THISISLAGOS MIDDAY NEWS UPDATE APRIL 2, 2018
Apapa Bridge for Permanent Repairs (ThisDay)
Construction giant, Julius Berger Nigeria Limited, is set to move to site for the permanent repairs of Apapa bridge in Lagos. All parties to the construction are awaiting stakeholders’ suggestion for alternative routes before the closure of bridge for repairs. The Federal Controller of Works, Lagos, Mr Adedamola Kuti, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos yesterday that the ministry was working on effective traffic diversion alternatives that would ensure minimal stresses on users then. He explained that the bridge was still in use because of an earlier emergency repair work done by Julius Berger to stabilise it. Kuti said Messrs Buildwell Nigeria Limited had completed permanent repairs on an extension of the bridge which was damaged by fire. Read more
Come and cheer us up, Plateau United beg Lagos fans (Vanguard)
Nigeria Professional Football League Champions, Plateau United have made an appeal to Lagos football fans to turn up in their numbers to cheer them up against visiting USM Alger in their Confederations Cup tie on Thursday. Plateau who were demoted to the Confederations Cup after crashing out of the Champions League, are to play their matches in Lagos following security concerns in Jos, their base. “CAF gave us the option of Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo and the Agege Stadium and we picked the better venue,” Plateau team manager, Abel Iliya revealed. Read more
Tinubu Colloquium fails to reconcile Ambode, Fashola (Independent)
The lingering feud between Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos and his predecessor, Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, became more pronounced last week at the 10th Bola Tinubu Colloquium, an annual event organised by associates of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who served under him during his reign as governor of Lagos between 1999 and 2007. The event, held on March 29 to celebrate Tinubu’s 66th birthday has already pitched supporters of Ambode and Fashola against each other. While Fashola’s supporters claim there was a calculated attempt by the Lagos State government to undermine Fashola, supporters of the governor claimed that nothing of such occurred as the former governor was accorded the respect due to him. Read more
Pope Francis baptises Nigerian ‘migrant hero’ at Easter eve mass (Nation)
Tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square yesterday for an Easter mass led by Pope Francis, who on the previous night, baptised eight people, including a man known in Italy as the “migrant hero”, Nigerian John Francesco Ogah. Ogah, 31, was praised after he intercepted another man attempting to rob a supermarket in Rome’s Centocelle neighbourhood on September 26, 2017. According to Italian news reports, Ogah had been begging for spare change outside the Carrefour market when a masked thief, armed with a meat cleaver, tried to make off with 400 euros ($636 Cdn) he had stolen from the cashiers. Security cameras captured his courageous next steps: With nothing more than his bare hands, Ogah confronted the thief, wrested the cleaver away and held him by the collar until police arrived, after the man fell from his attempted getaway motorcycle. Read more
Bedlam in Agbado Oke-Odo LCDA, as all roads shut for Ambode’s visit (Punch)
There is public outcry on Monday as all roads leading in and out of Agbado Oke-Odo Local Council Development Authority in Lagos State were shut to traffic. Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, is expected to inaugurate 21 Lagos-Ogun boundary road networks built in Alimosho Local Government Area, of which Agbado Oke-Odo is a part. Unconfirmed sources said the event was scheduled to commence at 12 noon, but security agents started putting up barricades as early as 8am, effectively preventing vehicular movements. Read more
Lagos to challenge court order suspending consumption Tax Law (ThisDay)
The Lagos State Government has rejected an injunction by a Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi which temporarily restrained it from enforcing the provisions of the 2017 Hotel Occupancy and Restaurant (Fiscalisation) Regulations 2017. Consequently, the state government has equally appointed the immediate past Solicitor General of the state, Mr. Lawal Pedro (SAN), to lead its legal team to challenge the order suspending the fiscalisation regulation until the suit is concluded. A legal source disclosed the plan at a session with select journalists recently, lamenting that the order was an affront to a Supreme Court decision that validated the Hotel Occupancy and Restaurant Consumption Law, 2009 Read more
Catholic Bishop criticises Buhari for visiting Lagos during Christian Celebration David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka (ThisDay)
The Catholic Bishop of Awka Diocese, Most Reverend Paulinus Ezeokafor, has said those who advised President Muhammadu Buhari to embark on a two-day state visit to Lagos State did him a lot of disservice. Ezeokafor said choosing Maundy Thursday and Good Friday to visit Lagos showed disrespect for Christians. He insisted that Christianity and Islam are two dominant religions in Nigeria, and should be accorded same level of respect, just as he expressed optimism that President Buhari would not have made the trip if Lagos were a Muslim celebration. Read more
Police speak on alleged plot to kill Whistle Blower (ThisDay)
The Zone 5 headquarters of the Nigerian Police Force, Benin City, has debunked any plot to eliminate one Ovie Osiebe-Franklin, an alleged whistle blower, and one other Anodeh Brave. This was contained in a statement released by Emeka Iheanacho, Zonal Police Public Relations Officer (ZPPRO), and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Benin City yesterday. Iheanacho said the alleged whistle blower was a suspect in a case of alleged false information investigated by the FCIID, Abuja. Read more
“I am the Emir of Yorubaland” (Vanguard)
The controversial and flamboyant Oluwo of Iwoland, Osun State, Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi Gbaase II, ILUFEMILOYE TELU I, who was installed Oba of Iwo town late in 2015, yesterday, made history when he dropped the the title of Oba and declared his resolve to adopt the Emir title, a title associated with traditional rulers of northern extraction. Speaking at the installation and turbarning ceremony of an Islamic scholar, Sheikh Yahquub Abdul-Baaqi Mohammed, as first Waziri of Yoruba land, Akanbi said he decided to now bear “Emir of Iwoland” because he wants to emulate the attitudes of northern Emirs. According to the Oluwo, Northern traditional rulers are better behaved than his counterparts from the Southwest, saying Yoruba Obas are full of bickering, acrimony and enmities. Read more
Jonathan’s aide attacks Nigerian govt., releases list of alleged looters in Buhari’s cabinet, APC (PremiumTimes)
Reno Omokri, a spokesperson for former President Goodluck Jonathan, has launched a blistering attack on the Nigerian government and the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, over two lists of alleged looters released by the administration. Mr. Mohammed had on Sunday circulated a statement containing a list of individuals undergoing trials for alleged corruption. He had earlier on March 30 released a first list of members of the past administration he said looted the Nigerian treasury while the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was in power. Read more
CPC opens inquiry on Blue Band ‘Spread for Bread’ controversy (ThisDay)
The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) yesterday said it had opened inquiry into the controversy about the safety of Blue Band “Spread for Bread” when subjected to high temperature in boiling water. The council said in a statement sent to Premium Times that it was aware of a short demonstration video circulating on social media about how the product by Unilever Nigeria Plc did not melt or dissolve under certain heat conditions. The statement signed by the Director General of the council, Babatunde Irukera, said the video has been a subject of anxiety and intense controversy as it suggested the product was unsafe for human consumption. Read more
Senate initiates 2 bills to fight drug abuse (Guardian)
The Senate has developed two draft bills for legislation to tackle drug abuse. This was part of the outcome of the roundtable convened by the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, in December 2017 in Kano on the rising drug abuse in the country, The proposed bills are: National Drug Control Bill and National Mental Health Bill. A statement by the Media Office of the President of the Senate said the Drug Control Bill seeks to clarify the mandate and strengthen the capacity of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to eradicate the illicit production, and trafficking of controlled substances. Read more
LAPO screens 298,663 persons for cancer ailments nationwide (Guardian)
A non-governmental organisation, Lift Above Poverty Organizations (LAPO) has screened 298,663 people for cancer ailments under its LAPO Community Campaign for Cancer Control (LAPO-C4) in Nigeria. Executive Director of LAPO, Sabina Idowu-Osehobo, who disclosed this, saying the project was aimed at mitigating the health and socio-economic implications of cancer, advised women to ascertain their health status regularly as breast and cervical cancer poses a serious threat to their lives. “In addition, 35,716 persons have benefitted from information, enlightenment and education materials during the period of the campaign,” she said, adding that the LAPO-C4 is being implemented in Lagos, Imo, Abuja, Rivers and Edo states. Read more
Operation ‘Deep Punch’ show force within Dikwa Emirate (NTA)
With various deterrent options put in place by the Federal Government to dissuade Boko Haram Terrorists from their course of insurgency; the Nigerian military have spearheaded the effort to finding lasting solution to their menace. In recent time, various operations have been conducted in the North eastern part of Nigeria and some are still ongoing, the most potent was OPERATION DEEP PUNCH II which led to the degradation of Sambisa Forest. The dominance of the Nigerian military presently in the theatre cannot be over-embellished even with the limit in the resources. Read more
Why hypertension among black people is higher in urban areas – U.S.-based Nigerian Scientist Charles Rotimi (PremiumTimes)
Charles Rotimi is a scientist and Director, Center for Research on Genomics and Global Health, National Institutes of Health, Washington. Dr. Rotimi and co-author Dr. Daniel Shriner just published a study that used whole genome sequence, that is the order of the entire DNA building block of an organism, to provide new insight into the African origin of the Sickle Cell mutation. Inheriting two copies of this mutation leads to sickle cell anemia, a disease that is very common in Africans and other global populations that have had to survive the ravages of malaria. Having one copy of this mutation is protective against malaria. This new study by Mr. Rotimi has profound effect on the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of the disease around the world. Bunmi Fatoye-Matori interviewed him to share his findings and his ideas on how Nigerians could benefit from cultivating a culture of scientific thinking. Read more
BBNaija: I am used to dealing with having many women – Teddy (Vanguard)
Teddy A has been evicted from the Big Brother Naija (BBNaija) reality TV show following Bambam’s eviction last night. This week Big Brother (Biggie) evicted two housemates out of four nominated housemates. Teddy A received the second lowest percentage of votes with 16.81 having come up against already evicted Bambam 13.37, Cee C 24.38, and Nina 44.0. Teddy A and Bambam (Bamteddy) were coincidentally evicted simultaneously, after they formed a strong relationship in the house following Biggie’s pairing of the housemates. Read more
Nobel winner Malala Yousafzai leaves Pakistan to return to Britain (Reuters)
Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai left Pakistan for London on Monday after a four-day whirlwind visit back to her homeland, her first since militants nearly killed her in 2012, an official said. Yousafzai and her family were taken to Islamabad airport in a security convoy and they boarded a London-bound flight, said aviation official Akmal Kayani. Yousafzai, known by her first name, Malala, has been in Pakistan since Thursday, on her first trip home since Pakistani Taliban militants shot her in the head on her way home from school for advocating for greater education for girls. Read more
Anger in India as lowest caste protests Supreme Court order (Wahingtonpost)
Violence has erupted in several parts of north and central India as thousands of dalits, members of Hinduism’s lowest caste, protest an order from the country’s top court that they say dilutes legal safeguards put in place for their marginalized community. Caste prejudice is endemic in Hindu-majority India, even though the constitution outlaws the practice and has made it a crime punishable by up to a year in prison. Last month the Supreme Court ruled that in order to prevent misuse of the law, government officers accused of flouting it can only be arrested after their supervisors sign off on an inquiry. Read more
18th Palestinians confirmed killed in Gaza border protests (Skynews)
The number of Palestinian protesters killed during clashes along the Gaza border with Israel has risen to 18, after a man shot in the stomach succumbed to his wounds on Monday. Faris al-Raqib, 29, was shot during the clashes on Friday, according to the health ministry, as tens of thousands of people took part in some of the biggest protests in recent years. The Islamic Jihad group said Mr al-Raqib had been a member, but claimed he was not carrying a weapon when he was shot. Read more