₦airaland Forum

The New Mutants now available on tfp

Plead:
Isnt that the guy who portrayed Lord Baelish in game of thrones?

Yes. That is the knowledge is power chap.

Beorn:
When you visit the cinema

I was at Genesis cinema and they said that they are no longer showing it.

When will Tenet be available for download?

plaindealer:
Your story is unrelated and irrelevant.

This is about one governor giving orders to the police while another governor is whining that he doesn't have powers to control the police.

BTW, Makinde's tweet from his own hands disqualified your post.

You need to educate yourself before you make a mockery of yourself online because you want to be partisan. Even if you are not aware that state governors have limited to no-control over Commissioner's of police in their state, why don't you ask yourself the reason governors have been clamoring for state police? Even Wike has shouted several times about this. He had people forcefully arrested for flouting covid-19 curfew and the police always released the people immediately.
Your refusal to learn from the several people who have tried to help you learn the difference and the underlying political weight between the two tweets shows that you think is heavily influenced by party affiliation.

DexterousOne:
Apart from packing the courts with unqualified people
What other metric did Trump outperform Obama?

Donald Trump terminated the Iranian nuclear and Paris Climate Accords,
Made a peace agreement between Israel and the UAE (and didn’t need to unfreeze150 billion dollars in Iran to do so),
ended US military involvement in Northern Syria,
approved a timeline to remove all troops from Afghanistan, demanded all NATO countries raise their defense contribution to at least 2% of their national GDP, reformed VA healthcare benefits and online access, repealed the Obamacare "individual mandate", stopped the H-1 B replacement of American workers with cheaper foreign labor, Tripled the number of federal human trafficking arrests, killed Iranian general Soleimani who was responsible for thousands of deaths, signed the first step act, acquired record funds for HBCUs, implementing skill based ranking rather than hiring by degrees, advocates for and provides school district waivers, started police reform and is helping congress with the new bills being made, created the Hispanic prosperity initiative, cracked down on Big Pharma making medicine exponentially more affordable, added over 4 million Sustainable (take notes Obama) jobs, reformed Medicare to stop hospitals from overcharging low income seniors, secured $6 billion in new funding to fight the opioid epidemic, signed VA accountability act, increased net exports by up to $59 billion, signed right to try act, deported and arrested hundreds of M813 members, removed shackles and constraints for pregnant inmates giving birth, acquired the highest median household income in American history (AND MORE) in 3.5 years in government. What has Biden done in 59?

FG discards petrol price band, begins full deregulation


The Federal Government is no more going to be releasing guiding price bands for the sale of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, at filling stations.

It disclosed this in Abuja through the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, adding that based on this, the downstream arm of the oil and gas sector had been fully deregulated.

Responding to questions from journalists during a briefing at the headquarters of PPPRA, the agency’s Executive Secretary, Abdulkadir Saidu, stated that going forward, PMS price would be determined by the forces of demand and supply and the international cost of crude oil.

He, however, noted that the role of the agency would be to ensure that oil marketers do not profiteer, as every petrol dealer was, henceforth free to source for product and fix their price.

“This, however, must be in accordance with our code of conduct because as a regulator, it is our duty to protect the consumer and operators must abide by our codes,” Saidu stated.

The PPPRA boss, who was represented by the agency’s General Manager, Administration and Human Resources, Victor Shidok, also confirmed Sunday PUNCH’s report that oil marketers were not currently importing petrol because of the scarcity of foreign exchange.

Details later…


https://punchng.com/breaking-fg-discards-petrol-price-band-begins-full-deregulation/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1599577170

Izanghi:
Mulan is out on mkvhub and on netnaija but the size is high for mkvhub, if you want it you can go there, the imbd rate is 4.0, please when you watch it don't spoil it for us o, keep it to yourself so we can enjoy it when we watch it later, but I hope the film is great o. This one make the film come out today and it's already out, It means Disney will be losing millions or even billions of dollars.

Whoever rated Mulan 4/10 is a crazy bastard
I will give the movie a 7.5/10. A story well retold.

martineverest:
u can't register as a NoN profit organizations and still be buying jets ,building schools with funds.....u can't try that in USA and Europe

You are either ignorant or mischievous. There are many NGOs with private jets in the United States.

babaolofin:
Brother, I am a Christian, what the guy you replied said was right. So many things are wrong with the Christianity we practiced in Nigeria which has now been exported to other African countries.

No offering or money can provoke God .

Because of poverty, many men of God are motivational speakers. Words are stronger than gun. Students have gone on riots after been addressed by their leader because of the words he released into their hearts. It is the words that radicalised a man to become a terrorist.

When 80% or 90% of documented testimonies are based on blessings after a provoking offerings or Church projects seed sowing carefully termed kingdom investment, then that is the wisdom of man to compel men or drive them to give provoking offerings to get the same result which is not possible. This is more than gun.

Paul Yonggi Cho was the mentor & role model of many senior General Overseers in Nigeria and Africa. He was a god to South Koreans until he went to Prison over financial issues. When he was jailed I became sad as I I have many of his books and know very Senior General Overseers in Nigeria and different part of the world visited him to learn from him , but the Church got to a level of awakening and South Korea government have to act.

Your ignorance is as clear as the noonday sun.
Yonggi Cho was never jailed. He never went to prison.

Pastor Cho instructed the church to buy $12 million in stocks privately owned by his eldest son, Cho Hee-jun, at prices four times higher than their market value. The Reverend received a three-year sentence, suspended five years, and was fined $4,200,000. His son was jailed three years.

Your inclination is based on envy. You are accusing them of not holding up to a standard that neither you nor your generation before you have been able to uphold given the same circumstances.

Osun State has been unfortunate with the governance in education. Bisi Akande wanted to convert Osun to an all science school and sacked teachers handling other disciplines. Aregbe Sola brought single uniform and this nonsense.

What is wrong with tfpdl? It keeps open junk pages when you are opening a movie.

heykims:
US lie too much, how on earth would a nation develop a technology it can't control?
US is just blackmailing and it won't work

They are not developing technology that they CANNOT control but something that can operate WITHOUT supervision.

rottennaija:
Why should China be sanctioned? Recent evidence shows the virus originated in USA and many had been infected weeks even months before it was found in China.

When making spurious comments like this ensure that you provide links to the dubious evidence behind your comments before people think that it is real

chloedogie:
That outsourcing is what actually empowered China. It will take years to catch up with them sincerely those guys are far gone.

The only catching up that needs to be done is by China in areas of intellectual content development. If the world moves to artificial intelligence without much emphasis on hardware, China will be turned into a spare part dealer.

chloedogie:
Na so. Do me in America, I do you in China. But truth is after this whole pandemic thing is over, the UN needs to sanction China for this nonsense. That now said, Trump is making the world more divided than united. The sad part of the whole thing is that he is turning the country into a typical naija political system where a new person comes into office and either abolish or destroy everything built or being built by the previous administration.

The sad part is, IF Joe Biden wins the coming election, based on the way Trump downplayed everything Obama did for 8 years, Joe will overturn everything Trump must have done as well. Now instead of them progressing, they will just be stagnant and redundant like what happens in Naija politics. Continuity really matters in governance and slight changes are welcome as well.

And what Trump doesn't know is that China is the dream of America. USA can't catch up with China in terms of production strengths hno matter how much they try to invest in the next 30 years.

With all Trump's gragra, during the height of this coronavirus, they had to rely on India for chloro-quine. Even South Korea came to their aid for the massive production of ordinary face mask. The guy should just calm down and entertain some bits of diplomacy. all this gra gra won't help the country.

The production strength you are referring to is manpower which is irrelevant in today's world. USA basically outsourced manual labour to China. They have focused on the mental work which is what is dominant factor in production. Now attention is shifting towards India with Foxconn planning to invest in building factories there. I am yet to see an original idea come out of China. While both countries are specialist in stealing trade secrets, China has benefited more from it because USA is global Centre for research and development. The reason USA has invested over the years in China is because of the market size, purchasing power and cheap labour. America is China’s dream.

Gbajabiamila tells Akpabio to publish details of lawmakers who got NDDC contracts within 48 hours or face the law


The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has given the minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, 48 hours to publish the full details of lawmakers in the 9th Assembly who got contracts from the Niger Delta Development Commision (NDDC).

The Speaker made the call while reacting to a point of order brought under matters of breach of his privileges by the minority leader, Ndudi Elumelu.

Mr Elumelu urged the house to invite Mr Akpabio to mention those who got contracts from the NDDC.

Mr Akpabio, on Monday, during the continuation of the investigative hearing held to probe the allegations of corruption in the NDDC alleged that contracts of the NDDC are given out to members of the National Assembly.

The revelation unsettled the hall briefly as the acting chairman of the committee, Thomas Ereyitomi, calmed some members who charged at the minister

Reacting to Mr Elumelu’s point of order, the speaker said it was unfortunate that journalists help him in amplifying “what we all know is untrue.”

“I’ve never once collected contracts from the NDDC and I know I can speak for many other members,” Mr Gbajabiamila said.

“I hereby call on the minister to within 24-48 hours to publish the names, contracts, date and unveil the companies of the 60 per cent projects that were given to the National Assembly.”

He said failure to do so would leave the house with no other option than to bring the full wrath of the law.


“The minister owes it to himself, commitee, Niger delta and the people of Nigeria to publish details of those who have been given contracts,” the speaker said.


https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/404236-breaking-gbajabiamila-tells-akpabio-to-publish-details-of-lawmakers-who-got-nddc-contracts-within-48-hours-or-face-the-law.html?fbclid=IwAR0xyJDk1nXA9fKf60Gxd6YMz4643Be2ouwbjgL2fTMHidnYLaPD-HOUBgU

Kobojunkie:
Do you obey God with your Tithe? This is what God said you should do with your Tithe ... Have you ever done exactly what God commanded you to do with your tithe, ever?

Below is the tithing law as defined in the Old Covenant... This is the law.... all pieced together, and the word of God commanding you to obey His commandment. Tell us what aspect you have obeyed in your years as a tither


This is what God told you to do with the Tithe He commanded of you.





Remember what God said about His commandment and what blessings and curses come to those who obey OR disobey His commandments as Stipulated.



Abeg make people hear word o'jare~!

Take it easy. No be fight.

sajmark:
guys is the Mulan by Disney out yet?

Not yet.

COVID-19 claims 42 per cent of Nigerian jobs, says NBS


Lagos may shut churches, mosques over face mask compliance

Aso Villa mosque re-opens

Ondo threatens another lockdown if cases increase


With the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic still unraveling, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says 42 per cent of Nigerian employees have lost their jobs on account of the disease.

The bureau, in a report just published, said the economic shock imposed on Nigerians by the pandemic exceeds whatever they may have experienced between 2017 and 2018.

The states are pressing ahead with their relaxation of the coronavirus induced lockdown.

In Lagos State, the government warned yesterday that any church or mosque that admits worshippers without face masks once they reopen would be shut down.

Mosques are to reopen on Friday, June 19, to be followed by the churches on Sunday, June 21.

The Aso Villa mosques reopened yesterday with President Muhammadu Buhari and other worshippers observing social distancing.

But the Ondo State Government threatened that it might return to lockdown if Covid-19 infections continued to increase.

The NBS, in a report entitled “COVID -19 Impact Monitoring May 2019”, said coronavirus impact on employment and income had been widespread.

It said: “42 per cent of respondents who were working before the outbreak reported that they were not currently working due to COVID-19.”

It said the impact of COVID-19 “has been most strongly felt in the commerce, service, and agriculture sectors. 79% of respondents reported that their households total income have decreased since mid-March.”

NBS said some households struggled to purchase staple foods like yam, rice and beans during the seven days prior to the interview with 35-59 per cent of households who need to purchase these staple foods reporting that they were not able to buy them. 26 per cent of households reported not being able to access medical treatment when they needed it during the same period.

The report showed that many households have struggled to cope with these widespread shocks with 51 per cent of all households resorting to reducing food consumption.

The pandemic, according to NBS, has also affected children education.

Among households with children attending school prior to their nationwide closure in March, only 62 per cent reported that their children had engaged in any learning/educational activities since the closure.

Govt: how we’ll enforce compliance in Lagos worship places

Shedding light yesterday on the planned reopening of places of worship in Lagos State, the Director General of Lagos State Safety Commission, Lanre Mojola, said officials would be deployed to strictly enforce all the guidelines and protocols announced by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Mojola said parents are prohibited from taking their infants to religious gatherings.

Violation of the directive will attract sanctions against such parents, he said.

According to him, government expects that in families with infants, one of the parents would stay home to offer care while the other could attend church or mosque service.

Worshipers are required to observe the standard two-metre social distancing protocol from each other while seated in the church or mosque.

“While all event centres remain shut until further notice, those used for religious gatherings, could however open but strictly for that purpose and must observe all the protocols,” Mojola said.

The DG said that over a thousand applications had been received by government from owners and operators of all events, gyms and other social places for the resumption of business.

Sanwo-Olu himself went on Twitter yesterday to say that “Sharing of kettles during ablution is strictly prohibited.

“The decision to proceed, restrict, modify, postpone or cancel a worship service after a thorough risk assessment solely lies with the state government.

“All places of worship must nominate a person who would liaise with the state government to obtain a safety clearance for their premises.

“Crowd capacity must be limited to no more than 40 per cent of the approved occupying limits of religious centres by the state government with a maximum limit of 500 people irrespective of the size of the religious centre.

“We strongly advice members of the congregation to avoid food offerings (communion) when it is being shared from common dishes.”

The Aso Rock Mosque re-opened for prayers yesterday with President Muhammadu Buhari and top government officials in attendance.

All worshippers were thoroughly screened before entry.

Each of them wore a mask and sanitized his hands.

Social distancing was also strictly observed in line with guidelines on public gathering.

Ondo threatens another lockdown if cases increase

The Ondo State Government said yesterday that it might be forced to lock down the state afresh if the rate of COVID-19 infection kept rising.

The state has recorded four deaths and discharged 21 patients while eight others are currently receiving treatment at the Infectious Disease Hospital.

Over160 persons suspected of coming in contact with three new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state are currently being searched for.

Senior Special Assistant to Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, on Special Duties and Strategy, Dr Doyin Odebowale, dropped hint of a fresh lockdown yesterday while monitoring jumat services in Owo.

Social distancing was not thoroughly observed in some of the mosques, although worshippers without nose masks were denied entry.

Dr. Odebowale said the state government was not happy with the rising cases of COVID-19 infection in the state.

He said the COVID-19 Committee would meet with Muslim leaders to enlighten them more on the need to observe COVID-19 protocols.

He said: “We have been engaging the leadership and we hope there will be an engagement.

There was not much so distancing and we are not satisfied.

“We will get in touch with the leadership. We are getting more cases and we are not happy. We don’t want a situation where the government may lock down the state again. If it continues, the government will lock down the state.”

State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Wahab Adegbenro, said the compliance level was about 60 per cent.

Dr. Adegbenro urged individuals to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Kogi lifts shutdown in Kabba/Bunu

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State yesterday lifted the absolute lockdown placed on Kabba/Bunu communities over suspected Covid19 infection in some communities in the area.

The governor‘s action came three days into the contact tracing and testing of people in the communities started.

The governor said the purpose of the lockdown in those communities had been accomplished and there was no need to exhaust the initial 14 days lockdown declared on Monday.

Governor Bello claimed that the state remained Covid-19 free.

He accused the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) of playing politics with the pandemic in Nigeria.

His words: “We have collated many samples during the lockdown and they all returned negative. We have sent all the samples to NCDC for further claims.

“Exercise was concluded within three days. We have faced Lassa and yellow fevers outbreak in the past and we have curtailed them successfully without making noise about it.

“The mission of locking down the Kabba/Bunu area is already accomplished. I, therefore, lift the lockdown immediately.

”Kabba people should come out and do their lawful businesses.

“I appreciate everyone involved as there was no single history of molestation from the law enforcement agencies during the period of lockdown.

”We have been vindicated by this latest development that Kogi remained Covid-19 free.

“We have no issue to join with NCDC; we only enjoined them to be professional and respect their own rule of engagement.

“You cannot allocate a figure of test not carried out in the state for the state. The NCDC should tell us their political angle so that we can face them politically. They should not politicise everything.”

Osun relaxes curfew, orders civil servants to resume

Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State has also announced the relaxation of the curfew in the state to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Oyetola in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Ismail Omipidan, in Osogbo yesterday directed civil servants on grade level seven and above to resume work from within normal office hours.

Departmental heads are to work out alternate working hours for staff on grade levels One to Six.

Oyetola said residents will now stay indoors from 9pm to 5am daily as against the former period of 6 pm to 6 am .The governor said that the curfew relaxation will last for 14 days in the first instance.

The ban on political, public, religious, and any kind of gatherings under whatever guise remains in force.

All major markets in the state also remain shut, while smaller markets will be opened.

The governor said that traders in smaller markets must ensure physical distancing, use face masks, and observe all other precautionary measures following the established protocols of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC

Opening of worship centres in Ogun begins June 19 — Gov Abiodun

Governor Dapo Abiodun yesterday disclosed that the lifting of restrictions on religious and worship centres in Ogun State will commence tentatively on June 19.

Abiodun said that a sub-committee, inclusive of religious leaders, has been mandated to first review all the submissions earlier made on when to lift the restrictions before the final decision is taken by the government.

The Governor, who made this known in Oke-Mosan Governor’s Office while addressing the state on the efforts being made by his administration to tackle the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state, said the sub-committee was expected to harmonise all views and arrive at a composite framework or guidelines for final adoption on or before Friday, June 12, 2020.

He noted that the guidelines would be unveiled to the public ahead of time to pave way for the gradual opening of religious activities, tentatively on Friday, 19th June, 2020.

According to him, this is subject to the review of preparedness by our churches and mosques to the new normal on opening of worship centres.

He explained that a taskforce comprising religious leaders, government and security agencies will also be established to monitor and ensure compliance with the agreed guidelines for religious activities.

Abiodun warned that any place of worship that violates the guidelines will be closed as the guidelines will be reviewed at regular intervals based on developments, including expert opinions and data from the field.


https://thenationonlineng.net/covid-19-claims-42-per-cent-of-nigerian-jobs-says-nbs/

Olonisakinibile:
Thanks

Does all the functions on this Gcam work well? I have installed several and notice that one function or the other would not work. The Portrait in the present one I use does not work.

izzy4shizzy:
very true, a plane crashed in a residential area in India due to two failed engines as a result of been grounded for too long

Not true.

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/pakistan-plane-crash-pilot-of-crashed-pia-plane-ignored-warnings-thrice-says-report-2234664

The pilot of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)'s crashed plane ignored three warnings from the air traffic controllers about the aircraft's altitude and speed before the landing, saying he was satisfied and would handle the situation, according to a report on Monday.

According to a report prepared by the country's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the plane''s engines had scraped the runway thrice on the pilot''s first attempt to land, causing friction and sparks recorded by the experts.

When the aircraft scraped the ground on the first failed attempt at landing, the engine's oil tank and fuel pump may have been damaged and started to leak, preventing the pilot from achieving the required thrust and speed to raise the aircraft to safety, the report said.

ladykilllar:
I recently got a note 8 pro and after trying about 2-3 Gcam apps, I had to settle for hypercam.

This Hypercam is actually cool for selfies

If you see a working gcam i don't mind

The stock camera is wonderful too i won't lie

https://f.celsoazevedo.com/file/cfiles/gcm1/HyperCam-RaizenA-10-OPZ_RN8P.apk

Gcam is built on snapdragon. Note 8 pro came with MediaTek processor. The ones available now have been re-engineered for MediaTek but it is not stable yet.

After living in denial, NBS confirms Nigeria’s poverty capital status

Finally, the chickens have come home to roost for the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government in its continual denial that Nigeria is not the Poverty Capital of the World by international rating agencies. Its own agency, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has finally confirmed what has become all too obvious to many since the Buhari administration took office in 2015: that Nigerians have been regressing deeper and deeper into unrelenting poverty due to poor economic management and sheer ineptitude.

In its poverty and inequality report from September 2018 to October 2019 released last Monday, NBS said 40 per cent of Nigerians live below its poverty line of N137,430 ($381.75) per year. This represents 82.9 million people out of a population of about 200 million. The United Nations estimates that Nigeria will have a population of 400 million people by 2050. With the rapid population outstripping economic growth, this appears dire for the country.

“In Nigeria, 40.1 per cent of the total population was classified as poor,” NBS said. “In other words, on average four out of 10 individuals in Nigeria has real per capita expenditures below N137,430 ($352) per year.”


The statistics office said 52 per cent of people in rural areas live in extreme poverty, compared with 18 per cent in urban parts of the country, also noting that the highest poverty levels were in the northwest state of Sokoto, where 87.7 per cent of people live under the poverty line compared with 4.5 per cent in commercial hub Lagos State, which had the lowest rate.

Last September the Statistician-General of the Federation, Mr. Yemi Kale, indicated the need to carry out a survey to measure poverty and inequality in the country so as to serve “as a major source of data for the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda for tracking Nigeria’s attainment or otherwise, of the Sustainable Development Goals. The subject of poverty is very critical to a developing country like Nigeria. Most, if not all of the government effort is geared towards ensuring that citizens are able to attain a decent standard of living.

“We will be failing in our mandate if we are not providing the public, government and policymakers with useful and reliable statistics to deploy in designing and implementing poverty-alleviating interventions and programmes across the country.”


A report by The World Poverty Clock since 2018 showed Nigeria overtook India as the country with the most extreme poor people in the world. It has since been regressing farther down without respite as Buhari and his economic managers progressively fail to stem the slide. India has a population seven times larger than Nigeria’s.

The struggle to lift more citizens out of extreme poverty is an indictment on successive Nigerian governments, including the current one, which has mismanaged the country’s vast oil riches through incompetence and corruption. Nigeria has extreme poverty population as at June 2018 and this grim outlook has persisted without respite through 2019 to 2020.

Coming now as it does when the world is fighting coronavirus is telling for its projection for the future and the planning that should happen. But is Nigeria and Nigerians capable of planning for the future? Would this coronavirus pandemic inject that missing developmental mental attitude on Nigerians and those who lead them to begin serious reengineering of the country’s broken infrastructure and what must be done to lift millions out of poverty? Is Nigeria’s inept leadership sufficiently challenged to do the needful to take so many Nigerians out of poverty?


Last August President Buhari stated his administration’s resolve to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty. But the president said his bold plan would not be realized until 2023, the same year he would leave the office. Such declaration sounded the alarm bells to many discerning Nigerians who felt perhaps that Buhari thought he was still on the campaign podium and needed to make promises to garner votes.

Stranger still is the fact that Buhari would wait till after his first term in office before he could begin to lay the foundation for reducing poverty in the country. This is in spite of it being clear that his coming to office coincided with the rapid slide in the economy and his inability to halt it. Nigeria slipped in recession barely a year after Buhari took office in 2016, which it managed to exit a little over two years later. But now with coronavirus, the situation seems dire.

According to Buhari, “Our administration’s eight years will have laid the grounds for lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years. This outcome will fundamentally shift Nigeria’s trajectory and place us among the world’s great nations. I am aware of the Official Statistics that approximately 54 per cent of Nigerians live below the poverty line as defined by the World Bank. It is pertinent to state that reducing extreme poverty and hunger is one of the cardinal objectives of our administration.


“It is for this reason that in May this year, we committed ourselves to lift approximately 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within a 10-year period. This is a national development priority and in line with the aspirations of the SDGs. We have since established an ambitious National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) targeting the poor and vulnerable members of the Nigerian population.”

Professor of political economy, Pat Utomi, noted that Nigeria’s economy started nose-diving long before COVID-19 came on the scene, when he said, “You did not need to possess the gift of prophecy or genius to predict the Nigerian economy was bound for where it is now. We got due notice but continued down the path like a group of drunk sailors largely because the political class lacks the personal discipline, organizational skill and moral stock and perhaps the know-how and know-why to step away from a debilitating narcissism to contemplate reality. The desire for legal and sometimes illegal plunder seems to precede reason and good judgment in public choice.”

Buhari has hinged his planned economic reboot on investment in agriculture. Here, he would seem to be on the same wave-length with Utomi, who also believes agriculture and its value chain could offer Nigeria and Nigerians a way out of its current economic quagmire and so lift millions of citizens out extreme of poverty that poor governance ethos has sunk them. Utomi further advises on changing Nigeria’s rent economic narrative for a productive one as the way out of the economic and poverty woods.


According to him, “To begin again, more effectively, requires that we recognise that a few things we do, and positions we take, ostensibly in pursuit of our self-interest, actually negate those interests. The prebendal culture of sharing the national cake instead of building a passion for producing has truly been our ruin. A strategy for how we produce our way out of misery and make the great escape from poverty, for all of our people, must be central to our new mindset.

“It should begin with identifying the ‘Factor Endowments’ on which we want to erect global value chains we can dominate, based on our latent comparative advantage.

“For me, that means broadening competitiveness of agricultural production generally, with specific emphasis on select produce like cassava, sesame seeds, plantain, corn, rice, gum arabic and sorghum for processing in agric/industrial towns for food security and exports for industrial uses. So, the cassava value chain will take us from garri to various snacks and the topmost quality industrial starch and ethanol.”

A good governance programme coordinator for Oxfam in Nigeria, Celestine Okwudili Odu, is worried, just like most disenfranchised Nigerians are, that corruption and skewed economic and political structures are the banes of Nigeria’s development and why poverty will remain a major problem for a long time unless steps are taken to reverse the trend. He also stated that including women in development efforts is a sure way towards bridging the country’s poverty and inequality gaps.

According to Odu, “The government must build a new political and economic system that works for everyone, and not just a fortunate few. The government can make a start by tackling corruption, investing in vital public services, and protecting the rights of women.”

https://guardian.ng/politics/after-living-in-denial-nbs-confirms-nigerias-poverty-capital-status/

This is a new one.

valentineuwakwe:
my dear he owe them an explanation to either accept to be part of it or not,mots a meeting called by the head of the school.of you are not going to be a part of it, you signal it there and let them know your stand.keeping mute signals your agreement with them. so on the d day you reneged on the agreement of yes which you agreed earlier in the staff room by keeping mute...well the end justifies it all.

If they chose to propose deals that they know will not seat well with him, then they had it coming. If they feel want answers to their questions then they should chose their questions well and who they ask. It is the sense of being entitled to an answer because of their exalted position that gave them a false sense of expectation. He does not owe them anything other than what was expected by both parties when he began working with them.

valentineuwakwe:
why didn't you objected to it at the meeting, yet you kept mute til the exam day to show case what your religion has taught you....

There is the need to exercise wisdom in handling cases like this. You do it on your own terms. It is their choice to be dubious and it is his choice to respond whichever way it pleases him. He does not owe them any response.

Nigerians React As Ghana Lifts Lockdown Despite Recording Over 1000 COVID-19 Cases


Ghana has an estimated population of 31,072,940 people. So far, Coronavirus has claimed 9 lives while over 60,000 people have been tested.



I have taken the decision to lift the three-week-old restriction on movements in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area and Kasoa, and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area and its contiguous districts, with effect from 1 am on Monday, 20th April. In effect, tomorrow (today) will see the partial lockdown in Accra and Kumasi being lifted,” the President said in a televised address.

The President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, has lifted the partial lockdown of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area and other districts, SaharaReporters has learnt.

In a televised address on Sunday night, Akufo-Addo maintained that the partial lockdown would take effect from “1:00 am Monday, April 2020.”

All public gatherings, however, remain banned in the West African country.

The President said, “In view of our ability to undertake aggressive contact tracing of infected persons, the enhancement of our capacity to test, the expansion in the numbers of our treatment and isolation centres, our better understanding of the dynamism of the virus, the ramping up of our domestic capacity to produce our own personal protective equipment, sanitisers and medicines, the modest successes chalked at containing the spread of the virus in Accra and Kumasi, and the severe impact on the poor and vulnerable, I have taken the decision to lift the three-week-old restriction on movements in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area and Kasoa, and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area and its contiguous districts, with effect from 1 am on Monday, 20th April."

The announcement has attracted mixed reactions from Ghanaians because the country has recorded over 1024 COVID-19 cases. Ghana has an estimated population of 31,072,940 people. So far, Coronavirus has claimed 9 lives while over 60,000 people have been tested.

Many Nigerians have also reacted to the announcement, expressing concerns that the move could worsen the situation in the country.

A Nigerian, identified as Abdulfatai Muhammed, wrote on Twitter, “I don't think it is a good idea, considering the data you presented before us. I pray God does not allow what Melinda Gates said about Africa to come to pass. But I fear for us in Africa if we rush to call off the stay-at-home order, without bringing down the figure to the barest.”

Another Nigerian, identified as @waju2605, said, “He (President) probably did this because of the numbers of tests done compared to the population size. Sure, he has some ‘post-lockdown’ measures too.”

Amy Duru wrote, “At least they’ve tested 60,000. We (Nigeria) have a long way to go, especially with the unrest and failure to observe the lockdown in Nigeria. So, we can’t even begin to compare Ghana and Nigeria.”

A Nigerian, identified as Babatunde, wrote, “Ecuador situation is ‘loading’ in Ghana with this unnecessary lifting of lockdown. Our (Nigerian) government should just make our border remain closed.”

Another Nigerian, @BoluOA, wrote, “It doesn't sound like a great plan. I hope they do not experience a second wave.”


http://saharareporters.com/2020/04/20/nigerians-react-ghana-lifts-lockdown-despite-recording-over-1000-covid-19-cases

Sheikh Gumi died in Germany. Do you know how many days it was from the time he died to when he was buried in Kaduna with President IBB in attendance?

Justiceleague1:
Am I the only one who haven't and just don't wanna see Black Panther!?

Same way I can never see X-Men, especially that rubbish Wolverine

On behalf of those of us who understand the significance of the two great movies we are not bothered. We know that the movies are beyond the realm that some people can relate to.

How Chinese Company, CCECC, Safeguarded Investment In Nigeria By Importing 15 Doctors From China To Support Coronavirus Fight


Against widespread belief that the medical practitioners were dispatched to Nigeria by the Chinese Government to help with technical support in the creation of testing centres and molecular facilities, SaharaReporters can confirm that the 15 persons were shipped into the country by and through the singular efforts of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.


Facts have emerged on how 15 medical doctors, who arrived Nigeria on Wednesday from China, actually found their ways into the country.

Against widespread belief that the medical practitioners were dispatched to Nigeria by the Chinese Government to help with technical support in the creation of testing centres and molecular facilities, SaharaReporters can confirm that the 15 persons were shipped into the country by and through the singular efforts of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.

This move by the construction firm, according to findings by SaharaReporters, was to properly cement its place in the Nigerian system where a lot of contracts had been awarded to it by government.

Due to its involvement in some activities with government officials, which led to scandals, CCECC, by bringing in the 15 doctors, is desperately trying to save face especially after eyebrows were raised over its operation in Nigeria.

Despite protests from some Nigerians and local health groups, government sanctioned the arrival of the Chinese medical workers and supplies all in a bid to maintain its close links to the construction company that has extended ‘great hand of fellowship’ to top public officials over recent years.

In a letter confirming that it in fact brought in the doctors and medical supplies on its own accord, Micheal Jiang, MD of CCECC in Nigeria, said the move was the company’s way of supporting the country’s fight against the COVID-19.

The letter reads, “With the backing of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and People’s Republic of China, China Railway Construction Corporation, through its subsidiary, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, is supporting Nigeria in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic that is adversely affecting livelihoods and economies across the world by making available necessary medical equipment and health consumables.

“Assisted by the Nigerian Government, CCECC is delivering amongst others around 16-tons of test kits, ventilators, disinfection machine, disposable medical masks, N95 masks, medicines, rubber gloves, protective gowns, goggles, face shields, infra-red thermometers and other critical care items.

“These items required by the Nigerian Government will be handed over by CCECC to relevant authorities.

“Considering its large number of employees in Nigeria, CCECC at its own cost, dispatch a 15-member working team from CRCC, 12 of whom are experienced medical professionals with expertise in infectious disease, respiratory illness, intensive care, cardiology, neurology, general surgery and anesthesiology. Members of the team also have relevant experience in the prevention and diagnosis of the COVID-19.

“They will also provide CCECC employees with critical and necessary healthcare assistance where necessary.

“In addition, the team may also share with Nigerian medical teams effective methods on how to contain the COVID-19 and provide advice on the use of relevant medical equipment.”

But SaharaReporters gathered that the move by CCECC was to save face and continue to get patronage from the Nigeria especially after it was blacklisted by the World Bank over alleged fraud and corruption in 2019.

CCECC together with five other Chinese companies was accused of violating the global bank’s procurement guidelines and declared ineligible of receiving any World Bank contracts between June 4, 2019 and March 3, 2020.

Before then in July 2018, CCECC had been involved in a scholarships scandal it offered to some Nigerians to study Railway Engineering in China.

Rather than being offered to normal Nigerian undergraduates, the scholarship was hijacked by senior government officials, who shared the slots among their children and relatives.

Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, was accused of manipulating the scheme while the Nigerian Government was lambasted for accepting favours from a contractor.

Though the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission waded into the matter, not a few persons have been punished for that shameful act till date.

However, despite these scandals that has trailed the Chinese company in recent times, documents seen by SaharaReporters showed that CCECC remains popular among Nigerian Government officials and has continued to enjoy huge patronage by way of contract awards.

For instance, some of the projects the Chinese construction firm is handling in Nigeria include a $600m construction of four international airport terminals.

The company is also building the Lagos-Kano (with another line from Kaduna to Abuja), Lagos-Calabar rail and Port Harcourt-Maiduguri rail, whose costs are put at $9bn, $11bn and $15bn respectively.

Also the 156km Lagos-Ibadan railway stretch was awarded initially at $1.5bn to CCECC in 2016 by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

Additional $500m was later approved by the Federal Government for the procurement of locomotives and other rolling stocks for the new line.

CCECC later won the $6.68bn contract for the Ibadan-Kaduna stretch, which consists of four segments and the project could take two to three years to complete depending on budget, according to Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.

The CCECC also handled the construction of the 187km Abuja–Kaduna segment costing $876m.

The new line, Nigeria’s first high speed rail, was inaugurated in July 2016 by President Buhari.

In September 2016, the company announced that it had won a $1.8bn contract to construct the Kano city light rail with a total length of 74.3km.

“Offering the 15 doctors from China and the medical supplies to help Nigeria’s Coronavirus fight is a smart move by CCECC to protect their investment in the country,” a top Ministry of Works official told SaharaReporters on Friday.

“There are facing a lot of competition in the scheming to handle major construction projects in Nigeria and if they don’t make the people in government happy, they know they will lose out.

“The Chinese firm don’t want this to happen and that is why they have gone all the way to foot the cost of the arrival of the 15 doctors and medical supplies,” the official added.

Before the emergence of CCECC in the Nigerian space, construction giants like Julius Berger and G Cappa, an Italian firm, used to be the darling of government officials.

These public officials usually enjoyed certain ‘kind gestures’ from the firms like free medical trips to Germany and even paid luxury holidays in choice destinations.

Though both companies are still around, CCECC appears to have found its way to the deepest parts of the hearts of top government officials in Nigeria with its many ‘corporate social responsibility’ gestures.



http://saharareporters.com/2020/04/10/how-chinese-company-ccecc-safeguarded-investment-nigeria-importing-15-doctors-china