₦airaland Forum

hopexter:
Didn't you see the photo or was the person carrying the baby have a face? Talking like blind bat

LegendVibes:
Mr Fani-Kayode shared a photo of the baby but cropped out the face of the person carrying the baby.

Former Super Eagles midfielder , Christian Obodo , has been released after he was abducted by unknown gunmen along Refinery Road, Warri in Delta State on Sunday .

Obodo , 36 , was abducted while buying bananas along the Refinery Road, Police Public Relations Officer , Delta State Command , Onome Onovawakpoyeya , told The PUNCH on sunday .

Obodo , who has 21 caps and four for Nigeria , told Brila FM on Monday that he was locked up in a car trunk for hours and robbed by the abductors.

“ It was really discomforting locked up in a hot car trunk for hours , ” Obodo told Brila FM .

“ The kidnappers were even telling me about how they lost money for placing bets on Nigeria to score in the second half .

“ They didn ’ t hurt me or intimidate me but I can ’ t understand the reason for anyone to want to put me through this sort of thing over again . ”

It’ s the second time the former Udinese midfielder will be kidnapped by gunmen .

He was first abducted on June 9 , 2012 , on his way to church in Effurun , Warri .

But the day after he was taken, police tracked his abductors to Isoko , just outside Warri, where they found Obodo and arrested some suspects.

Ogun State Governor , Dapo Abiodun , on Thursday , declared that adire fabric would become official school uniform in all public schools in the state starting from next term.

The governor also called on the Federal Government to adopt adire as attire for national events.

Abiodun made the call at the official launch of Ogun Adire Digital Market Place at the June 12 Cultural centre , Kuto , Abeokuta.

According to the governor, the gesture is to further promote the rich culture of the nation to the outside world .

He also advocated the making of ceremonial dress from Adire for the nation’ s athletes taking part in International Sporting activities .

He said , “ For us in Ogun State and starting from next term , plans are on to make adire an integral part of school uniform fabric for our public primary and secondary schools .

“ Plans have reached an advanced stage to make Adire an important aspect of everyday life , as all top government functionaries in the State now wear Adire on Fridays , just as plans are underway to make the Adire part of School uniform.

“ It would empower more people and further stimulate the Adire economy .

“ I want to call on all stakeholders in the information , culture , and tourism sectors to partner with us in promoting this national heritage.

“ I want to particularly call on our Honourable Minister of Information and Culture to help promote the Adire at the National level . For example , members of the Federal Executive Council and other top government functionaries can adopt the Adire for National events .

“ Our Foreign Missions could also adopt the Adire fabric as a cultural symbol that will further project our rich culture to the outside world . The same thing could also be done by our Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports by making the ceremonial dress of our athletes from local fabrics such as our Adire.

“ This will go a long way in promoting the local content and give expression to President Muhammadu Buhari ’ s Administration’ s “ produce what we use ” and “ grow what we eat ” policies. ”

LAGOS— SERVING Overseer of the Citadel Global Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare, on Tuesday, expressed optimism that he will succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023, but that his ambition was not a do-or-die affair.
Bakare, who clocks 66 on November 11, also called for the reinvention of a new Nigeria, where selflessness will be the driving force for nation-building.

In a chat with select journalists in Lagos, the cleric said he was not camouflaging to make his ambition look like a vision, adding that he would one day be sworn in as the President of Nigeria.

The cleric was responding to a question on vying for the presidency at 66.

Tunde Bakare said: “There is something called destiny. I am not one to hide under the umbrella of one finger and make ambition look like vision, I do not camouflage.

“It is not a matter of life and death, but you can write it down. As the Lord lives, and as I am given the opportunity, the day will come, like Joe Biden, that I will be the President of Nigeria.”

Bakare, who highlighted the dangers of fake news, called for laws to guide the conduct of social media.

He also stated that the excesses happening in social media, especially through fake news, can stir up trouble in the country.

He said: “There is no free freedom anywhere in the world; there must be freedom with boundary.

“I am not saying curtail them or we can’t use social media in Nigeria. But there is no nation where there are no balances.
“For instance, look at the picture of a drama that was shot somewhere else but was used to say soldiers have killed protesters. Those things can grieve and create troubles.

“But we cannot be draconian; we are not going back to Decree 4. We must do things decently and orderly, listen to the people and formulate laws that will be beneficial to all of us.”

Vanguard reports that Tunde Bakare was the vice-presidential candidate to Buhari in 2011 on the platform of Congress for Progressive Change, CPC.

An activist, Kenechukwu Okeke, has filed a criminal complaint before a Chief Magistrate’s court in Abuja against 50 persons for their alleged roles in the #EndSARS protests that took place last month.

Okeke alleged that during the riot, his properties were destroyed and the defendants who promoted the #EndSARS protests must be brought to justice.

Those listed as defendants include Musician Damini Ogulu aka Burna Boy, David Adeleke popularly known as Davido, Folarin Falana popularly known as Falz; and social media comedians, Debo Adebayo aka Mr Macaroni, and Maryam Akpaokagi aka Taoma.

Other musicians sued include Peter and Paul Okoye, Innocent Idibia aka Tuface, Bankole Wellington popularly known as Banky W, Tiwa Savage, Michael Ajereh aka Don Jazzy and Yemi Alade.

Apart from musicians, others listed as defendants include Senior Pastor, Daystar Christian Centre, Pastor Sam Adeyemi; activist, Aisha Yesufu; ex-Super Eagles legend, Kanu Nwankwo; a former Director-General, Bureau for Public Sector Reform, Dr Joe Abah; journalist, Kiki Mordi, and actors, Yul Edochie and Uche Jombo.

Others are social media influencers – Feyikemi Abudu, Olorunrinu Oduala, Pamilerin Adegoke, Japhet Omojuwa, Ayo Sogunro and Deji Adeyanju were also joined in the suit.

The case was instituted on Monday pursuant to sections 88, 109(a), 110(1)(c) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

In his supporting affidavit, Okeke said the defendants played active roles in the #EndSARS protest which later became violent.

It read in part, “That the 1st to 50th accused persons between the 3rd day of October 2020 and the 28th day of October 2020, using Twitter, an Internet web source with URL https://www.twitter.com within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did conspire amongst themselves to commit misdemeanour, to wit, promoting and acting in such a manner, with intent to assist in the promotion of #EndSARS and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 97(2) of the Penal Code Act, C53 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

“That the 1st to 50th accused persons with intent to carry out some common purpose, assemble in such a manner or being assembled under the composition of #EndSARS as to cause persons in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to fear on reasonable grounds that such assembly needlessly and without any reasonable occasion may provoke other persons tumultuously to disturb the peace.

“Properties belonging to the complaint were egregiously destroyed by some riotous and tumultuous persons instigated and incited by the 1st to 50th accused persons.”

The South-East governors have accused the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, of trying to instigate another civil war in Nigeria.

Ebonyi State governor and the chairman of Southeast Governors Forum, Dave Umahi, made the accusation on Sunday night when he led governors of the south-east to meet with Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State over reports of alleged attacks on Igbo.

Soldiers had been accused of killing residents of Oyigbo, a predominantly Igbo community in Rivers, following a clash between security agents and IPOB, now outlawed by the state.

Umahi, who led the southeast governors and other leaders to Rivers State, said they were in Rivers to ascertain the veracity of the news circulating in the social media over alleged killing of Igbo people living in the state, adding that their findings proved otherwise.

In an opening remark during the visit, Governor Umahi said: “We are here to interact with you. We saw a number of things in the social media about Igbos in Obigbo and as leaders, we put heads together and requested to meet with Governor Wike.

“The first thing we want to do is to ask our people, the Igbo in Rivers State, are the things we are seeing in the social media true? We will want you to address us.”

In response to that, the spokesperson and Eze Ndigbo in Rivers and Bayelsa, Eze Maduagu Ajaele, and Lady Regina Uwakwe noted that the Igbo have been living peacefully in Rivers State as Governor Nyesom Wike has always carried the Igbos along.

“Under the administration of Governor Wike, the Igbo have thrived in the state. Also, the Igbo have contributed to the development of the state in many ways. Most edifices in Portharcourt are owned by the Igbos and other people. Wike has made an Igbo man, Emeka Onowu, a commissioner for two terms now.

“We, therefore, plead with our leaders who have come to know the truth to please advise our people, our Igbo brothers and sisters here in Rivers State to be careful and not to be involved in anything that will constitute an abuse to the hospitality of the host communities.”

In his response, Governor Nyesom Wike said governors of South East and Ohanaeze Ndi-Igbo should not allow criminal folks to defame their reputation and the Igbo ethnic nationality.

“Tell your people, Rivers people will continue to live together with Igbo. Don’t allow your sons tell you lies. Igbo are innovative and hardworking. There can’t be Nigeria without the Igbo. Nobody should take them for granted. But that doesn’t mean you must allow criminals to spoil your name.

“If I hate the Igbo, I won’t appoint your son into my state cabinet two times. But you have to obey rules. Don’t allow criminals to dictate to you”.

Governor Umahi, after listening to Wike’s account of IPOB violence in Oyigbo, resulting in the imposition of curfew in the entire locality, considered it nauseating that IPOB could go to Benue and Rivers States to hoist its flag and claim those territories belong to Igbo, stressing that Igbo leadership was opposed to the stance by IPOB. Umahi warned the Igbo to be watchful of IPOB because the federal government labelled it a terrorist group and was trying to instigate another civil war.

Ndigbo, Umahi noted, cannot support any form of criminality as the Igbo have huge investment in Rivers, urging them to live in the state with respect for the government and people of Rivers State in order to enjoy sustained peaceful business climate.

Governor Umahi also urged the governor of Rivers State to extend his caring hands to civilians in Rivers State whose family members were killed by hoodlums, an attack that occurred as a result of the hijacked #EndSARS protest that occurred recently across the country.

“We must start thinking of home. We like infrastructure, we like good roads, we like development and we don’t need to go slow. Please, bring some of your investments back home. I am urging the Rivers State Governor, as you are taking care of the families of the security agents who were killed during the #EndSARS protest that was hijacked by hoodlums, please, add that of the civilians,” he said.

He further disclosed that the Igbo delegation will be visiting Lagos, Kano and FCT.

Also speaking, the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, said the meeting has reinforced the existing affinity between Igbos and the people of Niger Delta.

He explained that the leadership of the Igbo cannot remain aloof while some misguided few who did not experience the brutal reality of the last civil war continue to fan the embers of disunity.

Former Rivers governor, Dr Peter Odili, while commenting on the occasion, lauded the Igbo leaders for the peace initiative and the visit to Governor Wike, asserting that every governor desires peace to govern and Governor Wike is no exception.

Present at the meeting were the Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu; Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Dr Nkem Okeke; and Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu.

Other dignitaries were: Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Mrs.Ipalibo Harry Banigo; former governor of Rivers, Sir Celestine Omehia; Chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and Amanayanabo of Opobo, King Dandeson Douglas Jaja and National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus.

We’re satisfied with Gov Wike’s assurances — Ikpeazu
Following the visit, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu said southeast governors were satisfied with Wike’s assurances that Igbo people and their investments are safe in Rivers State.

He urged Igbo people to remain law-abiding and go about their businesses without fear and stick to the values of hard work and industry which Ndigbo are known for.

In his words: “This, therefore, becomes an auspicious moment to remind our people of our socio-cultural and economic affiliations with our brothers from Rivers State. Ndigbo must stick to our age-long traditions of hard work, industry and penchant for contributing meaningfully to the development of our host communities.

“It is not in our character to malign and disrupt the peace around the place we strive for our livelihood. Respect the laws of the land and constituted authority.”

MASSOB lauds Igbo govs, leaders for peace efforts
Also commenting on the development, the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, commended the South-East governors and other Igbo leaders for engaging the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, to seek restoration of peace and harmonious relationship among the residents of Obigbo which was under severe attack recently, leaving on it trails loss of several lives and destruction of properties worth hundreds of millions of Naira.

MASSOB, in a statement issued by the Comrade Uchenna Madu, led group, described as “eloquent and bold”, the steps taken by southeast governors and other Igbo leaders “to restore the peaceful and cordial relationship the citizens and residents of Obigbo shared together that was temporary lost recently”.

Signed by the National Director of Information, Comrade Edeson Samuel, MASSOB called for peace in Obigbo and urged peace and harmonious coexistence among brothers, insisting that “we can never allow our enemies to continue in their hypocritical and subtle means of sowing a dangerous seed of discord among brothers.

“Obigbo has been the centre of Igbo civilization and cultural exploits. There is a greater battle of survival ahead of Ndigbo and the rest of the eastern region in Nigeria.

“Our people should know that the Arewa people are busy projecting all kinds of political instabilities and launching a dangerous campaign of calumny against the choice, right and turn of Ndigbo to produce the next president.

“The Arewa leaders (allegedly) instigated and sponsored the violence that erupted during the #EndSARS protest to blackmail the legitimate demand for good governance and restructuring of Nigeria.

“MASSOB encourages the Southeast and South-South governors and their political, traditional, opinion and religious leaders to unite as one family in defence of the eastern region and demand the rightful turn of the eastern region to produce the next president of Nigeria.”

Igbo ‘ll never fight war again — Group
Meantime, the Nigeria Presidential Project, NPP, 2023, a group advocating Nigerian president of Igbo extraction in 2023, has vowed that never again would the Igbo go into “physical war” against Nigeria.

At the inauguration of NPP in Awka yesterday, the chancellor of the group, Dr Walter Oji, recalled the massive loss of lives and property during the 1967 – 1970 civil war, adding that never again would the Igbo engage in such a destructive war.

According to Oji, NPP is a platform with the mandate to midwife the emergence of a president from South East in 2023.

He warned youths against engaging in any activity that could trigger unrest in the country, arguing that development could only thrive in a peaceful atmosphere.

He said: “We must always remember that one who brings ant-infested wood into his house is inviting lizards to visit his home. One does not burn down his house because of rat infestation.

“It is, therefore, necessary to be reminded that any protest that inhibits the right of movement of others is no longer peaceful. And uncontrolled and seemingly indefinite protests do lead to anarchy and breakdown of law and order.

“Killing ourselves and destroying our properties is not the answer. We must start to recognise that electoral malpractice is the root of all problems of corruption and the bad governance we are variously experiencing in this country.

“It is, therefore, time for reason to prevail in order to channel the gains of peaceful protest to genuine reforms through dialogue.

“In 1967, we used our muscles and ended in a war indiscreetly; we cannot make that mistake again.”

Oji argued that a president of South-East extraction was achievable in 2023, explaining that the group had assembled 46 professors that cut across the various ethnic divides to work towards realizing the objective.

He also said four former heads of state and other prominent Nigerians were already in the picture to work towards the actualisation of the project.

He called on political parties to zone their presidential candidates to the South East, stating that failure to do so would attract massive votes against such parties in the area.

“We have assured Nigerians that the South East will provide formidable candidates for the 2023 general elections that will continue to work for the peace and unity of the country.

“We are also calling on those men and women of South-East extraction interested in contesting for the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2023 to commence consultations, aimed at actualising their ambition,” he said.

Vanguard

Tylerblaze9:
luggages way last week yaro boiz broke in carry, carry my mattras, carry my gas cooker if u see d way dem sweep the room for me na cry remain mk I cry...

Nigerian ‘Prophet’ TB Joshua has predicted that there will be a new President in America as the US go into its presidential election on Tuesday.

Joshua shared the ‘prophetic revelation’ regarding the contentious elections scheduled for today, November 3, 2020.

Joshua suggested that President Trump had destroyed his opportunities to return to power with his mouth, adding that Christians would love him to win a second term but that God has another plan.

The cleric said he will reserve what he is seeing “Until the new President is inaugurated.”

“What is happening in the American election is as a result of the power in the tongue,” Joshua stated in his message posted on Facebook.

“The word we speak determines the life we enjoy. The tongue can either work for us or against us – death and life lie in the tongue.

“We Christians would have loved it [the election] to go the way we wanted. But the Bible says it is never proper to base our faith on our improvement after prayer.”

The prophet said, however, that believers “should not worry” but rather derive joy “that the new [US] Supreme Court Judge, Amy Coney Barrett, will be an instrument of check.”

“There is likely going to be pockets of resistance here and there but nothing will change.

“Let me reserve what I am seeing until the inauguration of the new president,” he parabolically concluded, leading to a flurry of comments from viewers as to the precise meaning of his prophetic words.

The US presidential election is set to be a closely fought encounter between the two major candidates – Republican incumbent President Donald Trump and Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden.

Ivory Coast president Alassane Ouattara was reelected to a contested third term, electoral authorities said Tuesday, after a vote marred by deadly unrest and a boycott by the opposition who promised to set up a rival “transitional” government.

The standoff pitches francophone West Africa’s top economy deeper into a crisis that erupted in August when Ouattara said he would run for a third term, angering the opposition who accused him of carrying out an “electoral coup”.

“The President Alassane Ouattara has been elected,” election commission president Ibrahime Coulibaly-Kuibiert said in an early morning broadcast.

He said Ouattara won 94 percent of the vote and that turnout had been 53.9 percent.

The landslide result had been widely expected after two leading opposition leaders called for a boycott of the ballot and a civil disobedience campaign.

Pre-election clashes killed at least 30 and anti-Ouattara protests have stoked fears of a repeat of a crisis a decade ago when 3,000 people died in fighting after then-president Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept defeat by Ouattara.

Hours before the results, the opposition said they would create a transitional government, insisting Ouattara’s mandate was over as he had broken the country’s two-term presidential limit.

Ouattara, a former IMF economist first elected in 2010, says a 2016 reform allowed him to run again.

“The opposition parties and groups announce the creation of a council of national transition,” Pascal Affi N’Guessan told reporters on Monday night. “This council’s mission will be to… create a transitional government within the next few hours.”

He said it would work to hold “a fair, transparent and inclusive presidential election”.

“Keeping Mr Ouattara as head of state could lead to civil war,” he added.

There was no immediate response from the government over the opposition announcement.

Streets in the economic capital Abidjan were mostly deserted late Monday night.

Activists and residents said shots or small detonations were fired outside the homes of two opposition leaders in the city, though no one was injured.

Opposition figures had already rejected Saturday’s ballot and called for a “civilian transition” from Ouattara, provoking a warning from his ruling party against trying to stir up unrest.

N’Guessan said the transitional council would be led by opposition veteran Henri Konan Bedie, 86, a former president and long-term adversary of Ouattara.

The tension over Ivory Coast’s election is another test for a region where Guinea is mired in a post-election dispute of its own, Nigeria is emerging from widespread unrest and Mali has faced a coup.

The Ivorian leader is praised by supporters for bringing infrastructure projects and economic growth after a decade of instability in the world’s top cocoa producer.

But the anger sparked by his third term has revived memories of past Ivorian feuds that were left mostly unreconciled after a 2002 civil war split the country in two.

Deadly clashes before the election mostly involved rallies degenerating into fighting between local ethnic groups allied to the opposition and Dioula communities seen as close to Ouattara, himself a Muslim from the north.

– Election unrest –
Pockets of unrest, vandalised voting material and closed polling stations were reported mostly in opposition strongholds during Saturday’s election.

But rival factions gave conflicting accounts of the extent of the boycott. The government called them isolated.

Residents said four more people had been killed on Sunday in central Toumodi when houses were set ablaze in clashes between neighbouring ethnic communities who back rival political factions.

At least five people died in clashes on Saturday.

An African Union observer mission said on Monday that the election was “generally satisfactory”.

In contrast,a mission from the US watchdog Carter Center said “the overall context and process did not allow for a genuinely competitive election”.

“The process excluded a number of Ivorian political forces and was hampered by an active boycott.”

Ouattara, 78, had said after his second term he planned to make way for a new generation, but the sudden death of his chosen successor prompted him to seek a third term.

He says a constitutional court ruling approved his move, allowing him to reset the country’s two-term presidential limit.

When Ivory Coast emerged from the civil war after 2002, the country was split in two, the north held by rebels and the south by forces of then-president Gbagbo.

Ouattara won a long-postponed election in 2010 although Gbagbo refused to accept defeat and Abidjan became a battleground. French forces eventually intervened to help Ouattara loyalists oust the former president.

Alaafin of Oyo , Oba Lamidi Adeyemi , has said his first 20 years on the throne was rough and full of turbulence .

Oba Adeyemi spoke during a visit to Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi , in his palace on Friday.

The royal father commended Oba Akanbi ’ s courage despite many distractions he faced .

“ I commend Oluwo for his courage , tenacity, and zeal in standing tall despite enormous distractions stage-managed by his few subjects .

“ I had tougher experience in the first 20 years of my reign, very rough and turbulent . It is what Yoruba will call “ Ojumo kan, Ogun kan – one day , one war , ” Alaafin said .

Speaking further , Alaafin also said Iwo town should have been made the capital of Osun State owing to its traditional , political, and religious sagacity .

A statement by Alli Ibraheem , the Chief Press Secretary to Oluwo, further noted that Oba Adeyemi , while responding to a charge by Oba Akanbi on him to unite monarchs in Yorubaland , said “the bridge of peace in Yorubaland was affected through the infiltration into the institution by politicians of the old Oyo Empire .

“ The challenge from every quarter, as it equally comes from Oluwo is a challenge to rise to that occasion and do the much needful without retraction . ”

Speaking earlier , Oba Akanbi lamented the disunity among traditional rulers in Yoruba land.

Oluwo said , “ Yoruba traditional institution is porous, one without unity and lacking the strength to protect and secure Yorubaland .

“ It is disheartening there was no formidable central Council of Obas that will issue a statement of appeal and command , where necessary , most especially as it relates to the recent destruction that accompanied the recent # EndSARS protest in the South -West.

“ Unity is not only our strength but ( it) is also a green light to the security and hope of Yorubaland and her generations . I want to charge and appeal to the respected Alaafin of Oyo to use his traditional paraphernalia and stronghold to bring out an olive branch and unite actors in the council . ”

Osun State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola, has approved the implementation of N30 , 000 minimum wage for workers in Osun State .

He said that the implementation takes effect from November 1 .

The governor made this known in a series of tweets on Friday, adding that the embargo on promotions and conversions has also been lifted with immediate effect .

He said , “ I ’ m delighted to announce that the implementation of the new minimum wage for Osun workers will commence on November 1 , 2020 .

“ This follows the perusal of the recommendations of Government/Labour Committee that we set up to work out the modalities for resolving all workers ’ welfare- related issues .

“ Additionally , we ’ ve lifted the ban on Annual Salary Increment which was done in 2012 . Embargo on promotions & conversions is also lifted with immediate effect . This is in fulfilment our Administration’ s pledge to give the welfare of our workers the deserved attention .

“ I appreciate Labour Leaders and the entire workforce in Osun , who are our allies in the race to deliver stellar services to our people, for their selflessness, understanding , perseverance & love for State .

“ You ’ re the reasons why , in spite of the economic storms , Osun still remains strong & outstanding in the comity of States .

“ We all know that Osun is passing through the valley of economic challenges & we ’ ve proved every inch of the way that we ’ re stronger than the storm . I , therefore , appeal to our workers to recipocrate our gestures by ensuring increased productivity and efficient service delivery . ”

The Canadian Government says it targets receiving 1 . 2 million immigrants from 2021 to 2023 in order to make up for a shortfall caused this year by the pandemic .

Immigration Minister , Marco Mendicino , told a news conference on Friday that the plan calls for accepting 401 , 000 new permanent residents in 2021 ; 411 , 000 in 2022 ; and 421 , 000 in 2023 — an immigration rate equal to about one per cent of Canada ’ s population .

“ The key to both short- term economic recovery and long- term prosperity is immigration , ” Mendicino said , according to AFP.

Canada , one of the top destinations of Nigerians , had expected to bring in 341 , 000 skilled workers , family members of Canadians and refugees this year.

But because of closed borders and visa offices, quarantines and few available international flights , only a fraction came .

“ As with every other aspect of our lives , the pandemic has affected migration to Canada , ” the minister commented.

The new target is about 50 , 000 per year higher than the previous goal .

To help make up the shortfall , Mendicino said the government would offer permanent resident status to temporary foreign workers , international students and asylum claimants already in Canada .

He noted that immigrants have been “ critical” to Canada ’ s pandemic response , representing one in four health care workers in hospitals and elderly care homes . They also account for one - third of business owners in Canada .

“ Whether they’ ve been taking care of our most vulnerable , or putting food on our tables , newcomers have played an outsized role in our response to Covid - 19 , ” he said .