other men in an operation that involved six police teams.

Police confiscated 13 luxury cars, valued at about Dh25m, 21 computers and 47 smartphones during the raid.

They said the email addresses of 800,000 people were found and Dh1.6 billion could have been stolen from victims of the alleged scam.

Posts on Hushpuppi's account suggest a lavish lifestyle, with images of him taking trips on a private jet, wearing Louis Vuitton tracksuits and a Dh550,000 Richard Mille watch, and posing outside the Four Seasons hotel in Paris.

A video of a wedding in Dubai attended by Nigerian celebrities, which made headlines online, showed Hushpuppi dancing as he threw $100 notes into the air.


Why We No Longer Fix The Price Of Petrol - PPPRA

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) says it no longer fix the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol for marketers. PPRA Executive Secretary, Mr Saidu Abdulkadir, stated this in a statement in Abuja, on Sunday.

Abdulkadir, however, said the agency would constantly, on a monthly basis, develop a guiding price for the commodity, with which it would advise marketers.



He noted that the deregulation of the downstream sector was dependent on the enforcement of appropriate laws by strong regulatory agencies, hence its continued intervention.

“For the purpose of emphasis, let me reiterate that different sectors of the polity operate under the guidance of national regulators.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regulates the banks and the financial sector; Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) regulates telecommunications; National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) regulates the insurance sector and the same exists for operators in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.

“To this end, it is not out of place for the Agency to provide a guiding price band with the aim to protect consumers against price gouging.

“It is important to also state that there is nowhere in the world that deregulation means total lack of control, supervision or oversight.

“While the Market-Based Pricing Regime is a policy introduced to free the market of all encumbrances to investment and growth, it should not be misconstrued to mean a total abdication of government’s responsibility to the sector and citizenry,” he said.

Abdulkadir said that the PPPRA no longer fix prices, but rather provide a guiding price band by monitoring petroleum products prices daily.

This, he said was being done using the average price of the previous month to determine prices for the following month, for appropriate cost-reflective pricing that ensures reasonable returns to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).


Brilliant Girl With The Highest Score In JAMB: 365

Miss Maduafokwa Agnes Egoagwuagwu is currently trending following the unveiling of her details after she had the highest JAMB score in 2020 UTME.

Miss Agnes emerged as the candidate with the highest UTME score for the year 2020 after she scored 365 out of 400.

She is the President of the Maths Club, and the 1st Assistant Head Girl of Louisville Girls High School, Ijebu-Itele in Ogun State.



She wants to study Engineering, where she can apply mathematical concepts in solving societal challenges.

Agnes hails from Ihiala in Anambra State and she wrote her UTME on March 14th 2020 at St Michael Otedola Education Centre in Epe, Lagos State.

She scored 72 in Use of English, 99 in Mathematics, 99 in Physics and 95 in Chemistry.

Maduafokwa applied to study Industrial Production Engineering at the prestigious University of Ibadan.


Ajimobi's Wife: Seyi Makinde Played Politics With My Husband’s Death

The Wife of the former governor of Oyo state, Florence Ajimobi on Sunday attacked the governor of the state, Engr. Seyi Makinde and his deputy, Engr. Rauf Olaniyan for allegedly playing politics with the death of her husband.

She said her husband never had any problem with the state government despite their different political affiliation, but alleged that the state government saw him as their enemy.



The state government had during the time Ajimobi was hospitalised said it extended hands of fellowship to the family of the late governor but they declined. But the wife of the late former governor said it was a lie because she never had any conversation with the state government when her husband was ill.

Florence who spoke when the Deputy Governor led members of Nigeria Governors Forum, led by its chairman, Dr. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti state to the Oluyole residence of the late Governor, urged Makinde to allow the fear of God guide him in whatever he does.

According to her, she had read many untrue stories on the pages of the newspaper since the demise of her husband. Florence said; “my husband took ill precisely on 27th of May and he was hospitalised. “I read on the papers that he (the governor) claimed that he called me but I didn’t pick. He didn’t call me. Even if he had called me, I never had his number. He should have sent text messages for record purposes.

“The governor of Oyo state never called me. He never signed a condolence message. Never called even when my husband was on sick bed for one month. What politics are you playing, please? “Life is short.

I am a Christian and my husband was a Muslim. We should allow fear of God to guide us in whatever we do. Ajimobi is gone today, I am going to mourn and respect his wishes. That is what I am doing today. Laid him to rest peacefully. I don’t want any controversy.

“Everything I read in the papers, I just swallowed it and I let it go. Please, the press are here, we never had any rift with the governor or the state government. I never dialogue with them and I never confronted them and I never send them a word because I didn’t know it was necessary for me to send official message.

“I didn’t send a message to governor Fayemi, I didn’t send to governor Ganduje and I didn’t send to Governor Sanwo-olu.

“I didn’t send to anybody. It was all over the social media. They knew my husband was ill. The least anybody can do is to send me a word of encouragement at that time.”


Tinubu's Loyalists To Dump APC As Buhari's CPC Take Control

Despite the far-reaching deci­sions taken by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ruling All Progressives Con­gress (APC) last week, the crisis rocking the party appears far from being over, Daily Independent has gathered.

Findings revealed that some loyalists of Asi­waju Bola Tinubu, National Leader of APC, who are apparently miffed by the latest devel­opments in the party, are demanding a pull-out of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) fold from the APC fam­ily on the basis that there are plans by some power brokers to muscle out Tinubu from the affairs of the party.



It would be recalled that the APC came into existence in February 2013 following a merger that involved the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) led by Tinubu, Con­gress for Progressives Change (CPC) led by President Mu­hammadu Buhari, All Nige­ria Peoples Party (ANPP) led by Ogbonnaya Onu, and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) led by Rochas Okorocha, former gov­ernor of Imo State.

Following the multiple liti­gations and leadership tussle in the party which led to the suspension of the National Chairman, Adams Oshiom­hole, President Buhari and the NEC last Thursday dis­solved the National Working Committee (NWC) and con­stituted a Caretaker/Extraor­dinary Convention Planning Committee headed by Gover­nor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe, to reset the party.

Though Independent sources said he was not in support of the meeting, Tinubu, in a state­ment at the weekend, praised President Buhari, saying he acted like a true father to save the party from disintegration with the dissolution of the NWC.

He also appealed to mem­bers of the dissolved NWC to sheathe their sword and see the larger picture of the de­velopment.

Tinubu also declared that he had not made a decision on contesting the 2023 pres­idency, expressing pity for those who insinuate that President Buhari had ended his purported 2023 presiden­tial ambition with the NWC’s dissolution.

A key loyalist of Tinubu and former member of the House of Representatives, who spoke on condition of anonymity with our corre­spondent, said all was still not well within the party.

He said the CPC wing of the APC was trying to hijack the party while scheming out other political parties that contributed to the success the APC enjoys today.

“Honestly, if we want to be sincere, APC is APC. Follow­ing the merger, we shouldn’t be talking of ACN, CPC, ANPP, APGA or nPDP again.

“In 2013, we all agreed to bury our various political parties and queue behind a single political entity called the APC.

“Nigerians believed in us, retrieved their mandate from the PDP and gave it to us in 2015.

“But if you have been following events before and after the 2019 general elec­tions, it is very clear that the CPC wing is trying to sideline other political parties in the arrangement, especially the ACN, which is the dominant party in the merger.

“They have been playing hide and seek, but last week they decided to show their true colour with what hap­pened at the NEC meeting.

“I can assure you that Asi­waju Bola Tinubu was not carried along in the whole arrangement.

“I read his statement on Saturday approving the de­cisions taken at the NEC but I must tell you he did that just because he is a loyal par­ty man and elder statesman who will always do every­thing to protect the image of the party.

“But we, his loyalists, have been discussing. We are un­happy with what is happen­ing and we won’t hesitate to pull out if we get the green light to do so.”

Also speaking, Mikhail Balogun, another loyalist of Tinubu, said there were plans to cripple the ACN bloc led by Tinubu by some pow­erbrokers in the APC.

“I don’t think the crisis in the APC is over. Far from it! From what is happening, the Northern plot is on.

“I have a feeling that the APC is planning to field a Northern presidential candi­date and the nomination of Governor Mai Mala Buni, a core CPC member, as the Caretaker Committee chair­man, is part of the strategies to realise that plan.

“I have a feeling that the Yobe governor will definite­ly conduct a convention that will throw up a chairman who will deliver a Northern agenda. Let’s just wait and see,” he said.

Speaking on the latest de­velopment, Chief Olabode George, a former Deputy Na­tional Chairman of the Peo­ples Democratic Party (PDP), said Tinubu’s latest ordeal in the APC did not come to him as a surprise.

George, who said Tinubu was already receiving judg­ment from God, added that the problem of the former Lagos State governor be­gan when he started laying claims to being the ‘nation­al leader’ of the party even though he occupied no elec­tive position.

He argued that in a pres­idential system of govern­ment, the president is the national leader in a ruling political party and not any individual, no matter how highly placed.


Two men commit suicide in Niger state

Two middle-aged men have committed suicide in Rijau local government area of Niger state.

The incidents, which occurred on different occasions, have put the number of suicide in the last two months in the local government area to 13.

The two deceased men, identified as Barde Swashi and Jibrin Dakarkari, hanged themselves on a tree and did not leave any suicide note.

In the case of Barde Swashi, his decomposed body was found hanging on a branch of mango tree in his farm in Darangi community in Rijau in the early hours of Friday.


His family members said he left home without any information of his destination, stating they never noticed he was going through any problem that would cause him to take his life.

“On that fateful day, he never displayed any strange act and we never suspected that he was going to hang himself in his own farm.

“It was therefore very surprising for us to receive the shocking news that a middle-aged man corpse was seen dangling on a branch of a mango tree in a farm and on getting to the farm, we discovered the corpse to be our own person,” a family member stated.

Jubrin Dakarkari, who was in his mid-60s from Dukku community had complained to neighbours that he could not continue living without having any tangible job that would put food on his table.

But the neighbours never thought it would lead him to take his life.

Jubrin was found hanging on a tree at the back of his house in the early hours of penultimate Wednesday.

One of his neighbours, who spoke to newsmen, said: “We never thought that he was going to commit suicide with that comment he made as we all convinced him that all will be alright.”

Residents of Rijau local government are worried over the increasing incidents of suicide especially among the elderly people within 55 to 60 years and have called on the government to begin sensitisation programmes that would reassure people not to take their lives.

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/06/two-men-commit-suicide-in-niger-state.html

Nigerians pay N152b tuition in UK

Study in-uk.com notes that undergraduate fees for international students from outside the EU begin at around £10,000 per year. At the postgraduate level, they start at around £12,000, and if you wish to study medicine or MBA, you may have to pay about £32,000 per year.

The average living cost for international students is £12,180 per year. This can be much lower or higher, depending on where in the UK you wish to study. For example, in London, living expenses are considerably higher than the equivalent cost in a different city such as Liverpool or Birmingham.

As of 2015, a student in the UK paid $35,710 on the average yearly (tuition and living expenses). According to one estimate, Nigerian parents spend above the Federal Government’s yearly budget of $750 million to educate their children in the UK.

Another estimate puts the total average cost of studying in the UK at £22,200 or $31,380 per year. Going by the 2017 estimates, Nigerian parents spent $423 million in the UK or N152 billion!

But with the global economic decline occasioned by the pandemic, many Nigerian students may have a hard time paying their way through schools abroad.

The Federal Government and many states in the country have since reviewed their 2020 budgets. Worse still, the naira’s value has depreciated. As at Sunday, a dollar exchanged officially for N385.3777 and N440 at the black market. The pound was officially N478.5179 and N553 at the black market.

Should 11,000 Nigerian students in the UK pay the tuition of £10,000 each (at £1/N478.5179), about N52 billion would have been spent on tertiary education overseas, excluding other expenses like accommodation.

AGAIN, returning to enrol in Nigerian universities, especially public ones, seems nightmarish on account of worsening standards. The government has also slashed the 2020 budget by N318 billion, from N10.594 trillion to N10.276 trillion. There is consequently a reduced focus on education. The United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) had recommended that 15-20 per cent of the total budget should go to the education sector. At a glance, 6.48 per cent of the 2020 budget was allocated to education; 7.11 per cent in 2019; 7.14 per cent in 2018; 7.27 per cent in 2017; and 9.20 per cent in 2016.

And while foreign universities are coming up with ingenious means to start a new session by deploying educational technology, their Nigerian counterparts appear stuck in a ‘medieval’ system, making a homecoming most unlikely.

Mojisola Aluko, a law student at Middlesex University, London, pays £12,500 as tuition, £6,000 for accommodation and has a monthly feeding allowance of £300. She told The Guardian: “Education is very expensive here. After paying tuition, my parents paid for my accommodation fees in three tranches. Even though the school is not in session now, I still have to pay because the house does not belong to the school.”

She, however, ruled out the thought of fback on Nigerian institutions. “Where do I start? Do Nigerian institutions have requisite facilities? Schools have been shut down since the coronavirus outbreak. How many universities have switched to online learning? We read of strikes by the various staff unions, and the institutions don’t even have a stable academic calendar,” she said.

Olufemi Adesegun, a 21-year-old engineering student of Coventry University, London, said his parents have been unable to keep up with his fees because of the high exchange rate. He has, therefore, had to defer his studies and take up a job to support them, rather than return home.

Like Aluko, he viewed schooling in Nigeria a no-no because graduates there, according to him, are poorly rated and their certificates are not respected in foreign countries. Besides, he viewed incessant labour disputes by academic workers as a distraction.

Mr. Fola Adelani, a parent, who has two children in university in the UK, said paying fees has been extremely difficult since the exchange jumped from N365 to N460 per dollar.

“Even when you have the naira, access to forex is another problem. You have to be looking for people who are ready to give naira to their families here in Nigeria, so that they can, in turn, give you dollars or pounds over there.”

Adelani thinks he may have to sell off some property to meet the huge financial demands. He decried the “worrisome” way academic unions strike often, adding: “As we speak, my children have completed their second semester in their various universities in London. Can we say the same here? We still have a long way to go in Nigeria concerning our educational system.”

BUT Dr. Wale Adeagbo, Chief Operating Officer, Academy Halogen, said he does not see Nigerians “spending huge amount of money on foreign education as we used to before COVID-19.”

He explained: “I see a depletion of some sort in what is being spent, considering the increase in dollar. You must have a good bulk of money but sustainability will be a big issue. I can see that number reducing; there will be no flow of people taking children abroad. Those that are there, about 7-9 per cent of them will withdraw or change schools.

“And this will be a downward trend, moving forward. Also, now that the education sector has changed the paradigm, some foreign programmes have reduced about 10-15 per cent of what they used to charge, and many of these are going to be online. So, the question is: what are you travelling for? You can sit in your house in Lagos and get that degree from Cambridge University. So, the online education paradigm will make it much more accessible and cheaper.”

Also, a professor of English at Mountain Top University, Emmanuel Adedun, said it is not wise to study abroad at this time, not in terms of quality but rather economic implications.

He said: “The high estimation of what Nigerian parents spend on foreign education has been the pattern of things pre-COVID-19. But what is likely to happen is that a lot of things will be redefined by this pandemic. The economy of the world has really gone down, and when we narrow it down to Nigeria, you discover that the money is not even there at any level.

“And it is money that is available that you can throw around, either as a government or as a private individual. The people that had the plan to send their wards to foreign universities will have to make the inevitable decision of making do with what they can find around here in Nigeria. No matter the education that is available, they will have to make do with it, based on what the economy of the individual is realistically saying. So, that estimate may not be correct at the end of the day. COVID would definitely affect it.”

THE UK government, meanwhile, thinks all hope is not lost. UK Universities Minister Michelle Donelan in a recent statement said: “I want to make a promise to our students from Nigeria that this (pandemic) will not put a stop to your education. We stand by you and are doing everything we can to support you. Our universities are going above and beyond to keep students and staff safe.”

The UK government also recently announced a new, streamlined immigration policy called the ‘Graduate Route’, which will be available from summer 2021. It means students starting this year will be able to stay and work or look for work in the UK at any skill level for two years without being harassed by the authorities.

This was as a new report from Moody’s Investors Services highlighted the financial impact of the pandemic on higher educational institutions around the world.

“We expect rated universities in all of our current jurisdictions – US, Canada, UK, Australia, Singapore, and Mexico – to enrol fewer students for the next academic year than planned, due to the outbreak,” said Jeanne Harrison, Vice President, and Senior Analyst at Moody’s.

“In addition, if campuses remain closed for a greater part of the year, income from residence halls, catering, conferences, and sporting events will be lower than budgeted. Endowment and gift income may also decline.”

Moody’s analysis in April highlighted that the scale of the impact on higher education will depend largely on the duration of the outbreak. “If university campuses can reopen in time for the next academic year, the effect on demand and budgets will be more manageable,” the report notes, adding: “International student flows will depend on how the outbreak and policy response evolve in individual countries.”

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/06/nigerians-pay-n152b-tuition-in-uk.html

Ighalo equals 95-year Manchester United record, eclipses Ibrahimovic

Odion Ighalo’s goal for Manchester United against Norwich City in the FA Cup on Saturday means that the ex-Nigeria striker has equalled a club record that has stood for 95 years, reports goal.com.

In netting against the Canaries, Ighalo became only the second player in the club’s history to have scored in each of his first four competitive starts for the Red Devils.

According to Opta, the previous player to do this was Jimmy Hanson, who achieved the feat in 1925 when he scored in consecutive starts against Hull City, Blackpool, Derby County and Aston Villa.

The Manchester-born Hanson signed for United in 1924, but suffered a serious injury five years later, and was forced to retire.

Back in 2016, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was on the brink of equalling Hanson’s record when he scored in three consecutive competitive outings for United. However, while the then-34-year-old made a strong start to life with the Red Devils after signing on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain, he drew a blank in his fourth competitive start—against Hull—and missed out on Hanson’s record.

Ighalo, however, has emulated Hanson’s achievement during a remarkable run early in his United career.

The former Watford man began his scoring run with a goal in United’s 5-0 victory over Club Brugge in late February, before scoring twice against Derby County in the FA Cup in early March.

On his third start for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, against LASK in the Europa League, he scored and contributed an assist in a 5-0 victory, before opening the scoring against Norwich on Saturday.

Ighalo’s opener was cancelled out by a Todd Cantwell effort from range, although Harry Maguire bagged in extra time to send the northern giants through at the expense of Daniel Farke’s strugglers.

Despite his immense scoring record in matches in which he’s started for United—all of which have been in cup competitions—the striker is yet to score in the Premier League for the Red Devils.

He’s made six appearances—all from the bench—amassing 83 minutes of action back in the top flight.

“It is great to have the option to rotate,” Solskjaer told BBC Sport after the match. “Anthony Martial came on and did brilliant, but Odion gives me a chance to rotate.

“He’s a proven goal scorer and played his part in both goals,” the Norwegian coach continued. “He is a great person to have around the dressing room too.

“Odion knows how much we value him in and around the dressing room; he’s a goal scorer, a poacher, he’s strong, we can play the ball into him, he showed for the second and Paul [Pogba] found him.”

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/06/ighalo-equals-95-year-manchester-united.html

We broke the law to allow Ajimobi’s burial – Gov. Makinde

Seyi Makinde, Governor of Oyo, said his administration went against the law to ensure the burial of Abiola Ajimobi, former governor of the state, went ahead in Oluyole Estate, a Government Reserve Area.

Ajimobi died last Thursday of multiple organ failure following complications from COVID-19 at First Cardiologist Consultant, Hospital in Lagos. He was 70 years.

He was buried at his Oluyole Estate residence on Sunday.

The burial was initially scheduled for Friday according to Islamic injunction, but according to Bolaji Tunji, special assistant on media to the former governor, the event was postponed following consultations with the governments of Lagos and Oyo.

In a statement on Saturday, Taiwo Adisa, the governor’s spokesman, said the state government is not responsible for the delay of the burial.

He said the family of the deceased had sought approval to bury the late former governor on a plot of land at Agodi GRA, but the request was denied because the land was under litigation.

But he said the governor allowed the late former governor to be buried at his Oluyole residence against the state rules on land.

“In view of the intense enquiries from news media organisations regarding the perceived delay in burying the late former Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, the Oyo State Government wishes to place on record that there is no truth in the rumour making the rounds that the burial is being delayed by the state government,” he said.

“The rumour, which is being deliberately spread to give the state government a bad name and to play undue politics with the dead, initially came by the way of social media gossip, which gained traction to attract the attention of traditional media outfits.

“Several media outfits reached out to the Media Office of the Governor of Oyo State to make enquiries on this barefaced lie on Saturday.

“Let it be stated clearly that the Governor of Oyo State, Engineer Seyi Makinde, has played no role at all in causing any delay whatsoever regarding the burial of his immediate predecessor, Senator Ajimobi.

“The truth of the matter is that the family, through a proxy, approached the state government and sought approval to bury the late governor on a plot of land at Agodi GRA, which is currently under litigation. Incidentally, it was the same former Governor Ajimobi who instituted the legal action.

“Governor Seyi Makinde had no choice than to state the facts as they are to the emissaries and turn down the request.

“Governor Makinde, however, against the established land use rule in Oyo State, gave approval that the family can bury the late governor in his Oluyole Estate residence.

“It is to be noted that the rules guiding land use in Government Reservation Areas (GRA) forbid the burial of bodies in such locations as Oluyole Estate and Agodi GRA.

“Let us also put on record that whereas the family did not follow the laid down protocols in passing information on the sickness and eventual demise of Senator Ajimobi, Governor Makinde overlooked all that and directed the full cooperation of the government with the family on this matter.

“It can only amount to a wicked lie to insinuate that the incumbent government in Oyo State attempted to obstruct the burial of the immediate past governor.”

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/06/we-broke-law-to-allow-ajimobis-burial.html

Osun man beaten to death while playing football

The Osun State Police Command has commenced investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of one Shuaib Isola after he was punched during a fight in Iwo on Sunday.

According to sources, the incident happened around 10am at the playground of the St. Mary’s Grammar School, Iwo.

The deceased and others were said to be playing football, when he suddenly got into a fight with one Ahmed Lateef.

Isola was said to have collapsed after he was punched by Lateef.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Yemisi Opalola, confirmed the incident.

She said one person had been arrested in connection with the incident.

Opalola stated, “One Shuaib Isola of the Araromi area, Iwo, and others were playing football at the St. Mary’s Grammar School, Iwo, when one Ahmed Lateef engaged him in a fight.

“Lateef reportedly gave the deceased a punch and he collapsed. Isola was later rushed to the General Hospital, Iwo, where he was pronounced dead.

“The family of the deceased evacuated his corpse and declined autopsy. But investigation will continue into the incident.”

source https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2020/06/osun-man-beaten-to-death-while-playing.html