Osinbajo: We will soon reopen the land borders

 

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the federal government will soon reopen Nigeria’s land borders.

In October 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the closure of land borders to check smuggling goods and arms into the country after a partial closure of the Seme border in August 2019.

Speaking during a webinar organised by The Africa Report on Thursday, Osinbajo said the federal government is working towards reopening the borders.

The webinar, which was themed ‘Bouncing back: Nigeria’s post-pandemic recovery plan’, focused on issues regarding government frameworks to be adopted towards economic recovery following the coronavirus pandemic which affected countries globally.

Reacting to a question on the continued closure of the land borders despite preparations for the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), the vice president said the government is working with neighbouring countries on the terms of reopening the border.

“We are working with our neighbours to see on what terms we would reopen those borders. At the moment, we are undertaking joint border patrols to control smuggling along the borders and we think it is working and I am sure that soon enough we should have the borders opened,” he said.

“We are committed to the AfCFTA but we are concerned about threats to security and the economy and we had to take certain actions that would satisfy the immediate needs of our country. It (border closure) certainly wasn’t meant to be permanent and we are looking forward to reopening as quickly as possible.”

- THECABLE

EPL: I will not give FA my money – Mourinho reacts to 1-1 draw with Newcastle

Tottenham Hotspur manager, Jose Mourinho, on Sunday expressed anger following his team’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle.

The North London side were in complete control of the game and took the lead in the first half.

Lucas Moura converted at the far post from Harry Kane’s low cross to make it 1-0.

However, Mourinho’s men failed to make their dominance reflect in the score line and conceded a late equalizer.

Callum Wilson netted from the penalty spot in the 97th minute after Eric Dier was punished for a controversial handball incident.

When asked about his comment on the incident, Mourinho told Sky Sports: “I won’t comment on the decision. I will rather give my money to charities than FA.”

Mourinho was referring to his previous run-in with the FA over his remarks on controversial incidents in the past, which saw him incur heavy fines.

- DAILY POST

Study says vitamin D reduces risk of COVID-19 deaths

 

A recent study says a deficiency in vitamin D can lead to higher risk of COVID-19 complications and deaths.

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient needed for bones, muscles and teeth health.

It also helps in supporting lung function and cardiovascular health.

The study was carried out by scientists from Boston University’s school of medicine and published in the journal PLOS ONE.

It analysed the hospital data of 235 patients infected with COVID-19, with their blood samples taken to measure vitamin D levels.

“Overall, a cutoff point of 30 ng/mL was used for the definition of vitamin D sufficiency based on the Endocrine Society’s Practice Guidelines on Vitamin D that defined vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency as a circulating level of 25(OH)D of <20 ng/mL and 20–29 ng/mL respectively,” the researchers said.

According to the study, 74 percent of the patients had severe COVID-19 infection and 32.8 percent were vitamin D sufficient.

”After adjusting for confounding factors, there was a significant association between vitamin D sufficiency and reduction in clinical severity,” it said.

It added that “also, the severity of COVID-19 infection in patients with vitamin D sufficiency was lower than other patients with higher levels of 25(OH)D”.

The scientists advised people to take daily doses of vitamin D supplements especially during the cold season.

“Therefore, it is recommended that improving vitamin D status in the general population and in particular hospitalized patients has a potential benefit in reducing the severity of morbidities and mortality associated with acquiring COVID-19,” the study concluded.

Michael Holick, study author, explained: “There is great concern that the combination of an influenza infection and a coronal viral infection could substantially increase hospitalisations and death due to complications from these viral infections.

“Because vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency is so widespread in children and adults in the US and worldwide, especially in the winter months, it is prudent for everyone to take a vitamin D supplement to reduce risk of being infected and having complications from Covid-19.”

Food rich in vitamin D include dairy products, orange juice, soy milk, cereals, beef liver, cheese, egg yolks, oatmeal, mackerel and salmon.

- THECABLE

MADNESS !! Petrol price will reduce when Dangote refinery, others begin operation – Lai Mohammed

 

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, says the price of petroleum products in Nigeria will reduce when Aliko Dangote’s refinery and other modular refineries come on stream.

Mohammed hinted that the first modular refinery with the capacity to refine 5,000 barrels of petroleum products daily would be inaugurated in October in Imo State.

He said this on Sunday in an interview aired in Yoruba language on radio.

Mohammed said the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration is performing well in spite of the dwindling revenues.

He reiterated that government policies were in the best interest of the nation.

Mohammed explained that the federal government spent N10.4 trillion on fuel subsidy from 2006 to 2019.

According to him, subsidy can no longer be sustained under the prevailing economic conditions.

“Revenues and foreign exchange earnings by the government have fallen by almost 60 per cent due to the downturn in the fortunes of the oil sector. There is no provision for subsidy in the revised 2020 budget. So where will the subsidy money come from?” NAN quoted him as saying

- DAILY POST

Premier League clubs set for emergency meeting over financial crisis

 

The Premier League has called an emergency meeting for all clubs to discuss the continued financial impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The League fears fans might not be allowed back into the stadiums until March 2021.

During the pre-season, trials for fans return were undertaken with 5,000 fans permitted to return to games. However, the UK government has now introduced fresh restrictions in an attempt to tackle a rise in COVID-19 cases which has forced the Premier League matches back to being played behind closed doors.

League officials have contested the decision, believing that the return of fans can be handled safely. Also, Premier League clubs are frustrated at the fact that they are expected to bail out the rest of the Football League.

Playing behind closed doors is expected to cost £250m as only Premier League clubs are expected to front the bill despite making major losses themselves.

To discuss the issue, all 20 Premier League sides will meet on Tuesday to figure out a way forward.

- PM NEWS

NLC vows to shut down airports, banks, others from Monday

 

The Organised Labour in Lagos State has said all sectors would be shut from Monday.

He said airports, banks, and offices would not be allowed to function.

Deputy Vice President, Nigeria Labour Congress, Amaechi Asogwuni, spoke at a news conference on Sunday.

“No airport will be in operation in Nigeria; banks are not expected to function, so no business owners should risk himself, for Nigerian workers have taken that decision”, NAN quoted him as saying.

“We are the workers and we are withdrawing our services; we have the right to do so because protests are our constitutional right. And I believe we will enforce it; schools shall remain closed until this action ends.”

The labour leader appealed to Nigerians to join the protest.

He reminded them that it was part of their quota to democracy.

On the increase in petrol price, Asogwuni said the federal government should have engaged the organised labour and other stakeholders.

“The government did not do that at a time it ought to; it failed in its duty to engage labour before time. On the issue of electricity, the government had earlier had an interaction with labour in Kano and we discouraged it from proceeding.”

- DAILY POST

Climate change: French embassy to train 17 engineers, lecturers from 5 Nigerian universities

 

As part of its efforts to foster and strengthen collaboration on climate change, the embassy of France in Nigeria has announced plans to train 17 engineers and lecturers from five Nigerian universities.

Tagged “Fablab workshop”, the digital fabrication laboratory is part of the Research and Innovation in Adapting to Climate Change (AIRACC) project billed to hold from September 28 till October 2, in Abuja.

The AIRACC project was launched by the French embassy in April 2019, and it involves seven Nigerian universities.

In a statement on Thursday, the embassy said fabrication laboratories will be donated to the University of Lagos; University of Ibadan; Bayero University, Kano; Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, and the University of Jos.

“These fablabs are particularly conceived for designing solutions to adapt to climate change,” it said.

“The consultants in charge of training are fablab experts from France and Burkina Faso, who have helped design fablabs in several West African countries.

“The main objective of the workshop is to train 17 engineers and lecturers from the five universities in the setting up and use of FabLabs as well as in the basics of 3D printing and other engineering tools.

“These trainees are to be the future technical managers of the donated fablabs, managers in charge of the facilities and, more generally, facilitators of ideation and creativeness.

“Digital fabrication laboratories, also called “Fab Labs”, whose story began at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2004, are places where everyone, from engineers and academics to students and plain citizens can come and test ideas and solutions.

“They are places for learning, sharing, innovating; places where collaborative ideas can germ and be brought to life.”

- THECABLE

Boko Haram: End this war now – ACF tells Buhari, military

 

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has described the Friday’s attack on Borno Governor Babagana Zulum’s convoy, as “alarming”.

ACF, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Emmanuel Yawe on Saturday in Kaduna, condemned the fresh attack.

The governor was on his way to Baga town when the terrorists opened fire on his convoy.

DAILY POST reports that twelve policemen, 13 civilians and five soldiers were confirmed dead from the attack.

however, ACF opined that the terrorists were targeting Zulum because he was raising hope in a demoralised country.

“We are alarmed that the deadly attacks have continued in Borno despite assurances received from the military and the federal government of an improved security situation.

“Only last week, a serving senior military officer, Col. Bako, was ambushed and killed around Demboa in the same Borno.

“In July, Zulum came under gunfire while on an official tour.”

The forum said the renewed attacks are affecting public confidence in the ability of the military to successfully defend Nigeria in the ongoing war against terror.

The Forum, however, urged the military to act swiftly to restore public confidence, adding that if anything untoward happens to Gov. Zulum, the consequences for the rest of the country will be grave.

According to ACF, the attacks by terrorists while the governor was trying to move some IDPs back to their permanent homes from camps have raised questions on the ability to ensure the safety of IDPs seeking to return to their homes.

“The military and the Federal Government must act swiftly to end this war,” the statement added.

- DAILY POST

To save cost, Italy votes to remove one in three lawmakers

 Italians have voted to reduce one-third of the country’s lawmakers in order to save cost.

Almost 70 percent of the citizens voted in favour of the move in a referendum which followed an earlier decision by the parliament.

The move will see the number of parliamentarians downsized from about 945 to 600; the senators will be reduced from 311 to 200, while the members of parliament in the lower house will drop to 400 from 634.

With each MP and senator said to be earning €230,000 and €249,600 annually, the cut is expected to save Italy about €82 million every year.

Five Star Movement, the main party in Italy’s governing coalition, had said the measure will save an estimated €1 billion over 10 years.

Luigi Di Maio, Italy’s foreign minister, reportedly described the outcome of the referendum as “historic.”

“The one achieved today is a historic result. Let’s go back to having a normal parliament, with 345 seats and fewer privileges,” he was quoted to have said, adding: “It is politics that gives citizens a signal.”

The vote comes comes amid the clamour for Nigeria’s federal lawmakers to introduce cost-saving measures either by reducing their pay or number.

Despite being the country with the highest rate of extreme poverty globally, a senator reportedly earns as much as N13.5 million as running cost monthly, while a member of the house of representatives is said to earn N12 million monthly.

Among those calling for such cost-cutting measures is Rochas Okorocha, senator representing Imo west, who once argued that Nigeria does not need 109 senators and 360 members of the house of representatives.

“What are three senators doing that one senator cannot do?” Okorocha had asked.

“Here, we have three senators per state. Over there (house of representatives), over there, we have 360 eligible human beings. This country must begin to make sacrifices and cut down the cost of governance.”

TheCable had reported how over N70 billion spent as running cost for senators in the eighth assembly could transform the lives of Nigerians.

- THECABLE

Save me from depression – Baba Fryo cries out to govt

Veteran singer, Friday Igwe, popularly known as Baba Fryo, has cried out for help from Nigerians and the government.

The singer took to his Instagram page seeking help as he battles depression.

Baba Fryo appealed to the Rivers, Delta, and Lagos State governments to come to his aid.

‘His post read: ‘I’m having a serious depression.

“Igweh family, friends , Delta state government, Lagos and Rivers government save me.”

Baba Fryo was popular for releasing street songs like ‘Dem go dey pose’ in the late 90s.

- DAILY POST

Shocker: Anambra man Ogum clubs father to death, buries him in shallow grave

 

Officers of Umunze division of Anambra Police Command, working with members of the local vigilance group in the early hours of Saturday arrested a 26-year-old man, Chisom Ogum, for allegedly clubbing his father to death and burying him in a shallow grave.

The suspect narrowly escaped being lynched to death by an angry mob who beat him to stupor at Umuomaku Community in Orumba South LGA of Anambra State where he committed the grievous crime.

Ogum allegedly ran amok in circumstances yet to be ascertained and in the process, attacked and killed his 70 years old father, Christopher Ogum with a shovel.

He proceeded to bury the remains of his father in a shallow grave.

It was gathered that after the incident, the suspect attempted to run away from the village, but was apprehended and beaten to stupor by some youths in the community who also forced him to exhume the corpse of his father from where he buried it.

Meanwhile, SP Haruna Mohammed, Spokesman of Anambra State Police Command said detectives have visited the scene of crime, photographed the remains of the victim before it was taken  the mortuary for autopsy.

He added that the offensive weapon used in perpetrating the crime was also recovered as exhibit, while  the Commissioner of Police ,CP John B.Abang, has ordered the case to be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Awka for further investigation.

- PM NEWS

Israel Adesanya knocks out Brazil’s Paulo Costa to retain title

 Nigeria’s Israel Adesanya knocked out Brazil’s Paulo Costa to successfully defend his middleweight title.

The undefeated UFC 253 category champion knocked out Costa in the second round at the Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, on Sunday morning.

The bout was the second title fight in UFC history that featured two unblemished records.

The Nigeria-born New Zealander has now gone 20 fights with no loss.

“The Last Stylebender” as Adesanya is popularly called, kept the challenger at a distance and picked him apart with constant kicks landing clean on the lead leg of Costa. At the end of the opening round Costa’s left leg was sporting a big red mark.

In the second round, Adesanya went straight back to work on the leg with Costa simply unable to close the gap and get at the champion.

Then a high left kick landed on the temple of the Brazilian which cut him open before an Adesanya left hook grazed his head and dropped Costa to the canvas.

This makes it four UFC title wins for Adesanya, moving him into second all-time on the longest UFC win streaks.

- THECABLE

Nigeria records fresh COVID-19 cases as toll hits 58,198

 

Nigeria’s COVID-19 cases have reached 58,198 with 49,722 patients discharged from various isolation centres across the country.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) revealed on its official Twitter that 136 new cases of the infections with three deaths have been recorded in the country as of Saturday.

The health agency said that the new infections were reported from 13 states, while 116 patients were discharged.

Lagos State recorded the highest number of cases with 41 new infections, while Ogun, Rivers Abia, and Oyo States recorded 27, 19, 10 and 6 cases respectively.

Other states with new infections were Plateau-6, Bauchi-5, Ondo-5, Ekiti-4, Kaduna-4, Edo-3, Ebonyi-2, Bayelsa-1, Delta-1, Osun-1 and Yobe-1.

The NCDC added that the fatality figure of the country stands at 1,106 from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

- DAILY POST

Winning late is part of Man Utd’s history – Solskjaer

 

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has praised his Manchester United players after they secured 3 points in a dramatic fashion against stubborn Brighton & Hove Albion.

Neal Maupay put the hosts in front from the penalty spot on 40 minutes and United equalised almost straight away, via an own goal from Lewis Dunk, which was first attributed to Harry Maguire.

Marcus Rashford then put United 2-1 up midway through the second half but, frustratingly, it looked like three points had been taken away when Solly March levelled in the 95th minute.

In a remarkable conclusion, VAR awarded United a penalty after Maguire’s header struck the hand of Maupay and Bruno Fernandes duly scored to clinch an unpredictable victory on the south coast.

While Solskajer was not pleased with United’s overall performance, the manager was delighted by the never-say-die attitude on display and commended his players for fighting until the very end…

Here is what Solskjaer told reporters after the game.

Ole, we thought the end to PSG was dramatic, but it was nothing compared to this…

“The consequences of the PSG were maybe more severe but, at this point of the season, it’s vital for us to get three points. It’s been a long, long time since we’ve won a game at the end, maybe towards the PSG game? Last season, we had so many draws. Was it 12 or something? I can’t remember how many, but we didn’t win late on in games like we used to do at this club. It’s a part of the history of this club, so I’m very happy and pleased with that.”

It was a rollercoaster of emotions though because when that goal goes in for 2-2, we’re all flattered by that, aren’t we?

“Of course, they’ve dug in, they worked hard. We know we’re not fit yet. You can see they’re fitter than us. They are one of the fittest teams in the league, so we knew it was going to be a difficult game physically because we’re not there yet. We’ll get there but the reaction was brilliant to both goals. We didn’t play before the first goal and that’s something we need to address. The reaction to the last one as well was great.”

- PM NEWS