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Congratulations, Italy

The Nigerian government has said a case of the dangerous delta variant has been recorded in a traveller in the country.

A statement issued by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Thursday night, noted that the development raises a grave concern.

About Delta Variant
Tagged SARS-CoV-2, and also known as lineage B.1.617.2., the delta variant has been described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the ‘most transmissible variant.’

According to the global body, the variant is responsible for the spike in about 98 countries across the world where it has been reported.

Speaking on June 26 on the variant, the WHO’s director-general, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said a surge in cases translates to more hospitalisations, which he noted has continued to stretch healthcare workers and health systems “while putting more at risk of death.”

Mr Ghebreyesus acknowledged that new variants were expected, saying “that’s what viruses do, they evolve”. He said that by preventing transmission, “we can stem the emergence of variants”.

“It’s quite simple: more transmission, more variants. Less transmission, less variants,” he said, noting that it is even more urgent today to prevent transmission by consistently using public health and social measures along with vaccines.

The Nigeria’s disease centre said it is not yet confirmed how the new variant reacts to the vaccines in circulation.

Delta variant in Nigeria
In its statement on Thursday night, the NCDC authorities said it was able to identify the variant through the country’s concerted efforts to combat the spread of the pandemic in the country.

The statement by the NCDC said it was recorded in a traveller to Nigeria at its national reference laboratory in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

The statement reads in full:

08 July 2021 | Abuja – Confirmed Case of Delta Variant Detected in Nigeria

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has detected a confirmed case with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, also known as lineage B.1.617.2. The variant was detected in a traveler to Nigeria, following the routine travel test required of all international travelers and genomic sequencing at the NCDC National Reference Laboratory, Abuja.

The Delta variant is recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a variant of concern, given its increased transmissibility. The variant has been detected in over 90 countries and is expected to spread to more countries. The variant has also been linked to a surge in cases in countries where it is the dominant strain in circulation. There are ongoing studies to understand the impact of the variant on existing vaccines and therapeutics.

As part of Nigeria’s COVID-19 response, NCDC has been working with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), African Centre for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), and other laboratories within the national network, to carry out genomic sequencing. This is to enable the detection of variants of concern, and initiate response activities. All data on variants from Nigeria have been published on GISAID, a global mechanism for sharing sequencing data. Given the global risk of spread of the Delta variant, positive samples from international travelers to Nigeria are sequenced regularly.

The Government of Nigeria through the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) has initiated several measures to reduce the risk of spread of COVID-19. This includes the introduction of travel restrictions from countries where there is a surge in cases associated with widespread prevalence of variants of concern. The national travel protocol which includes compulsory seven-day self-isolation and repeat test on the seventh day after arrival, are in place to reduce the risk of spread of the virus. It is very important that this is strictly adhered to, to prevent a surge in COVID-19 cases in Nigeria.

Given the high transmissibility of the Delta variant and following its detection in Nigeria, NCDC urges all Nigerians to ensure strict adherence to public health and social measures in place. Proven public health and social measures such as physical distancing, frequent handwashing, and proper use of face masks, prevent infections and save lives. The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective and offers protection against the disease.

Additionally, states are urged to ensure sample collection and testing for COVID-19 is accessible to the public. Public settings such as schools with accommodation facilities, workplaces and camps should utilise the approved Antigen-based Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) for rapid testing of their population.

According to the Director General of NCDC, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, “Although we have seen a low number of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria in the last eight weeks, it is incredibly important that we do not forget to be careful. The surge in cases in countries across the world and Africa is an important reminder of the risk we face. Please protect yourselves and the people you love by adhering to the known public health and social measures, getting vaccinated if you are eligible and getting tested if you have symptoms”.

The recommended control measures to limit the spread of the Delta variant continue to be testing, following the existing public health guidance and abiding by the current travel and public restrictions.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/472501-covid-19-nigeria-records-first-case-of-most-transmissible-delta-variant.html

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PHOTOS: SCOAN Holds Candlelight Procession For Late TB Joshua

https://www.facebook.com/206270189411151/posts/4445465998824861/

The Registrar of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Professor Ishaq Oloyede has disclosed that only 0.06 per cent representing about 803 of the more than 1.3 million candidates who sat for the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination scored 300 and above.

A total of 1,338,687 candidates registered for the 2021 UTME, which commenced nationwide from 19th May 2021 and ended on July 3.

Oloyede, who appeared on National Television Authority (NTA) Weekend File, admitted that candidates performed below expectation this year when compared to previous years for obvious reasons, especially the COVID-19 pandemic leading to the closure of schools and insecurity which made it impossible for many schools to cover the necessary syllabus.

He noted that statistics of the results in the last four years, 2018 for example, showed that those who scored 120 and below were about 99.99 per cent of the candidates, 99.92 in 2019, 99.80 in 2020 and this year 99.65, a drop of .25 per cent from that of last year.

He added that those who scored 160 and above, last year was 69.82 per cent, while this year is 45.62 per cent, disclosing further that those who scored more than 300 over 400, last year were .26 per cent of the candidates, this year .06 per cent, and in 2019, .16 per cent of candidates scored above 300.

He said: “I have heard people say that many people failed and JAMB people won’t say that one, that is not so, but it is expected. In Nigeria, we think we are not living within a global community. All informed educated experts know the point at where we are in the academic calendar.

“By last year when they were taking the examination, they had gone far in the coverage of the syllabus, the incomplete session, the emergency online that was put together and many other disturbances, like in Nigeria we have the challenge of insecurity. Somebody should be surprised if there is no effect on the UTME.

UTME is not an achievement test, it’s a ranking test. It’s just like if you are going on a race and 100 persons were going for competition, you don’t talk about how many minutes it takes to cover the period; you said this first, second, third, fourth and fifth and you rank them according to the time they arrived at the venue.

“But you also do another competition and say that before you can be part of it you should be able to cover so, so meters within a specified time; that is what is called achievement test. In the achievement test, you would have determined the pass mark, everybody would have known that 50 per cent is A, this one is C and so on.

“As far as UTME is concerned it is a ranking examination therefore there is no pass or fail. It is not UTME that qualifies a candidate for admission. About 10 or 15 per cent of the candidates do not even take exams, they come in at 200 level through Direct Entry because they are evaluated on the basis of their ‘A’ Levels,” Oloyede said.

He added for instance, that those who take examinations and scored 400 over 400 and do not have 5 credits would be admitted.

The Registrar further explained that it is the five credits that qualified the person but because those who are eager to go into certain programmes are more than the spaces available that the Board had to conduct an examination to rank them.

“The reality is that candidates are performing less than expected and there are also environmental factors,” he said adding that the performance does not affect the admissions because the number of persons to be admitted would be admitted.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/tribuneonlineng.com/2021-utme-only-0-06-of-candidates-scored-300-above-%25E2%2580%2595-jamb-registrar/amp/

UNIVERSITY admissions in Nigeria are fraught with pains, misery, physical danger, and corruption. Centrally administered by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination was no less arduous for the candidates and their long-suffering parents. Across the initial 700 Computer-Based Test centres nationwide, widespread technical hitches, delays, electricity outages and gross incompetence marred the exercise, according to media reports. Having transitioned from the manual test system to the CBT a few years ago, these hitches and stress are inexcusable.

Secondary school leavers desirous of tertiary education experience innumerable encumbrances as they seek admission to universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. Their collective trauma includes but is not limited to the tedious online registration process, fees, restrictions on the single use of a mobile number for a candidate and sharp practices by officials and test centres. With candidates struggling with ePIN and USSD payment systems, JAMB had to extend the registration to May 29.

This year, their woes were aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. On examination days, many travelled long distances to reach their test centres early in the morning despite a nationwide curfew that ends by 6am. Some candidates had to travel across states, paying exorbitantly for transport and lodging to sit the examination. For a computerised examination, this is totally unnecessary, a financial and physical burden for parents that are struggling to get by.

Another ungainly aspect of the 2021 UTME is that JAMB pretended not to be aware of the dangers associated with the coronavirus pandemic by directing candidates to obtain their National Identity Number before they could register for the UTME. This reflects Nigeria’s inability to think out issues. During a pandemic, the heavens will not fall if candidates did not register for the UTME without NINs. This amounts to treating the youths – regarded as the future of the society – with disdain.

In contrast, other countries accord dignity to youths. Instead of conducting the ‘A’ Level Examination, which is the requirement for university admissions, the United Kingdom authorities shelved it and asked teachers to provide their assessment of candidates that needed to apply to universities because of the pandemic-induced lockdown in 2020. To reduce potential overcrowding, the UK universities cut down admissions by as much as 20 per cent in 2020 and 2021.

Apart from that, the registration for NIN by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy is anarchic, sordid, and primitive. At an early age, it exposes the candidates to the prevalent open corruption in Nigeria. Many of the candidates paid to get enrolled for NIN. This alone should have made the Federal Government and JAMB shelve the NIN requirement for 2021 until it becomes seamless.

On the initial examination day, some CBT centres could not cope due to digital hitches. In a Badagry, Lagos State, centre, power failure marred the examination. In some other centres like Ikorodu and Ogba, those scheduled for 9 am could not sit the examination until late afternoon. In the end, some of the papers were cancelled. This is traumatic for the candidates who had prepared all year only to experience such a harrowing time. JAMB estimated that it lost an income of N5.8 billion because of the NIN requirement.

Worse, JAMB unilaterally closed 24 CBT centres on the first day. By the third day, the number had climbed to 50. JAMB Registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, accused those centres of poor conduct, incompetence, and aiding examination malpractice. This does not add up and it misses the point. It is wrong for JAMB to ask candidates to re-register and sit their examinations at different CBT centres. JAMB is laughing all the way to the bank, but who is paying the cost of the trips to the newly allocated centres? What of the stress and danger that come with the disruptions? It could partly explain why some undergraduates are running helter-skelter at the point of graduation because JAMB had not issued admission letters to them. These are youths and are still fragile; they should be better treated.

On a good note, it (JAMB) said it was able to weed out over 500,000 duplicate and fake registrations. From the initial figure of 2.2 million, the applicants were reduced to 1.41 million. Unlike in the past when candidates waited for months, the results of the UTME are already out. That should be sustained, although checking the result via USSD ran into a technical hitch after a few days. There is however a possibility that some candidates could not register for the UTME because they could not obtain their NIN.

Still, the annual ritual of hitches might not end because JAMB suffers from one main affliction: it is a centralised omnibus examination body for universities, polytechnics, mono-technics and colleges of education. And like all bureaucracies, the competitiveness that drives efficiency and effectiveness is sorely missing. Worse still, the examination body is carrying an avoidable burden. It should be reformed.

Unlike the monolithic JAMB, admission into tertiary institutions in so many countries is highly decentralised. In the UK, former Cambridge Assessment, now, Cambridge University Press and Assessment, a non-teaching department of the University of Cambridge, provides educational assessments for over eight million candidates in over 170 countries; scripts are marked by over 30,000 examiners every year. There is also the Russell Group, a collective of 24 high-level educational institutions across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland that share admission processes. This is the way to go.

©The Punch
https://www.google.com/amp/s/punchng.com/hitches-in-the-conduct-of-utme-inexcusable/%3famp

A human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong , has sued the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), and the Federal Government for suspending social media platform, Twitter.

In the originating motion marked FHC/L/CS/542/2021, Effiong is seeking nine reliefs including an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from further suspending, deactivating or banning the operation and accessibility of Twitter or any other social media service in Nigeria.

Effiong asked the court to declare as illegal the threat of criminal prosecution issued by Malami and Mohammed against Nigerians who ‘violate’ the suspension or ban of Twitter, despite the absence of any written law.

The activist asked the court to declare that the act of the respondents in “suspending the operation and accessibility of Twitter in Nigeria without any written law that is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society enabling the said suspension is unconstitutional, unjustifiable, undemocratic, arbitrary, null and void and amounts to a violation of the right of the applicant and other Nigerians to use Twitter for expression, reception of information and impartation of ideas and is therefore contrary to Section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. A9 L.F.N. 2004. Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”

In his supporting affidavit, Effiong, who is also the National Legal Adviser of the African Action Congress and Co-Convener of the Coalition of Human Rights Defenders, said he was an active Twitter user since 2021 and currently has 45,500 Followers and follows 13, 600 accounts on the platform including dozens of accounts of broadcast stations in the country.

The activist stated that as a public affairs commentator, he uses Twitter to express his views on the failure, inadequacies and performance of the government at all level, including the Federal Government of Nigeria and its agencies.

Effiong recalled that on June 1, 2021, the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), who is a Twitter user, tweeted a series of tweets in a thread in response to the agitations in the South East on his verified Twitter account with the handle @MBuhari with millions of followers.

Buhari’s tweet was considered offensive by many Nigerians who flagged it and reported it to Twitter.

The lawyer said Twitter subsequently deleted the President’s comment, a move that led to the suspension of Twitter days later.

Effiong said it was a known fact that every Twitter user had agreed to abide by the rules of the platform before being allowed to use it.

He said the decision of the respondents to suspend Twitter have gravely “infringed on my freedom of expression and that of broadcast stations and other Nigerian citizens who depend and rely daily on Twitter for information, expression and impartation of ideas.
This has caused me emotional trauma and distress and limited my capacity to connect with the global community.”

https://punchng.com/twitter-suspension-lawyer-sues-lai-mohammed-malami-as-courts-resume/

June 12, 1993 had been a date most Nigerians and indeed the entire world awaited... Let's cast our minds back... I had just completed my primary school, waiting to start JS 1 in Spetember... Personally, I remember the gap-toothed then Head of State Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida AKA IBB.

I also remember that my interest in the media rose within that era. The Concord owned by MKO Abiola; The Punch, Post Express, The Guardian, The Champion owned by millionaire Emmanuel Iwanyanwu, The Vanguard, Daily Times, Chronicle in Calabar, The Tide, Complete Football and Complete Sports (wow) owned by Sunny Obazu-Ojeabeze, and the magazines - Tell, The News, Newswatch edited by Ray Ekpu, The Source edited by Comfort Obi were prominent in that era

Soon after the annulment, journalism in Nigeria and the country as a whole attracted international attention. Journalists and others who could voice out their disapproval went on exile. The country became endangered � when Sani Abacha took over from Shonekan in November 1993. The BBC, VOA, Radio Dutchwella, Radio Kudirat, Radio Biafra were Nigerians' favourite.

Oh Nigeria! Sanctions and suspensions from everywhere.

I also remember the phantom coup plot by General Donaldson Oladipo Diya who served as Chief of the General Staff, the de facto Vice President of Nigeria under General Sani Abacha and his arrest for treason in 1997. Those sentenced to death included two former cabinet officers, Maj. Gen. Tajudeen Olanrewaju and Maj. Gen. Abdulkareem Adisa, and a civilian. Four defendants were sentenced to life in prison, including a newspaper editor, Niran Malaolu.

Chai... What do you also remember about this era in Nigeria's history...

Considering the fact that computer numbers accurately, Facebook users have spotted an error in numbering of the list of army personnel alongside the country's Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen I. Attahiru, who lost their lives in a post by VP Yemi Osinbanjo

https://www.facebook.com/633018823475154/posts/3800183496758655/

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has shifted the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) from June 5 to June 19.

The Board also announced the extension of registration for the examination by two weeks, with the exercise now to end on May 29.

This disclosure was made by the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof Ishaq Oloyede, at an ongoing press conference on Saturday in Abuja.

Oloyede said that the decision was the outcome of a 2-day stakeholders’ meeting the board had in Abuja.

The examination was earlier slated to hold between June 5 and 19.

He stated during the press conference that JAMB expects that the 2-week extension will provide more candidates an opportunity to register for the examination.

The JAMB Registrar while reading the board’s communique after the meeting also said the Mock UTME earlier scheduled for 20th May will now hold on June 3 adding that only 1,134,424 candidates (UTME+DE) have so far been registered.

What JAMB Registrar is saying

Professor Oloyede, in his statement, said, “Desirous of affording prospective candidates more time to complete their registration for the 2021 UTME/DE, which was expected to end on Saturday, May 15, 2021, stakeholders recommended a two-week extension for registration, to now end on May 29, 2021.

“The extension is contingent upon stakeholders’ firm commitment to deliver on their respective responsibilities.

“Accordingly, the 2021 Mock UTME earlier scheduled for 20th May 2021 will now hold on June 3, 2021, while the main UTME will hold from June 19 – July 3, 2021. JAMB will dispatch monitoring teams to all States of the Federation and the FCT during the extension period.”

The board directed computer-based test centres (CBT) to stop selling ePINs and also not to collect registration fee until completion of registration, warning that flouting this directive would attract appropriate sanctions.

The statement also says, “Stakeholders reiterated the prohibition of group registration for candidates, with the threat of sanction against any CBT centre that violates the instruction.

“CBT centres are directed to open all twenty (20) allowable registration points to, ease congestion at the centres.

“Candidates for Direct Entry are reminded to, while procuring their ePIN, specify their category of admission. However, where a DE candidate mistakenly purchases an ePIN for UTME, the selling point is hereby directed to rectify the error by swapping the ePIN to DE at no further cost to the candidate.

“Digital Service Providers are encouraged to expand their facilities, including the provision of redundancy links. NIMC pledged to give priority attention to UTME/DE prospective candidates.

“All prospective candidates and other Users who have not received a response from 55019 are requested to send their Tracking ID or NIN to nimc jamb2021@nimc.gov.ng. However, those who had obtained their NIN through unauthorised sources will have to go to the NIMC office to resolve their challenges.

“NIMC further pledged to deploy special monitoring teams and to sanction any NIMC agent found extorting candidates in the cause of enrolment.

“Against the background of its below-par performance, one of the operators gave firm assurance of the optimisation of its services during the extension of the registration and examination.

“Stakeholders implored the Federal Ministry of Education to discourage parents from seeking to register underage and immature candidates to pursue tertiary education ahead of their time.”

https://nairametrics.com/2021/05/15/jamb-postpones-2021-utme/

Breaking: Iniubong Umoren's suspected killer paraded by Police

Principal suspect in the gruesome murder of a job seeker and graduate of Philosophy, Iniubong Ephraim Umoren, Uduak Frank Akpan and his father being paraded before journalists at Akwa Ibom State Police Headquarters, Uyo.

https://www.facebook.com/100008309118509/posts/2966647773622164/

I found this at my door post this morning. Don't really know much about bullets. Who has any explanation on this, please?

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has tested positive for COVID-19, two days after he was inoculated against COVID-19.

Federal Health Minister Faisal Sultan confirmed Saturday that Khan has contracted the coronavirus infection and wrote on Twitter the 67-year-old Pakistani leader “is self- isolating at home.”

Khan’s office released a video Thursday while he was receiving his first shot of the two-dose Chinese Sinopharm vaccine as part of a nationwide drive to encourage vaccinations.

The prime minister at the time had appealed to the nation to ensure compliance with all safeguards to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The South Asian nation is witnessing high levels of vaccine hesitancy, officials say.

The Federal Health Ministry clarified in a statement that Khan was not “fully vaccinated” before he contracted the virus.

“He only got the 1st dose and merely 2 days ago, which is too soon for ANY vaccine to become effective. Anti-bodies develop 2-3 weeks after 2nd dose of 2-dose COVID vaccines,” the ministry wrote on Twitter.

https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/pakistans-prime-minister-tests-positive-covid-19

The Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs @Sadiya_farouq has stated that the N-Power started as an intervention for job creation. She says Batch C is a continuation of the ongoing strategy and an extension of the Buhari administration's commitment to job creation and youth development.

Based on the implementation of these SIPs since 2016, the programmes are undergoing restructuring to maximise their impact and deliver more socioeconomic benefits to the poor and vulnerable in the society.

The N-Power programme will now be administered through the NASIMS which cuts across the whole value change of other programmes under the Ministry.

The programme is now positioned to be more strategic through the NASIMS. Beneficiaries will now be able to get more from programme, and experience a seamless verification process as well as an efficient transition and exit management plan through the NASIMS.

The Ministry has taken stringent steps to ensure that the registration and verification as well as the onboarding process will be carried out online and on a centralised system.

Beneficiaries can now log into nasims.gov.ng to take their test and subsequently carry out the process.

npower@nasims.gov.ng is the dedicated email address for complaints and enquiries.

https://twitter.com/npower_ng/status/1369977587632590850?s=19

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March is Women’s history month, and Monday, March 8, marks International Women’s Day.

In honor of those events, here’s a look at women who have been “first” in their fields, from science to sports to politics to entertainment.

“Breaking the glass ceiling” -- referring to an invisible barrier that seemingly prevented women from advancing past a cerrtain level in their careers -- is a phrase first popularized in a 1986 Wall Street Journal article, but the concept goes back to the 1970s, according to reports.

The women highlighted here broke the glass ceilings holding them back, and paved the way for women after them.

Marie Curie became not only the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, in 1903, but became the first person to win a Nobel Price twice, with a second award in 1911.

Russian Valentina Tereshkova, at the age of 26, became the first woman in space in 1963. During her flight, she orbited Earth 48 times over three days. Tereshkova holds two other “firsts” -- she is still the youngest woman to go to space and the only woman to go on a solo mission.

U.S. director Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win the Academy Award’s Best Director category in 2010. She remains the only woman director to win. This year, the 93rd Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, April 25.

https://www.facebook.com/36235438073/posts/10158539984943074/

The Burnley v Arsenal game was an example of Arsenal under Arteta. At times brilliant and dominating, capable of absurd errors costing them goals, profligate in front of goal, unable to amp up the intensity early enough when needed, and subject to unbalanced and bias calls from VAR. It’s the last point that I want to highlight because it’s becoming troublesome for the integrity of the game.

VAR worked as it should for Burnley on the late penalty decision and the red card – it overturned it. However, it failed in its duty to award Arsenal a penalty for handball earlier on – an obvious one and a decision that even Peter Walton found “surprising”.

Yet it isn’t really that surprising. When taking a holistic view, Arsenal’s history with VAR in the UK has been nothing short of outrageous. Off the top of my head alone, I can think of 18 (EIGHTEEN) controversial interventions or non-interventions by VAR that disadvantaged Arsenal. These are all situations where you regularly see VAR act in favour for other teams in identical circumstances.

22 Sep 2019 Arsenal 3-2 Villa
Maitland-Niles is sent off for a challenge that wasn’t even a foul. A strong but clean tackle followed by the Villa playing standing on him.

21 Oct 2019 Sheffield 1-0 Arsenal
Strong and obvious shirt pull on Sokratis in the box – no penalty given

27 Oct 2019 Arsenal 2-2 Palace
Arsenal’s winning goal disallowed after VAR decides Chambers committed a foul. The only foul was on Chambers

18 Jan 2020 Arsenal 1-1 Sheffield
Pepe clearly brought down in the box – no penalty given

7 Jul 2020 Arsenal 1-1 Leicester:
Nketiah receives red for serious foul play after VAR intervenes. Possibly warranted but the exact same foul (or worse) is committed by Tarkowski for West Ham v Burnley (that same night) and only gets a yellow
Vardy kicks Mustafi in the face (with obvious intent when you see the replay) and yet no red is given

16 Jul 2020 Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
Alexander-Arnold commits a dangerous foul on Saka – no red is given

29 August 2020 Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool
Keita commits a dangerous foul on Nketiah – no red given

23 Sep 2020 Leicester 0-2 Arsenal
Saka is clearly fouled in the box – no penalty given

28 Sep 2020 Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal
Mane elbows Tierney in the face – only a yellow, no red
Jota scores after clearly handling the ball (contact well below t-shirt line) – it must be ruled out according to the rules but it isn’t

25 Oct 2020 Arsenal 0-1 Leicester
Laca has a goal disallowed – VAR said Xhaka was interfering with play whilst offside because he was blocking the keeper’s vision. He wasn’t anywhere near and was not interfering with play at all

30 Jan 2021 Arsenal 0-0 Man Utd
Fernandes rakes his studs down Xhaka’s calf and achilles – no red given

2 Feb 2021 Wolves 2-1 Arsenal:
Luiz given a red card for accidental contact with Wolves player, who goes down before shooting. Wolves player throws his leg backward in stride and it catches Luiz’s knee. Not rescinded on appeal. Compare this with Bednarek’s red v Man U on the same night for the exact same offence, which was overturned on appeal

6 Feb 2021 Villa 1-0 Arsenal:
Saka brought down by the last defender. Ref gives a yellow and VAR does not intervene. Compare this with Jagielka’s red on 3 Mar 21, Sheffield v Villa for a similar situation that was even less of a goal scoring opportunity
No penalty awarded against Martinez when he hauls down Laca in the box. Replays demonstrate it was not 50/50. Martinez grabs Laca’s shirt and hauls him over

14 Feb 2021 Arsenal 4-2 Leeds
Saka brought down in the box. Ref gives a pen and a yellow to the defender. VAR overturns this despite one replay angle clearly showing contact and the foul

6 March 2021 Burnley 1-1 Arsenal
VAR says no handball in the second half but it clearly was

All 18 have individually been subjected to questions and complaints by pundits and by the media. Also, maybe not all 18 are 100% egregious. Sometimes, even when it’s 80/20 your decision, they go against you. However, it’s the aggregation – 18 of them – which is most troubling and yet this never gets a mention by anyone.

The most worrisome thing is it’s simply not probable that such a level of inconsistent VAR application can be due to incompetence or bad luck alone. Is it corruption? Is it another form of conscious bias? Or is it simply unconscious bias? It’s impossible to tell without investigation but I’d say such an investigation is now long overdue.

https://www.football365.com/news/xhaka-uselss-18-times-var-fed-arsenal-mailbox

Please who knows where I can buy this?

Thank you

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In Cross River State

New students of the Department of Theatre, Film and Carnival Studies, University of Calabar have their induction

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=4298980983462741&id=100000526453281

The Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for use by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Nigeria.

The vaccine was recently approved by the W.H.O for emergency use, in a press briefing, NAFDAC says it got the dossier of the vaccine a week ago, and the NAFDAC safety committee went to work immediately to evaluate its safety and efficacy for Nigerians.

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, also known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, or AZD1222, is a viral vector vaccine. Scientists used an adenovirus, originally derived from chimpanzees, and modified it with the aim of training the immune system to mount a strong response against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19).

https://www.channelstv.com/2021/02/18/breaking-nafdac-approves-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-for-use-in-nigeria/

Wikki Tourists has just posted on Facebook thus:

BREAKING:
Wikki Tourists fc involved in an accident, team bus burnt to ashes along Kibo road on our way to uyo for match day 11 of the #npfl.2021 against. Dakkada fc.
No life was lost,thanks be to God.
Wtfc Media
18/2/2021

https://www.facebook.com/1610256942591230/posts/2907335112883400/

Ten Million Naira (#10,000.000.00) awaits anyone with useful information on the whereabouts of the persons in the photo below;

https://www.facebook.com/127243240651077/posts/5109577772417574/

...Also N35bn for NEPZA power station

The Federal Executive Council FEC has approved the establishment of 20 private universities across the country.

The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, disclosed this to State House Correspondents on Wednesday after the week’s virtual FEC meeting, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, at the State House in Abuja.

According to Adamu, the approved universities would get their provisional licenses from the National Universities Commission (NUC), which they will use for the next three years while monitoring and evaluation will go on.

The approved universities are Topfaith University, Mkpatak, Akwa Ibom State; Thomas Adewumi University, Oko-Irese, Kwara State; Maranathan University, Mgbidi, Imo State; Ave Maria University, Piyanko, Nasarawa State; and Al-Istiqama University, Sumaila, Kano State.

Also approved are Mudiame University, Irrua, Edo State; Havilla University, Nde-Ikom, Cross River State; Claretian University of Nigeria, Nekede, Imo State; NOK University, Kachia, Kaduna State; and Karl-Kumm University, Vom, Plateau State.

Others are James Hope University, Lagos, Lagos State; Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria, Kano, Kano State; Capital City University, Kano, Kano State; Ahman Pategi University, Pategi, Kwara State; and University of Offa, Offa, Kwara State.

Others are Mewar University, Masaka, Nasarawa State, Edusoko University, Bida, Niger State, Philomath University, Kuje, Abuja, Khadija University, Majia, Jigawa State and Anan University, Kwall, Plateau State.

Nine of the private universities are located in North Central, three in South South, two in South East, five of them in North West and one in South West.

Meanwhile, the FEC has has approved the sum of N35 billion for the building of power stations by the Nigerian Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA), in the processing zones in Calabar and Kano.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, the contract awarded to Messers Mutual Commitment Nigeria Limited, would be jointly funded by the government and the company that won the award in 25% to 75% plan.

According to him, the contract sum is N35,411,119,159.47 and that the contractor will finance 75 percent of the project, which is in the sum of N26,558,339,337.10 while the NEPZA would finance 25 percent which translate to N8,852,779,792.37.

He said council approved a payback period of 10 years of the contractor’s portion.

Adebayo said on completion after 11 months, the plant will be operated by the contractor for five years during which they will build local capacity that will take over the running of the plant.

“The whole intention of the upgrade of the two zones is to create zones with world class standards. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment is desirous of making Nigeria a manufacturing hub, especially now that we have signed on to the Africa Continental free Trade Area (AFCTA) Agreement.

“So, by putting 24-hour power in the two processing zones, it will make it more attractive to foreign investors to come and set up manufacturing concerns here in Nigeria,” he explained.

Also addressing State House Correspondents after the meeting, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, said council approved the categorization of Aluminum Smelting Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) that is in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, as a power producing and strategic company.

With the approval, Adegbite said the production of aluminum will start in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the Council also approved the sum of N783,521,275 inclusive of 7.5 percent VAT for the award of contract for the procurement of two hydrographic survey boats for the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) by Ministry of Transportation, in Favour of Messers First Index Project and Services Limited.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who briefed on behalf of his colleague, Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, said the contract has six months completion period.

Mohammed, who also briefed on behalf of the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Serika, said “Council approved the contract for the design, supply and installation of PTZ Long Range Tarmac Camera Surveillance system at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

“And also for a mobile surveillance system with remote controlled licensed for sober installed in the back of a Mercedes Benz Splinter Van 524 in favour of Messers Bruce Lee Pro Project, which is exclusive Nigeria and Africa representatives of the original equipment manufacturers Messers Datcom Systems Integrated Limited Posers of Slovenia.

“The total sum of the contract is N1,278,594,250. This is in order to upgrade and provide security and safety for the Nigeria Airport Authority, especially to avoid incidence on the air site and runway,” he said.

https://thenationonlineng.net/fec-approves-establishment-of-20-private-universities/

Former President Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama, former President George W. Bush, former first lady Laura Bush, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrive for the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol for President-elect Joe Biden in Washington, Wednesday, January 20.

Joe Biden will be the new U.S. president Wednesday, with Kamala Harris becoming the first woman to serve as vice president when the two are sworn in at noon in an inauguration that has been scaled down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Absent will be the typical crowd of hundreds of thousands of people stretching from the Capitol down the National Mall. In their place, a sea of 200,000 U.S., state and territorial flags representing those who could not attend.

Biden’s press secretary Jenn Psaki told CNN his inaugural address will be forward looking with little or no mention of his predecessor Donald Trump.

Ahead of taking office, Biden has expressed a message of unity, and in particular the need to come together and face the challenges brought by the pandemic that has killed 400,000 people in the United States and caused economic hardship to many.

“To heal, we must remember. It’s hard sometimes to remember, but that’s how we heal,” Biden said Tuesday as he and Harris led a remembrance event in front of the Lincoln Memorial for those who have died. Some 400 lights were illuminated around the Reflecting Pool.

“It’s important to do that as a nation — that's why we’re here today. From sunset until dusk, let us shine the lights in the darkness along the sacred pool of reflection and remember all who we lost,” Biden said.

He later pledged to “get right to work” after being sworn in, saying, “We don’t have a second to waste when it comes to tackling the crises we face as a nation.” (AP/VOA)

https://www.voanews.com/2020-usa-votes/biden-harris-take-office-new-us-administration-watch-live

The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State, Udo Ekpenyong, is dead.

Mr Ekpenyong died on Monday in Uyo, an official of the Akwa Ibom government who did not want his name mentioned, told PREMIUM TIMES, Tuesday morning.

The official said the chairman died of COVID-19. PREMIUM TIMES is yet to independently verify this information.

Late Mr Ekpenyong, before his election as the state PDP chairman last year was the commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in the state. He was known to be a strong ally of Governor Udom Emmanuel.

Akwa Ibom State lost two other prominent figures recently, a former Chief of Air Staff, Nsikak Edouk who died of renal failure, and a former military governor of the state, Idongesit Nkanga who died of COVID-19.

https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/437285-breaking-akwa-ibom-pdp-chairman-udo-ekpenyong-is-dead.html

The Nigerian Governors Forum on Monday said it will meet on Wednesday to chart a way out of the second wave of the pandemic as schools reopen across the country.

In a statement signed by its spokesman Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, the Governors forum said it was alarmed by the intensity of the second wave of the global pandemic and the country’s “tardy commencement of inoculation”.

Nigeria’s number of new cases has skyrocketed in recent weeks, seeing the nation cross the 100,000-mark for total infections.

On Sunday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control reported 1,444 new cases and 15 deaths.

The NGF meeting will be the first for the Governors in 2021 and will be conducted virtually.

Other matters to be discussed at the meeting include revenue sharing and the water resources bill.


READ THE NGF FULL STATEMENT BELOW:

Press Release Monday 18/01/21

Alarmed by the intensity of the second wave of the Covid19 pandemic, and Nigeria’s tardy commencement of inoculation that is sweeping through countries globally, the 36 governors of the federation may finally come up with a definitive pronouncement, as they will be meeting on Wednesday January 20 to find the way forward for the country.

The meeting which will be the first this year, 2021, by the governors, will as usual, be virtual, in conformity with the Covid19 protocols. It is the 23rd of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum teleconferences. The meeting commences at 2pm prompt but Governors are expected to start logging on from 1pm.

The Governors’ PTF Committee, headed by Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, which is charged with the responsibility of liaising between the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Covid19 and the Governors’ Forum, will brief the Forum on what it needs to know on the vaccines and the way forward.

Governor Okowa is also expected to give a panoramic view of the second wave of the pandemic.

The Chairman of the Forum, and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr John Kayode Fayemi will brief the Forum on his meeting with the President as well as update the Forum on all pending matters that have remained inconclusive, flowing from the previous year’s meetings.

According to the invitation to governors issued by the Director General of the NGF Mr Asishana B Okauru, these matters include ALGON and FAAC deductions, external debts reconciliation (2002-2018), Stamp Duty collections in respect of the governors’ letter to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), and another response to the Ministry of Water Resources regarding the lingering Water Resources Bill among others. All disbursements of funds to states on the three tranches of PAYE will also be tabled.

Governors will also be updated on the States’ Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability program for results (SFTAS) for the preceding year, 2020.

As is customary, if time permits, there will be three presentations; The Water Resources minister will brief Governors on its World Bank Support; a feedback from the Federal Government on the Medium and Long Term National Development Agenda; and enhancing IGR through a harmonized Traffic Management System by Dimensions Information Technology, LLC, a non-governmental actor which is seeking the nod of state governors.

Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo

Head, Media and Public Affairs

Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat
+234(0)9 2920025; (0)9 2920026
+234 (0) 08039567128, +234 08056180060

https://www.channelstv.com/2021/01/18/alarmed-governors-to-meet-over-covid-19-second-wave-as-schools-re-open/

The company says it's 'exploring other escalated enforcement actions.'

Twitter has added new warnings to tweets from Donald Trump amid violence in Washington D.C. At least two tweets from the president now have labels warning of a “risk of violence.”

“This claim of election fraud is disputed, and this Tweet can’t be replied to, retweeted, or liked due to a risk of violence,” the label says. A large pop-up with similar language also appears if you try to retweet the tweet, though quote tweets are still possible.

The company said on its @TwitSafety account that it was “significantly restricting engagement with Tweets labeled under our Civic Integrity Policy due to the risk of violence,” and that it’s “exploring other escalated enforcement actions.”

https://www.engadget.com/twitter-donald-trump-tweets-warnings-violence-214418443.html

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