Emmanuel onwa's Blog

NCDC has just announced 307 new cases of #COVID19; Lagos continues to be the most hit state as it stands now with 188 cases. Lagos-188, FCT-44, Ogun-19, Kaduna-14 Oyo-12, Bayelsa-9, Gombe-5, Kano-3 Delta-3, Imo-2, Rivers-2, Niger-2, Bauchi-2 Plateau-1, Kwara-1 10162 cases of #COVID19Nigeria Discharged: 3007 Deaths: 287 From it's verified Twitter handle: A breakdown of cases by state :

South Africans will be able to buy alcohol from Monday for the first time in two months, as the government eases one of the toughest lockdowns in the world. The alcohol ban was introduced to enable the police and hospitals to better focus on tackling the coronavirus. Alcohol can now be sold from Monday to Thursday only for consumption at home. The ban was introduced at the start of the lockdown in order, above all, to free up hospital beds. And also to reduce domestic violence. Alcohol-fuelled violence is a huge problem in South Africa, particularly at weekends. Doctors and police say the ban has had a dramatic impact, contributing to sharp drop in casualty admissions. But the country’s brewers and its wine makers have complained that they’re being driven out of business. And the government has lost a fortune in tax revenues. South Africa is easing some lockdown restrictions, hoping to revive its economy at a time when the infection rate is starting to rise. Cape To...

Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), has reacted to the alleged rape and murder of Vera Uwaila Omozuwa, a 100-level Microbiology student of University of Benin, UNIBEN. It was learnt that Uwaila, who was a 100-level Microbiology student of UNIBEN, was allegedly raped and killed by some unknown persons while reading in a Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, in Benin City. Her death has since stirred reactions from Nigerians on social media seeking justice for her. Reacting, Adeboye on his verified Twitter page commiserated with the family of Uwa even as he called for calm. He condemned the act, adding that the church has began investigation into the case and would cooperate with the Nigeria Police to get justice for the victim. His tweet read: “All I can do at this time is to pray for the family of Omozuwa and do everything possible working with relevant authorities to bring the perpetrators to book. “I and members ...

Popular Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage has bemoaned the poor supply of electricity in the country. The singer took to her twitter page today, Sunday, to air her thoughts on the sad situation. Her tweet reads; 2020, this is 2020 Nigeria and WE STILL DONT HAVE CONSTANT ELECTRICITY. Jesus Christ Her tweet came days after the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, declared that Nigerians should expect an increase in ”MW” by the year 2023. The minister said a firm will be growing the present 3,400 megawatts to 7,000MW by the end of next year. Lai Mohammed added that they will then grow the megawatts to 1,000 megawatts by the end of 2023 (phase 2) and 25,000 megawatts in the third phase.

The Sergeant-at-Arms of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Alhaji Aliyu Bako, is dead. He was 69 years old. The Press Secretary to the Speaker of the House, Mr. Jibrin Gwamna, who disclosed this in a statement in Keffi on Sunday, said the Speaker Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi, described Bako’s death as a painful and colossal loss to the state. He said: “On behalf of the principal officers, members and staff of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly I, Ibrahim Abdullahi, the Speaker has condole with the family of the late sergeant at Arm and Kwandere Emirate Council over the death of our dedicated and committed sergeant at arm who is the Makongiji Kwandare. “He was a committed staff and has contributed his quota to the development of the House and the state at large while alive. “His death is painful but God gives life and take at His own will. “May his soul and the souls of other departed rest in peace.”

Unknown gunmen have killed the chairman of the APC in Batsari local government area of Katisna state - The APC chairman, Abdulhamid Sani Ruma, was killed while attending to family matters in his village - Ruma's death was confirmed by Mamman Yaro Batsari, the APC Katsina central zone, vice chairman. According to Daily Trust, Ruma was shot multiple times while in his village, Sabon Garin Dunburawa, to attend to some family matters on Sunday, May 31. It was reported that the assailants who opened fire on the APC chairman came on a motorcycle from a forest. The chairman was taken to Batsari General hospital where medical personnel confirmed him dead on arrival. Unknown gunmen kill the chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Batsari Local government of area. Source: Depositphotos Mamman Yaro Batsari, the vice-chairman APC Katsina central zone, while confirming the incident said the killing of the chairman by the gunmen has thrown the town into confusion. Batsari wen...

The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi on Sunday relaxed the lockdown in the state with residents now to pursue their businesses Mondays through Fridays from 6am to 8pm. Fayemi who disclosed this in a state-wide broadcast Sunday evening, added that public officers on Grade Level 8 and above are to resume for duty while those on Grade Level 7 and below are to remain at home till further notice. The governor stated that the new directives take effect from Monday June 1, adding that consultations are underway to reopen religious worship centres, schools and big markets in the state. He also stressed that the dusk-to-dawn curfew will resume daily at 8pm and will last till 5.59 am of the following morning. The Governor also announced that the state’s molecular laboratory will be commissioned on Monday to facilitate testing for covid-19. Fayemi urged residents to give maximum support to the medical experts conducting the tests as modalities have been devised to ensure ...

Irate youths of  Elugwu Ettam Community in Okpuitumo Ikwo Local government area of Ebonyi state at the weekend set ablaze the country home of Celestine Okah. Okah is the husband of Ebonyi Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Wendy Uchechi Okah. According to a source, the incident happened on Saturday. The source said Okah was accused of involvement in some crimes in the community, which he vehemently denied. His denials did not stop his summoning by the community’s village head who ordered him to swear an oath to prove his innocence in keeping with the customs and traditions of the community. But, Okah, it was gathered, refused to swear to the oath. He instead resorted to calling the attention of the Police. His refusal and involvement of the Police infuriated the youths around who pounced on him before moving to the location of his house where they vandalised and set the property ablaze. Not done, the youths proceeded to burn anothe...

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  has won 10 local government chairmanship  and 110 councilorship seats in the results released thus far by the Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission. Announcing the results in Calabar on Sunday, the Chairman of the Cross River State Electoral Commission, Dr. Mike Ushie, said the PDP beat candidates from four other parties in the ten councils while the commission is still awaiting results from the remaining eight other local government areas. Giving details of the results for the 10 councils, Dr. Usihe said Linus Bassey Etim of the PDP won in Akamkpa with 50, 422 out of 51, 136 votes cast. Emmanuel Offiong Bassey won Akpabuyo local government area with 24, 618 votes out of 27, 636 total votes cast in the area. Others are Iyadim Amboni Iyadim, Eke Effiong Nta, Esther Bassey Edet, Etuk John Nkom, Eguni Kingsley Namgbe, Bassey Agara Tom, Justina Joseph Edem and Obete  Ofem Ebri won in Bakassi, Calabar Municipality,...

President Muhammadu Buhari met with a delegation of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 on Sunday. The delegation was led by the Chairman of the Task Force and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, to the Aso Presidential Villa. PTF is expected to submit a report on the second phase of the ease of lockdown announced two weeks ago to the president. Buhari will then take decisions as the phase ends June 1. Nigeria may cross the 10,000-mark for number of cases by Sunday night. From that number, 2,856 have been discharged and 273 deaths recorded.

The Director-General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Lanre Mojola has disclosed that the Commission is set to begin the Register-To-Open initiative of the State Government. Mojola declared that in line with the directives of Governor Jide Sanwo Olu, the guidelines towards reopening of the economy have been developed and consultations are ongoing with Stakeholders in partnership with the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. He noted that upon registration, a verification process will be carried out to ensure adequate space management is put in place across the various centres to guarantee that social distancing, hygiene and safety measures are observed across all religious and social centres. According to him, the Governor has set up a Committee, headed by the Honourable Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, Engr. Tayo Bamgbose-Martins, to ensure that the process is seamless. He noted that the Commission will be...

Lagos State Government has said that the multi-billion Naira, 32 Metric-Ton-per hour Rice Mill at Imota will be delivered on or before the end of this year. The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Prince Gbolahan Lawal, who disclosed this recently at the Y2020 Ministerial Press Briefing organised to commemorate the one year anniversary of the State Government, explained that the Rice Mill has attained 80% completion level compared to 35% when the administration came in May last year. The Commissioner explained that the Mill, when operational, would ensure a steady supply of about 2.4 million freshly processed 50kg bags of rice per annum, in addition to over 250,000 jobs that would be created in both the upstream and downstream sectors of the Rice Value Chain. Lawal noted that efforts have been put into backward integration along the Rice Value Chain to ensure an adequate supply of Paddy to the Mill for smooth operations, stressing that the integration includes the identi...

The police in Ogun State have arrested three suspected armed robbers around Idanyin, a community in Agbara, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government area of the state. The State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the arrest in a statement on Sunday. According to Oyeyemi, the incident occurred on May 24. He said the suspects were arrested following a distress call received by the DPO Agbara division that armed robbers have invaded idanyin community, raiding houses and dispossessing residents of their belongings, while also inflicting of injuries on them. “Upon the distress call, the DPO , Agbara division, SP Saleh Dahiru, quickly led his anti-robbery team to the scene and met the robbers attacking the residences of one Barrister Kamieyefa Omosivwe and that of Oluyemi Olajide. It was learnt that the suspected armed robbers launched an attack on the police on sighting them. However, Oyeyemi hinted that they were overpowered by the police, leading to the arre...

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan has risen to 69,496 with 1,483 deaths, according to data updated by the country’s Health Ministry on Sunday, 31 May. A total of 3,039 new cases and 88 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, the statistics revealed. Overall, 42,742 patients are under treatment in different hospitals while 25,271 have recovered completely, which is 36.4 per cent of the total confirmed cases. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health, Zafar Mirza, announced on Saturday that wearing masks at crowded places was declared compulsory to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The Bayelsa State Government has confirmed its first COVID-19 death. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had reported six new cases for the state earlier in the week. The Director of Public Health in the state’s ministry of health and member of the state COVID-19 task force committee, Dr Jones Stowe, confirmed this to our correspondent through a text message. It was gathered that the first fatality of COVID-19 in the state was one of the two military personnel who were among the new cases announced some days back. He died after suffering from Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and other related complications days after testing positive for COVID-19. According to health officials in the isolation centre, all attempts to save his life proved abortive even with the best of supportive care and treatment.

All 23 local government chairmanship seats and available 276 councillorships in Benue state have been won by the PDP. The state's independent electoral commission announced the results on Sunday, 31 May. The All Progressive Congress, did not take part in the election which was contested by just five parties. The local government council elections in Benue state has ended heavily in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The party also won all the 276 councilorship positions in the election. The results were confirmed by the chairman of the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission, Terso Loko. Loko said the voting in the 3,691 polling units across the state were quite peaceful.

The executive Governor of Oyo state, Seyi Makinde has come out to thank the people of the state for their support in the past year He also called on the citizens to reach out, tell him in what areas they would want improvements as the second year in office begins. He shared a phone line on his Twitter account: The governors tweet: "You can track our campaign promises in our manifesto – Oyo State Roadmap for Accelerated Development 2019-2023 - on my website https://t.co/EC0x83KZav. You can also download the roadmap." "Remember, you can also share your complaints, enquiries and suggestions through the Oyo State Government Feedback Service on @FeedbackOYSG, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp (08035624648). The service is available Mondays - Saturdays 9AM – 5PM except public holidays," He stated.

The forum of Okun Legislators at the Kogi State House of Assembly has applauded the giant efforts of Governor Yahaya Bello in curtailing the spread of the deadly pandemic in the state. The forum said that the State Government has shown empathy and capacity by its early preparedness through the prompt establishment of COVID-19 State Squadron Chaired by Edward Onoja, Deputy Governor of Kogi State. They stated the setting up of a world-class isolation centre with the procurement of WHO standard testing kits and other medical equipment coupled with the aggressive sensitization program geared towards creating awareness on preventive measures against the deadly pandemic by the people are quite praiseworthy. According to the statement, signed by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Prince Matthew Kolawole on behalf of the forum stated that Senator Dino Melaye has no power to speak on behalf of the district and Okun land, because the zone already gave their mandate to Senator Smart Adeyemi, as su...

"Money answereth all things," Ecclesiastes 10:19, When you here the above word, it doesn't mean Money can buy you anything. There're somethings that even if you are a billionaire, your money can't buy. Your money can't buy the following : 1. MANNERS 2. MORALS 3. RESPECT 4. CHARACTER 5. COMMON SENSE 6. TRUST 7. PATIENCE 8. CLASS 9. INTEGRITY LOVE

The Director Centre for Infectious Diseases Research(CIDR) Bayero University Kano, Professor Isa Abubakar, has said the purported decline in the number of COVID-19 active cases in Kano state is not helpful in the fight against the virus. He said the decline is not the true reflection of the situation. Abubakar cautioned the decline recorded in Kano figures is not in any way a sign of relief on the spread of COVID- 19 in the state. He spoke when the centre received a new COVID-19 testing machine donated by A.A. Rano and Aliko oil. He alleged the State was not submitting the number of required samples for testing. The Professor of infectious diseases expressed concerns over the decline in the number of samples being submitted to the state epidemiology team for COVID-19 tests. Abubakar, who expressed disgust over the poor number of samples especially from Kano, insisting that the present decline in the number of active cases in the state is not a sign of r...

Brazil on Saturday reached 28,834 coronavirus fatalities, surpassing hard-hit France and becoming the country with the world’s fourth-highest death toll. Only the U.S., UK and Italy are ahead of the South American country. While the US death toll stands at 103,685, UK’s is 38,376 and Italy’s 33,340, according to an AFP tally. At the epicentre of South America’s coronavirus outbreak, Brazil also saw an increase of 33,274 cases in the past 24 hours — a new daily record in the world, the Health Ministry said.

Tragedy hit the ancient town of Orin Akoko in the Akoko North West Local Government Area of Ondo State following the death of a 70-year-old man, Mr Raphael Osayintuyi. Osayintuyi was reportedly found dead on his farm on Friday but the cause of the death was unknown as of the time of filing this report. A source said the deceased had earlier been having altercations with some herdsmen who allegedly used to destroy his farm, adding that the death might have come from an attack by the herdsmen. Another source stated that a herdsman came to the town to report that he saw the lifeless body of the deceased on his farm. The source said, “When the Fulani man (herdsman) reported the matter in the town, he was mobbed by the angry youths in the town who linked the death to him.” The source added that after the matter had been reported at a police station, a team of policemen was deployed in the scene to remove the corpse. The Divisional Police Officer in charge of Irun Akoko,...

Jimmy Kimmel on Friday banged Donald Trump as a “disgusting excuse for a president” and also charged him of fanning the fires of the demonstrations that have actually emerged adhering to the fatality of George Floyd. “Is this who you want leading us?” the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host asked audiences as he railroaded versus Trump’s feedback to Floyd’s fatality in Minneapolis on Monday. Floyd, an unarmed Black guy, passed away after a white law enforcement agent stooped on his neck in a cooling case that was captured on video camera. Trump had actually called the militants “THUGS” and also intimidated fierce revenge from soldiers, alerting on Twitter that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” Twitter used a “glorifying violence” caution on the message. (Trump later on declared he was describing capturing generally, although the definition of his initial tweet is clear in context.) “I don’t care what you are,” statedKimmel “Right, left, Republican, Democrat. I can’t im...

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has once again reiterated its resolve not to allow the Covid – 19 Pandemic to truncate the counrty’s democracy and electoral process, even as it continues to prepare for the conduct of Edo and Ondo Governorship elections. Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu made this known on 30th May at the opening of the Commission’s first Virtual Meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs). The Chairman  stated that the Commission is convinced that electoral activities can resume but in full compliance with the advisory issued by health authorities. Prof. Yakubu disclosed that processes for the conduct of the end of tenure governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States scheduled for 19th September and 10th October 2020 respectively will proceed as planned. He said that already, some of the registered political parties have notified the Commission of the dates for their party primaries leading to the nomination...

A leader of Afenifere, Senator Femi Okurounmu, has said that Nigeria is being ruled by Northerners, whom he described as having almost little or no education. Okurounmu, while speaking on the nation’s 21 years of uninterrupted democracy, expressed displeasure that many Southern youths who graduated from the university with good grades are roaming the streets with no jobs, saying Northerners are the ones getting employed. “In terms of development, Nigeria has been going very slippery downhill since 1999. Poverty has been increasing at an alarming rate. The level of youth unemployment is more than 50%. Every day, we start new universities, but the products of these universities, what jobs have we prepared for them? Most of them graduated without jobs; they have their certificates. The parents struggled and struggled so they make it through universities, because we so much value education in our own part of the country. But after the struggle of the parents, the children come o...

The Federal Government says there is no online portal for unemployed youths to register for its 1,000 jobs per Local Government Area. The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo (SAN), stated this in a two-part tweet on Friday. He said, “Some have asked me why there’s no registration portal for the 1000 jobs per LGA. My answer is, our real targets for these jobs are mostly unskilled rural workers who may not be literate enough and who can’t have access to any portal. The elites think everything is now by (the) internet.” The minister added that the process would be transparent and the names of those enlisted on the scheme would be released to the public. “Whilst it is inexpedient to ask largely illiterate, itinerant workers to go on the internet & register for jobs through a portal, we shall surely upload their full names and information after recruitment on a website for all to see. The monitoring process would be very transparent,” he added. I...

The family of George Floyd spoke to both President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden this week following his death in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Speaking to MSNBC’s Al Sharpton, George’s brother, Philonise Floyd, said his conversation with Trump was “so fast.” “ He didn't give me an opportunity to even speak,” he said. “It was hard. I was trying to talk to him, but he just kept like pushing me off, like ‘I don't want to hear what you're talking about’. And I just told him, I want justice. I said that I couldn’t believe that they committed a modern day lynching in broad daylight." Philonise Floyd said he asked Biden to get justice for his brother. “I asked Vice President Biden — I never had to beg a man before – but I asked him, could he please, please get justice for my brother,” he said. “I do not want to see him on a shirt just like the other guys. Nobody deserved that. Black folk don't deserve that. We're all dying,” Philonise Floyd said. ...

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said Saturday that the majority of protesters in the city were peaceful marchers who were expressing “our collective grief,” and that any acts of looting and violence came later in the day from a “ragtag group.” “ The people that were doing the actual protests were not the problem," Kenney said. "The people who were actually marching for a purpose were not the problem. It was this ragtag group of people who were destructive folks, who were doing the things to our officers, to the buildings, setting cars on fire, those type of things. So, we will get through this, we will get cleaned up, we’ll get secured, and we’ll move on." Some 3,000 protesters gathered in downtown Philadelphia earlier, police said. The demonstration began peacefully outside the city's Museum of Art, before violence broke out in the city center and some protesters vandalized property and clashed with police. At least 14 arrests have been made so far, a police s...

The National Guard has been activated in Washington, D.C. to assist police handling protests around the White House, according to a statement from the DC National Guard on Facebook. The DC National Guard (DCNG) ultimately reports to the President but was activated at the direction of the Secretary of the Army, according to the statement. “ The DCNG is always ready to assist district and federal agencies to protect human life and property. The DCNG is especially trained and equipped for this U.S. Park Police support mission and we proudly accept it,” Major General William J. Walker said in the statement. There have been protests for the past two nights near the White House following the death of George Floyd. Earlier, President Donald Trump praised the Secret Service for handling the unrest outside his residence, saying they "were not only totally professional, but very cool." "I was inside, watched every move, and couldn’t have felt more safe," T...

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has expressed concerns over its overall inventory of unsold products worth N420 billion for the first quarter of 2020. Its acting Director-General, Mr Ambrose Oruche, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos. Oruche attributed the high amount of unsold inventory to low purchasing power, high cost of production and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which he said had disrupted global market economies. To effectively reduce the inventory of unsold items, he suggested that government should initiate policies that would strengthen the purchasing power of consumers. This, he explained, would stimulate aggregate demand and deliberately support industries to reduce the production cost of manufactured products in the country. The MAN acting DG also urged the enforcement of executive order 005 that encouraged government preference and patronage of made in Nigeria goods to address chall...

NCDC has announced 553 new cases of #COVID19; Lagos-378 FCT-52 Delta-23 Edo-22 Rivers-14 Ogun-13 Kaduna-12 Kano-9 Borno-7 Katsina-6 Jigawa-5 Oyo-5 Yobe-3 Plateau-3 Osun-1 9855 cases of #COVID19Nigeria Discharged: 2856 Deaths: 273 NCDC made the announcement on Twitter account.

The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested two staff of the Ebonyi Ministry of Environment over alleged vandalism of installation items at the state Pulverisation plant. The NSCDC Commandant in the state, Lucy Samu disclosed this to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abakaliki. Samu said that both suspects were in the NSCDC’s custody. He said both suspects were from Amagu community and Inyimegu community both in Ikwo Local Government Area of the state. “The items recovered from them include 10 full lengths of 16 mm iron rods and 30 pieces of foundation bolt used in the pulverisation plant. “They were arrested while using a state government vehicle for the act,’’ she said. The commandant said the duo were arrested by officers of the corps who were guarding the plant. “I am happy that my officers have been vindicated as they were being accused of vandalising equipment at the pulverisation plant. “I want to advise workers attached to th...