₦airaland Forum

We will see.

THE Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Atiku Abubakar has responded to Lawal Babachir’s allegation that he rigged the party’s primaries in equal measures and described the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) as somebody who lacks accountability.

Atiku Abubakar also said the former SGF lacks every positive shade of integrity and remains one of the most prominent public officials ever removed from office under the cloud of the infamous grass-cutting contract scandal.

In a statement from the Atiku Media office signed by Phrank Shaibu,
Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication
to the ADC presidential candidate said it has taken note of the lengthy and emotionally charged outburst by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal, following the outcome of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primaries.

Ordinarily, Mr. Lawal’s latest excursion into political fiction would not merit a response. However, having chosen to malign a democratic process, insult thousands of ADC members nationwide, and make grave allegations without presenting a shred of evidence, it has become necessary to set the record straight.

It is perhaps the greatest irony of this entire episode that Mr. Babachir Lawal now seeks to reinvent himself as Nigeria’s newest apostle of integrity, transparency, and democratic virtue. Nigerians may forgive many things, but they seldom forget history. Mr. Lawal is not remembered for any celebrated crusade for accountability. Rather, he remains one of the most prominent public officials ever removed from office under the cloud of the infamous grass-cutting contract scandal.

It is therefore remarkable that a man whose public service career became synonymous with questions of conflict of interest and abuse of office now wishes to lecture Nigerians on electoral integrity.

That one of the most recognizable faces from that era now seeks to occupy the moral high ground is not merely ironic; it is political satire writing itself. Before accusing others of operating a “rigging machine,” Mr. Lawal should first explain why Nigerians should suddenly erase from their memory one of the most embarrassing chapters in the history of public accountability and accept him as the nation’s new custodian of democratic morality.”

The statement continued, “The truth is straightforward. The ADC presidential primaries were conducted across thousands of wards and produced a clear and decisive outcome. What Mr. Lawal has offered Nigerians is not evidence. He has produced no documents, no verifiable facts, no credible witnesses, and no proof whatsoever to support his sensational allegations. Instead, he has served up a familiar cocktail of disappointment, bitterness, conspiracy theories, and personal attacks against a political leader whose national appeal continues to transcend the narrow confines of factional politics.

Even more revealing is the contradiction at the heart of his statement. In one breath, he condemns what he calls electoral manipulation. In the next, he openly admires and celebrates what he describes as President Tinubu’s superior rigging machine.” Nigerians are therefore entitled to ask a simple question: if rigging is indeed an unforgivable crime, why does Mr. Lawal appear almost fascinated by it when he imagines it might serve his preferred political outcome?

One cannot denounce electoral malpractice while simultaneously praising its supposed efficiency elsewhere.

outburst is his resort to ethnic and religious prejudice. Having failed to persuade ADC members to embrace his preferred candidate, he now seeks refuge in the divisive politics of identity. Such rhetoric neither unites Nigeria nor addresses the hardship confronting ordinary citizens. It creates no jobs, lowers no food prices, secures no communities, and offers no pathway out of the national crisis. It merely exposes the desperation of a politician struggling to reconcile himself with political reality.

The inconsistency does not end there. Mr. Lawal has also failed to explain how the very same primary process he now dismisses as fraudulent somehow produced a result he appears perfectly willing to accept in Adamawa State, where his cousin, Omar Suleiman, emerged as the ADC governorship candidate. Nigerians are entitled to ask whether the process was only credible when it favoured his family and only rigged when it produced a presidential candidate he did not support.

If the ADC primaries were truly the sham Mr. Lawal now portrays them to be, intellectual honesty would require him to reject every outcome arising from that exercise, including the emergence of his cousin. Instead, he has chosen the path of selective outrage—embracing results that suit his interests while condemning those that do not. Such behaviour is not driven by principle. It is driven by disappointment.
It is precisely this kind of opportunism that has eroded public confidence in politics and exposed the weakness of his present arguments.”

The statement emphasized that lawal’s attack on Atiku Abubakar’s family is equally unfortunate and entirely irrelevant.

Nigerians understand the difference between family and public office. What concerns ordinary citizens today is not how many children a politician has, but how many children are going to bed hungry. What concerns them is not family size but the crushing economic burden imposed by failed policies. Parents are struggling to pay school fees.
Businesses are collapsing. Entire communities are living under the shadow of insecurity. In many parts of Nigeria today, families now budget for ransom payments with the same seriousness once reserved for school fees. These are the issues that truly matter.

The Nigerian people know Atiku Abubakar. They know his record in public service. They know his achievements in business. They know his commitment to national unity and economic reform. They know he remains one of the few political leaders whose appeal cuts across ethnicity, religion, geography, and social class. That reality explains why his opponents devote so much energy to attacking his person rather than confronting his ideas or challenging his vision for Nigeria.

“What appears to have truly unsettled Mr. Lawal is not the conduct of the primaries but the outcome. Democracy guarantees participation, not victory. One cannot celebrate democracy when it produces a preferred result and suddenly condemn it as rigged when it does not.

As for Mr. Lawal’s decision to retreat to his village farm, we sincerely wish him well. Given his enduring association with the grass-cutting scandal that defined his exit from public office, the farm may indeed be a fitting destination. “There, surrounded by fields in need of trimming, he may finally find the grass-cutting assignment that has become inseparable from his political legacy.

And while tending those fields, he may occasionally encounter a few snakes slithering through the grass — a fitting reminder of that extraordinary era in our national life when Nigerians were asked to believe that reptiles had developed an appetite for public funds. It was a time when accountability seemed to disappear into thin air and absurd explanations competed with reality.
“Perhaps the peace and quiet of rural life will offer Mr. Lawal the opportunity for reflection.

Reflection on how a generation of public officials associated with grass-cutting scandals, snake tales, and vanishing accountability now seeks to present itself as the guardian of democratic virtue. While he revisits those memories, millions of Nigerians will remain focused on identifying leaders capable of confronting economic hardship, insecurity, unemployment, and national decline with serious solutions rather than sensational allegations.”

It continued, “While others manufacture conspiracies, Atiku Abubakar remains focused on solutions. While others traffic in bitterness, he remains committed to national unity. While others dwell on personal grievances and political disappointments, he remains focused on restoring prosperity, security, and opportunity to millions of Nigerians.

The 2027 election will not be decided by tantrums, ethnic dog whistles, recycled grievances, or revisionist history. It will be decided by the Nigerian people. And no amount of post-primary bitterness can alter that reality.”

https://guardian.ng/politics/atiku-blasts-babachir-over-rigging-allegation/

Long oooooooooooooooo, since the time of Thiery Henry, Kanu, I can't even remember their names again, when man was a boy lol 😂, Arsenal was the bride of many Nigerian tnen. I love Arsenal though. Gunners for life

Lukumi people are fond of doing this. She doesn't use the one from her side so they won't betray her. Wow.

Mr Gbenga is that you sir?

Hmmmm all is well with you people

That is a great one. Let each zone develop their zone and let there be healthy competition that is when a country can move forward. Let there be light in Nigeria good God

All is well. I pray the good God grant the family the fortitude to bear loss in Jesus Christ Mighty name. Amen

When will all this killing stop. There is too much of innocent blood spilled in this country.Lord take control over this land please

Oh Africa 🌍... It is well with your soul

AFCON self should respect himself

Gradually we would get there. That is the effect of healthy competition and not the monopoly nature some people want to keep on practicing. God bless Nigeria and Nigerian. Good morning good people of Nairaland, God bless our day. Amen

State of electricity supply is key election campaign issue

Unreliable power grid worsened under President Ramaphosa


South Africa is enjoying a rare streak of uninterrupted electricity right before elections, drawing more suspicion than praise in a nation that’s become accustomed to the daily power cuts that have dragged on for years.

The country is currently in its fourth successive week of no outages — the longest period South Africans have consistently had electricity supply in more than two years.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-03/the-lights-are-on-in-south-africa-and-many-people-are-suspicious?utm_medium=social&utm_source=whatsapp&utm_content=africa

The authorities of the Nigerian Army, on Friday, released Prince Clement Ikolo Ogenerukevwe, the monarch declared wanted over the killing of 17 military personnel in Okuama, Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State.

Spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Onyema Nwachukwu, a Major-General, specifically said although the army has not exonerated anybody regarding the incident, it decided to release the monarch after intervention of highly-placed personalities in the society and a painstaking review.

Daily Trust had reported how the military high command launched manhunt for those suspected to have perpetrated the dastardly act which made residents of Okuama to desert the community.

Shortly after the manhunt, the military declared Arthur Ekpekpo, a professor; Andaowei Dennis Bakriri, Akevwru Daniel Omotegbono (a.k.a Amagbem); and Akata Malawa David, wanted.

Other people declared wanted are Sinclear Oliki, Clement Ikolo Ogenerukevwe, Reuben Baru, and Igoli Ebi, the only woman among the wanted suspects.

After the declaration, the monarch, whom the incident happened in his domain submitted himself to the police, who in turn handed him to the Army.

While handing over him to the Senator representing Delta Central at Army headquarters on Friday, Nwachukwu said the Senator testified to the decent character of the monarch.

https://dailytrust.com/just-in-army-releases-monarch-declared-wanted-over-okuama-killings/

Police officers attached to embattled former Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello.
The order for the withdrawal was contained in a police wireless message obtained by The Nation.

The document with reference number: “CB:4001/DOPS/PMF/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.48/ 34 reads: “IG has ordered the withdrawal of all policemen attached to His Excellency and former Executive Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.

Acknowledge compliance and treat with utmost importance. Please, above, for your information and strict compliance.”

https://thenationonlineng.net/breaking-igp-withdraws-policemen-attached-to-ex-gov-bello/

Dubai International Airport, one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs, remained in disarray Thursday after unprecedented heavy rain led to airliners having to negotiate flooded runways.

While check-ins for Emirates and Flydubai, the airport’s two main operators, had reopened, the airport warned that its Terminal 3 was experiencing high volumes of travelers as airlines tried to handle the backlog from cancellations and delays.

“There is currently a high volume of guests in [the] Terminal 3 check-in area,” it said in a statement on its website. “Passengers should only come to Terminal 3 if they have received a confirmation from their airline regarding their flight departure.”

Agency videos showed large crowds of passengers at the airport, which was recently named as the second busiest worldwide.

Storms swept through the United Arab Emirates and surrounding countries on Tuesday, dumping 250 millimeters (around 10 inches) of precipitation in fewer than 24 hours in some areas – the heaviest rainfall witnessed in the region for 75 years.

The tarmac of Dubai International Airport was left submerged. Videos showed large jets plowing through the rippling water, sending up sprays in their wake. In the airport’s terminals, hundreds of passengers were forced to wait as their flights were canceled or delayed.

Mohit Mehta, from Gurgaon in India, said he had spent more than 30 hours at the airport after trying to catch a morning flight out of Dubai on April 16.

“[The] condition was really bad,” he told CNN. “No one was there to answer the queries. It was all haywire. There [was] a lot of water logging inside the airport. A lot of leakage happening from the roof.”

Mehta added that a shortage of catering options in the airport’s Terminal 1 meant large queues as people sought food and water, which he said was being sold a premium.

“For eating and drinking there was scarcity at the airport.”

On Thursday, some 549 flights in or out of the airport were delayed and 31 canceled, according to airplane tracker site FlightAware. Of those delays, 302 were Emirates flights – 65% of the UAE flag carrier’s services – and 152 were FlyDubai. Hundreds more had been canceled a day earlier.

Emirates issued an apology to affected passengers. Some have taken to social media complaining they had been unable to contact the airline.

“Emirates extends our sincerest apologies to impacted customers who have experienced delays and disruption to their travel plans caused by bad weather and road conditions,” the airline posted on X. “We appreciate how difficult it is for everyone affected.

“While some customers have been able to return home or reach their destination, we are aware that many are still waiting to get on flights. Our teams are working hard to restore our scheduled operations, as well as secure accommodation and other amenities for affected customers at the airport.

“Our primary concern will always be the safety of our customers and crew, and this will never be compromised.”

One X user with the handle Mister Funk replied that they were struggling to contact the airline after being stranded in Amsterdam when their flight to Dubai was canceled.

“We are unable to get a response from you from literally any number in the world, livechat is not responding,” they wrote. “We are stuck in Amsterdam and are in need of help desperately.”

Some 134 million passengers flew through the UAE’s airports last year, including 87 million traveling through Dubai International Airport alone. The UAE is home to approximately 10 million people, and is a hub for five airlines.

Access roads to the airport were also hit as traffic ground to a halt. The rain fell so heavily and quickly that some motorists on some roads in Dubai were forced to abandon their vehicles as the floodwater rose and roads turned into rivers.

The storms were part of a pattern of extreme rainfall events emerging as the planet’s atmosphere warms due to human-driven climate change. A warmer atmosphere is able to soak up more moisture like a towel and then ring it out in the form of flooding rainfall.

The weather conditions were associated with a larger storm system traversing the Arabian Peninsula and moving across the Gulf of Oman. This same system has also brought unusually wet weather to nearby Oman and southeastern Iran.

In Dubai, the rain meant delivery services were unable to function and many residents were unable to leave their homes due to waterlogged streets, which cars and pedestrians couldn’t access. Some residents were seen rowing canoes outside their homes, and one viral video on social media showed residents wake boarding on a flooded street in a residential area.

Other videos from social media showed water rushing through a major shopping mall and inundating the ground floor of homes.

Madiha Khawaja, a tourist visiting from London with her husband and two children, aged two and four, said she felt “helpless” trying to calm her children amid the chaos.

The rain had disrupted building lifts, including in some of Dubai’s tallest skyscrapers. Khawaja said she spent 45 minutes taking the stairs to her 27th floor apartment in the heart of Dubai to find rest and shelter for her toddlers.

The journey was “grueling,” she said, adding that “upon reaching our apartment with hungry and tired kids, we were met with dry taps, no drinking water, no telephone service, no Wi-Fi connection.”

“The kids were hungry, and I as a mother was getting very anxious and upset,” she told CNN.

Clean-up operations

On Thursday, the streets between the soaring skyscrapers of Dubai, were still covered by large pools of water while residents in several neighborhoods remain holed up at home avoiding blocked roads.

Municipal authorities were continuing to use trucks to pump water off the roads and clear debris blocking the streets. The Dubai municipality is also asking residents to send Whatsapp’s to remove the accumulated rainwater.

Sheikh Zayed Road, a main highway connecting the entirety of Dubai has been difficult to access due to cleanups, leaving traffic congestions across the city as some metro stations remained non-operational.

In the nearby emirate of Sharjah, 65 community service patrols were deployed to the areas affected with rain while cleanups continued. Damage from the storm remained visible in different neighborhoods of Abu Dhabi.

Schools will remain closed and federal workers will be working from home until Friday, the government said.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has instructed authorities to “quickly work” on evaluating the country’s infrastructure and direct support to be provided to families impacted. He also ordered the transfer of families affected to safe locations in cooperation with local authorities.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/18/travel/dubai-airport-struggles-to-resume-flights-after-heavy-rains-left-runways-underwater/index.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=whatsappCNN&utm_content=2024-04-18T12:04:51

The United States slapped new sanctions Thursday on 16 people and two entities associated with Iran’s drone program as it looks to punish Tehran for last weekend’s attack on Israel.

But they are also a signal to Israel from the United States and its top allies that countering Iran’s latest aggression doesn’t necessarily require a military response.

In a statement accompanying the announcement of the sanctions, President Joe Biden said the US will “not hesitate” to hold Iran accountable.

Let it be clear to all those who enable or support Iran’s attacks: The United States is committed to Israel’s security. We are committed to the security of our personnel and partners in the region. And we will not hesitate to take all necessary action to hold you accountable,” Biden said.

“We’re using Treasury’s economic tools to degrade and disrupt key aspects of Iran’s malign activity, including its (unmanned aerial vehicle) program and the revenue the regime generates to support its terrorism,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. “We will continue to deploy our sanctions authority to counter Iran with further actions in the days and weeks ahead.”

“Our actions make it harder and costlier at every turn for Iran to continue its destabilizing behavior,” she said.

Over the weekend, Iran launched more than 300 missiles and drones toward Israel in a retaliatory attack for an Israeli airstrike on a diplomatic compound in Damascus that killed senior Iranian military officials. Israel, with the help of the United States and other regional countries, intercepted most of the incoming fire.

After the attack, Biden consulted with fellow Group of 7 leaders to condemn the attack and develop a diplomatic response, including developing new sanctions.

Biden and other leaders have called on Israel to exercise restraint following the weekend attack, hoping to prevent a wider regional conflict. The US and other countries have said the successful interception of the Iranian barrage was ample demonstration of Israel’s military superiority.

Israel, however, has not yet said how it will respond. The country’s war cabinet has met periodically this week without announcing any definitive action.

In a phone call on Saturday evening, Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the US would not participate in offensive action against Iran. Instead, the White House has been clear it intended to take economic action against Tehran as punishment for the unprecedented attack on Israel.

Thursday’s actions will augment what is already one of the most stringent regime of US sanctions. The US has long sought to squeeze Iranian officials and industries as a way to punish the regime for human rights abuses and to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Earlier this week, Yellen did not rule out applying sanctions on Iranian oil exports. Doing so could risk the potential of higher gas prices and of angering China, a top buyer of Iranian oil.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/18/politics/us-sanctions-iran/index.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=whatsappCNN&utm_content=2024-04-18T13:48:35

More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archaeological site in southwest France.

Researchers investigated the unusual position of three female skeletons found in 1985 at the site in the town of Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, and concluded that two of the women probably died from a form of torture known as “incaprettamento,” which involves tying a person’s throat and ankles so that they eventually strangle themselves due to the position of their legs.

The researchers also reviewed skeletons found at other archaeological sites across Europe and identified 20 other probable instances of similar sacrificial killings. The practice may have been relatively widespread in Neolithic, or late Stone Age, Europe, according to the study, published in the journal Science Advances last week.

The third woman found at the site was in a normal burial position and “we don’t know how she died,” Éric Crubézy, one of the paper’s lead authors and a biological anthropologist at Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, told CNN on Tuesday. “But we can say that they put the three women in the grave at the same time.”

The women’s burial place was aligned with the sunrise at summer solstice and sunset at winter solstice, leading the study’s authors to hypothesize that this site acted as somewhere people gathered to mark the turning of the seasons, which may have involved human sacrifices.

“There is always this idea that somebody is dying and that the crops will grow,” Crubézy added, referencing that belief appearing in other cultures such as the Inca practice of human sacrifice in South America.

Crubézy was part of the original team that excavated the site in 1985 but it wasn’t until the break caused by the Covid-19 pandemic that he and his colleagues set about researching other instances of such sacrifices.

By reviewing the existing literature, researchers pinpointed 20 other probable examples of people being sacrificed in the same way over 2,000 years in the Neolithic period. The study said the actual number was probably higher but there was insufficient information about skeletons at other archaeological sites to draw firm conclusions.

“In different parts of Europe, it was the same type of sacrifice,” Crubezy said. “And this sacrifice is very particular because it’s a cruel one … and you have no blood and no people who killed another, the people killed themselves.”

Though it is impossible to prove definitively that the women in the grave at Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux died in situ, their position “stacked atop each other and entwined with fragments of grindstones” implies that they were placed there forcefully and deliberately, “strongly suggesting that their demise likely occurred” in the grave, the study said.

The three skeletons were buried in a grave built in the style of a silo, where grain is typically stored, inside a wooden structure and surrounded by a trench.
The three skeletons were buried in a grave built in the style of a silo, where grain is typically stored, inside a wooden structure and surrounded by a trench. Nicolas Senegas
The study can state with “95% certainty that the three individuals were women,” after precisely measuring various characteristics of the pelvic bone, co-author Ameline Alcouffe, a doctoral student at Paul Sabatier University, told CNN in an email.

At the other sites across Europe, men and children as well as women were also found sacrificed in this way, the study said.

In the future, Crubézy says, the researchers intend to analyze the familial relationship between the three women at Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux and investigate unusual death rites observed in other graves around the site.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/17/europe/european-neolithic-people-ritual-sacrifice-intl-scli-scn/index.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=whatsappCNN&utm_content=2024-04-17T11:16:55

Georgian lawmakers came to blows in parliament on Monday as ruling party legislators looked set to advance a controversial bill on “foreign agents” that has been criticized by Western countries and sparked protests at home.

Footage broadcast on Georgian television showed Mamuka Mdinaradze, leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party’s parliamentary faction and a driving force behind the bill, being punched in the face by opposition MP Aleko Elisashvili while speaking from the despatch box.

The incident prompted a wider brawl between several lawmakers, an occasional occurrence in Georgia’s often raucous parliament. Footage showed Elisashvili being greeted with cheers by protesters outside the parliament building.

Georgian Dream said earlier this month it would reintroduce legislation requiring organizations that accept funds from abroad to register as foreign agents or face fines, 13 months after protests forced it to shelve the plan.

The bill has strained relations with European countries and the United States, who have said they oppose its passage. The European Union, which gave Georgia candidate status in December, has said the move is incompatible with the bloc’s values.

Georgian Dream says it wants the country to join the EU and NATO, even as it has deepened ties with Russia and faced accusations of authoritarianism at home. It says the bill is necessary to combat what it calls “pseudo-liberal values” imposed by foreigners, and to promote transparency.

Georgia’s government said Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze held a meeting on Monday with the EU, British and US ambassadors at which they had discussed the bill.

In a statement, Kobakhidze defended the draft law as promoting accountability, and said it was “not clear” why Western countries opposed it.

Georgian critics have labeled the bill “the Russian law”, comparing it to similar legislation used by the Kremlin to crack down on dissent in Russia.

Russia is widely unpopular in Georgia, due to Moscow’s support for the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia defeated Georgia in a short war in 2008.

Several hundred demonstrators gathered outside the parliament building ahead of a mass protest that civil society organizations have called for Monday evening.

Once approved by members of the legislature’s legal affairs committee, which is controlled by Georgian Dream and its allies, the foreign agent bill can proceed to a first reading in parliament.

Georgia is due to hold elections by October. Opinion polls show that Georgian Dream remains the most popular party, but has lost ground since 2020, when it won a narrow majority.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/15/europe/georgia-punch-parliament-foreign-agent-intl/index.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=whatsappCNN&utm_content=2024-04-15T17:35:20

The infamous white Ford Bronco carrying OJ Simpson in a low-speed chase across Los Angeles after the murders of his ex-wife and her friend may finally be up for sale — with the hope of getting at least $1.5 million.

The 1993 SUV’s three owners – Simpson’s former agent Michael Gilbert and two friends of longtime pal Al Cowlings, who was behind the wheel June 17, 1994 – told Cllct they plan to cash in on the new interest following last week’s death of the disgraced NFL great.

“Before OJ passed, we had always thought this was going to be the year we were going to sell because it’s the 30th anniversary,” Gilbert told the outlet. “Who knows if we are all going to be around for the 35th or the 40th?”

The three owners told Clict that the last offer they received for the Bronco — which has been on loan to the Alcatraz East Crime Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, since 2016 — was $750,000.

But they are now hoping to get at least $1.5 million in a public or private sale, according to the outlet.

The 1993 SUV’s three owners – Simpson’s former agent Michael Gilbert and two friends of longtime pal Al Cowlings, who was behind the wheel June 17, 1994 – told Cllct they plan to cash in on the new interest following last week’s death of the disgraced NFL great.


Nearly 100 million people were glued to TV screens as Simpson hid in the back seat of the Bronco, which Cowlings was driving leisurely along a Southern California interstate while being followed by a convoy of police cars.

Simpson eventually arrived at his Brentwood mansion, where officers negotiated for the former NFL star to surrender in the brutal deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

The Bronco spent 17 years parked in a condominium garage in LA before it went to the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, where it was used to help open a sports museum, according to Clict.

It then made its way to Gilbert’s home.

“My wife didn’t like it there. She wanted her parking spot back,” he told the outlet, so the SUV was eventually moved to Alcatraz East.

In 1996, Cowlings agreed to sell the Bronco for $75,000 to Startifacts, a celebrity memorabilia shop in Las Vegas.

“We found out that the company was going to rent the vehicle to a company in LA called Grave Line Tours that visited famous graves,” Gilbert told ESPN.

“They were going to re-enact the chase with the Bronco and then take people to Nicole [Brown Simpson’s] grave. The trial hadn’t taken place yet, and we didn’t want people thinking anyone associated with O.J. did this,” he added.

Cowlings ultimately sold his Bronco to Gilbert and his two friends.

The iconic SUV only has about 32,000 miles on the odometer.

Simpson, who died of prostate cancer last week, was acquitted on criminal charges that he killed his former wife and pal. He was later found liable in a civil suit and ordered to pay the families $33.5 million in damages.

https://nypost.com/2024/04/15/us-news/ford-bronco-used-in-oj-simpson-chase-up-for-sale/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=whatsapp&utm_campaign=nypost

BREAKING: The federal government has approved Thursday April 11 as an additional public holiday for this year’s Eid-el-Fitr celebration*MINISTRY OF INTERIOR*

*PRESS STATEMENT*

The Federal Government has approved Thursday 11th April, 2024 as an additional public holiday to celebrate this year's Eid -El-Fitr.

The Honourable Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji Ojo, while congratulating the muslim Ummah for a successful completion of a month of spiritual rejuvenation, reiterates President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's (GCFR) firm commitment to providing a safe and prosperous Nigeria for all to thrive.

Signed:
*Dr Aishetu Gogo Ndayako*
*Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior.*

President Joe Biden unveiled a sweeping new plan Monday aimed at erasing or lowering student loan debt for more than 30 million people, the second attempt to offer widespread forgiveness after the Supreme Court blocked the administration’s inaugural program last summer.

The proposal would cancel up to $20,000 in interest for more than 25 million people enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan and other income-driven repayment (IDR) plans—including single borrowers earning $120,000 or less and married borrowers earning $240,000 or less.

Debt would automatically be forgiven for eligible borrowers who have not applied for relief due to “paperwork requirements, bad advice, or other obstacles,” according to a White House press release—including those that took out $12,000 or less and have been in repayment for a decade under the SAVE plan; those enrolled in Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) repayment that have been working for 10 years and have made 120 months of payments; and other routes of forgiveness, such as the closed school discharge plan.

The proposal would also cancel debt for more than 2.5 million borrowers who entered repayment more than 20 years ago, as well as borrowers enrolled in low-financial-value programs and borrowers experiencing hardship making loan payments.

The administration plans to release the proposal, under the federal rule-making process, in the coming months, according to the release, which could be implemented as soon as the fall—but legal challenges are expected.

More than 30 million. That’s the amount of borrowers that would experience relief under this proposal, including forgiving accrued interest for 23 million, canceling the full amount of debt for 4 million and providing at least $5,000 in relief for more than 10 million. The administration has issued $146 billion in forgiveness thus far, according to the release.

Biden is scheduled to speak at Madison Technical Area College’s Truax Campus around 1 pm, where he will deliver remarks about the forgiveness plan, according to multiple outlets. Other key administration officials will also be speaking with borrowers Monday, according to the White House. Vice President Kamala Harris is heading to Philadelphia while Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff is traveling to Phoenix, and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona is going to New York City.

Biden has made student loan forgiveness an administration priority since he took office in 2021. He initially proposed a widespread forgiveness plan in 2022 that would have provided borrowers whose incomes fell below $125,000 with up to $20,000 in relief. Following a series of legal challenges and Republican uproar, the Supreme Court ultimately axed the plan last August. However, the administration has since implemented a number of actions, while working on the new forgiveness program, to provide relief for certain borrowers.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/caileygleeson/2024/04/08/biden-announces-new-mass-student-loan-relief-proposal-for-more-than-30-million-people/?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=forbes&sh=879b1e967c3c

Indian authorities on Thursday arrested the prominent opposition politician Arvind Kejriwal in an alleged corruption case, a move opposition parties claimed was a political maneuver by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi just weeks before the general election.

Law enforcement officials from the Enforcement Directorate, a federal financial crime agency, arrested Kejriwal, who is both the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the chief minister of Delhi, at his house Thursday evening.

The agency is investigating allegations that an alcohol policy implemented by the Delhi government in 2022, which ended its control over the sale of liquor in the capital, gave undue advantages to private retailers, according to Reuters. The policy was subsequently withdrawn. Leaders of his party have said no evidence of wrongdoing has emerged in the investigation, Reuters reported.

Kejriwal’s supporters and members of other opposition parties staged protests outside his house in Delhi, calling the arrest a political move by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad defended the action of the financial crime agency, telling local media that “this is a process of law which is being done with a view to taking appropriate action against corruption. We will only say, let the law take its course.”

The arrest comes just weeks ahead of India’s general election, which AAP will contest as a partner in an alliance formed by 26 opposition political parties.

Speaking to local media, AAP member and Delhi’s Finance Minister Atishi Singh said Kejriwal would remain the chief minister and that “if needed, Arvind Kejriwal will run the government from inside the jail.”

Singh later said on X that the party had asked the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing to quash the arrest.

Kejriwal has a reputation as one of the staunchest critics of the Indian prime minister and the ruling BJP.

“These arrests are being done just before the elections and using the agency is shameful,” the Delhi chief of India’s main opposition Congress party, Arvinder Singh Lovely, said.

Kejriwal’s arrest came hours after the opposition Congress party accused the BJP of using the country’s tax department to “cripple” their finances.

The party claimed their bank accounts had been frozen by the department, leaving them unable to use some $20 million worth of funds.

CNN has reached out to the Enforcement Directorate and to the lawyers of Kejriwal and is yet to hear back.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/21/india/india-arvind-kejriwal-arrest-corruption-allegations-intl/index.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=whatsappCNN&utm_content=2024-03-21T23:45:42&Date=20240321&Profile=CNN

Amazon founder and chairman Jeff Bezos (estimated net worth: $196.3 billion) is once again the second-wealthiest person in the world and wealthiest person in the U.S. as of Thursday, as he and Tesla CEO Elon Musk (estimated net worth: $193.7 billion) continue to go back-and-forth for the title.

March 21: Bezos overtakes Musk—More than $4 billion at times separated Bezos’ and Musk’s net worths Thursday after Bezos’ estimated net worth was up by about $694 million and Musk’s net worth fell by about $1.5 billion, according to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires tracker.

March 20: Musk overtakes Bezos—Musk’s estimated net worth was up by $815 million Wednesday, while Bezos’ net worth fell by about $558 million.

March 19: Bezos overtakes Musk—Bezos’ estimated net worth was up about $1.3 billion Tuesday, while Musk’s fortune had fallen about $1.2 billion.

March 18: Musk overtakes Bezos—Musk’s fortune was up about $5.5 billion Monday, helping him surpass Bezos, whose net worth increased by about $450 million.

March 13: Bezos overtakes Musk—A fall in Tesla stock slid Musk’s fortune down by $4 billion, and Bezos’s net worth grew by about $195 million.

March 8: The pair swapped places in the Forbes Real-Time Billionaire List twice in the same day.

March 6: Bezos briefly overtakes Musk—Tesla stock market woes led Musk to briefly lose his status as the richest person in the U.S. for the first time in more than two years— soon after, Musk took his spot back from Bezos.

Forbes estimates Musk to be worth about $193.8 billion as of Thursday afternoon, and we estimate Bezos to be worth about $196.8 billion. Bezos’ wealth resurgence has prompted the month-long jostle between the Amazon CEO and Musk. Since the beginning of March, the pair has flip-flopped nine times in the wealth rankings. When Musk lost the No. 2 world wealth spot on March 6, it was the first time he wasn’t in the top two of Forbes’ real-time billionaire rankings since Aug. 19, 2021. Bernard Arnault, CEO of the LVMH empire, remains the wealthiest person in the world per Forbes’ list, with an estimated net worth of about $231.5 billion as of Thursday.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/anafaguy/2024/03/21/jeff-bezos-once-again-overtakes-elon-musk-as-richest-us-person-ninth-flip-flop-this-month/?sh=75c2b9b7413b&utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=Forbes

God see her mind and know her intentions.
All glory must be to the God. Hallelujah

Very Good

Congrats Anthony Oluwafemi Joshua Omoluabi for making us proud again.omo Yoruba ni mi o

karma will surly come at the right time and we would all give account of all our deed on earth before our maker.RIP to the departed souls.20/10/20 would be a day we will not forget in Nigeria