THISISLAGOS MIDDAY NEWS UPDATE MARCH 29, 2018
Buhari arrives Lagos (Vanguard)
President Muhammdau Buhari has arrived Lagos for a two day working visit. According to Bashir Ahmad, the Special Adviser to President Buhari on New Media, the president’s visit is official and he will spend two days in Lagos. He equally stated that the president will commission some projects and attend the Bola Tinubu’s Colloquium #PMBinLagos #BTC10. Bashir also disclosed the arrival of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to Lekki, to flag-off the Deep Sea Port project. “This port will service heavier vessels & ease congestion @ Apapa Port & compliment the port. It’s a public private sector partnership that will take the Nigerian maritime industry to the next level”, he said. Read more
Cleric condemns Buhari’s trip to Lagos, says it’s Holy Thursday (Vanguard)
The Parish Priest of St Christopher Catholic Church, Oke Odo, Lagos, Rev. Fr. Anthony Okoro, has faulted the planned visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to Lagos state on Thursday, noting that the timing was wrong. “Holy Thursday and Good Friday are special days for Christians to reflect the Paschal mysteries. The organizers didn’t take into account the nature of the days. I humbly conclude that such ignorance is not excusable and should not repeat itself lest, it gives room for interpretation”, he said. The parish priest made this known via his official facebook handle on Wednesday. According to him, “As a Lagosian by birth and as one who has spent all his life in Lagos, it is a thing of joy that our President will be visiting. Read more
Govt packages Lake Rice for Easter (Punch)
The Lagos State Government on Wednesday said it had made available Lake Rice for the Easter celebration, adding that the move was part of its commitment to boost food sufficiency. The Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Oluwatoyin Suarau, stated that Lake Rice would be sold in all designated centres from Thursday (today). Suarau said, “The need to ensure that Lake Rice is available is part of the government’s drive to attain food sufficiency. “We have made the product available in the Farm Service Centre, Ikorodu; Lagos State Agric Input Supply Authority, Ojo; Agricultural Development Authority, Agege; Farm Service Centre, Epe; and Lagos Television, Ikeja.” Read more
Lagos on lockdown as Buhari makes historic visit (Guardian)
Nigeria’s economic capital Lagos was on a lockdown Thursday as President Muhammadu Buhari makes his first official visit to the city of 22 million inhabitants since coming to power in 2015. The president rarely travels outside of Abuja, home to the government seat, and has only visited a few of Nigeria’s 36 states over the past three years. For Thursday’s visit, many businesses including banks, shops and markets were shut in the fifth largest economy on the continent. Hundreds of commuters and workers were stranded at bus stops to allow for a hitch-free visit, with many forced to trek several kilometres to their destinations as commercial buses were off the roads. Read more
LASG pledges support for artisans (Punch)
Lagos State Government has said it will continue to support tradesmen and artisans in the state in order to achieve a boom in the economic activities in the state. The Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, stated this at an interactive session with tradesmen and artisans on Tuesday in Ikeja. She said it was essential for artisans and tradesmen to be part of various ongoing reforms in the state to guarantee a win-win situation for both the government and the traders. Read more
Lagos land charge: Police storm NBA office over planned protest (Punch)
No fewer than 50 policemen on Wednesday evening reportedly stormed the secretariat of the Ikeja branch of the Nigerian Bar Association. The NBA Ikeja said in a statement on Wednesday evening by its chairman, Adesina Ogunlana, that the squad, which invaded its secretariat at about 4pm, was led by “the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Mohammed, supported by OC SARS.” According to the statement, the mission of the police was to invite Ogunlana. “Further investigations and enquiries revealed that the intention of the force was to stop the fixed protest against the GATT, the toxic tax regime of the Ambode-led Government of Lagos State,” the statement added. Read more
Lagos admitted into Odu’a Investment Company (Punch)
The six governors of the South-West region, under the auspices of the Western Nigerian Governors Forum, on Wednesday formally admitted Lagos State into the Odu’a Investment Company Limited. The state was given a total of 115 million shares, thus growing the share equity of the company to N690m. The governors – Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo) and Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), in a communiqué issued at the end of a two-day quarterly meeting in Ikeja, also ratified a document allowing Lagos to acquire land in their respective states for rice cultivation and production. Read more
Lagos CJ signs sentencing guidelines for Magistrate, High Courts (Vanguard)
As parts of efforts to make fair dispensation of justice available to citizenry, Justice Opeyemi Oke, the Chief Judge of Lagos State, on Wednesday signed in sentencing guidelines for the Magistrates and High Courts in the state. Justice Oke signed in the sentencing guidelines at the inaugural meeting of the Criminal Justice Sector Reform Committee held in the conference room of the Ikeja High Court. Mr Adeniji Kazeem, the Lagos State Attorney-General, judges, representatives of the Nigeria Police and members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) were at the meeting. Others that were part of the meeting include law enforcement agencies, Nigerian Prisons Service as well as other stakeholders in the criminal justice system of Lagos. Read more
Court stops scheduled beauty pageant, orders status quo (Guardian)
A Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday issued an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the Africa Beauty Queen International Pageant scheduled to hold on March 30, at the Lagos Oriental Hotel. Justice Hadiza Rabiu-Shagari, issued the orders, following an interlocutory application filed by Mr. Daniel Opuene, founder of ‘Beauty of Africa International Pageant’, seeking an order of restraint, on the said forthcoming pageant. Joined as first to third defendants in the suit are: Roses and Rubbies International Ltd, Precious Ogarekpe, and Lagos Oriental Hotel Ltd. Read more
Shodex Gardens chief holds colloquium, street cleaning (Nation)
Environmentalist and Chairman of Shodex Gardens Mr. Olusola Adekoya has led his workers and family members to clean some Lagos streets. He also hosted children from various schools in Lagos to a botanical talk as well as landscapers, environmentalists, climate change experts to a colloquium on greenery, climate change, arts and life. The colloquim and the three-day street cleaning were part of activities marking his 56th birthday. The colloquium, themed: “Greening: A major solution to climate change”, was attended by pupils from secondary and tertiary institutions in Lagos and Ogun states; the Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency (LASPARK) officials, the Nigerian Conservation Foundation and Nigeria Society For Environmental Conservation members. Read more
Lagos Boat regatta will attract investors, boost revenue – Ayorinde (Nation)
Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, is set to host a boat regatta funfair to boost internal revenue. Mr. Steve Ayorinde, the Lagos state Commissioner for Arts, Culture and Tourism, said on Thursday that the regatta would hold on April 1 at the Lagoon Waterfront, Ikoyi. Ayorinde said in a statement that the funfair would also attract investors to the rich aquatic cultural asset embedded in the state. He explained that the ceremonial regatta “is one of the major festivals listed in the 2018 Calendar of Arts and Culture Events by Lagos State, earlier released in the year.” Read more
How to make UNILAG world-class, by VC (Guardian)
Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe has called for a synergy between the institution and its alumni to make it a brand and world-class university. Ogundipe spoke at the second Engineering Faculty alumni lecture titled, “Alumni association: A veritable tool for networking and promotion of professionalism”. He said his plans towards making UNILAG a world-class institution included building a mini refinery and setting up of skills acquisition centre for the students. Read more
Afe Babalola advocates increased funding for education (Nation)
Renowned lawyer and founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) has argued that “without an active and deliberate commitment by Nigerian governments to actively invest in all levels of education to promote availability, affordability and accessibility of quality education systems, education security may remain an illusory concept”. The former Pro Chancellor and Chairman of Council of University of Lagos, UNILAG spoke yesterday on the topic: “The state of educational infrastructure in Africa: The way forward” at the 7th edition of the International Conference on Infrastructure Development (ICIDA), at the Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu. Read more
Flying Eagles return to Nigeria after Egypt tour (PremiumTimes)
The Nigeria U-20 team, the Flying Eagles, are expected back in the country today (Thursday) after their two-game playing tour in Egypt. The Head Coach of the team, Paul Aigbogun, has declared that the objectives of his Nigeria U20 boys’ two-match tour of Egypt have been met. Despite the Flying Eagles losing narrowly 1-2 to their Egyptian counterparts in the second match in Alexandria on Wednesday, Aigbogun says he remains pleased. Both Nigeria and Egypt U20s had played out a scoreless draw at the same Borg El-Arab Stadium in Egypt’s second city on Monday before Wednesday’s tie. Read more
Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata linked with a move to Bayern Munich (Sportslens)
Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich. AS has claimed that the 25-year-old is on a shortlist of possible replacements for Robert Lewandowski who is wanted by Real Madrid. PSG’s Edinson Cavani and RB Leipzig star Timo Werner are also on Bayern’s radar as they ready themselves to replace their star striker. Morata arrived at Stamford Bridge from Real Madrid last summer in a deal worth £58 million. He made a stunning start to his Chelsea career, netting seven times in his first seven games. Since then Morata has struggled, both with injuries and on the pitch, scoring just once this year. Read more
On Easter, Israel prevents Christian Gaza Youth from Entering Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Aawsat)
For the first time since Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the siege imposed on it, Israeli authorities decided to prevent the young Palestinians from the Christian communities in the Gaza Strip from entering Jerusalem during the Easter holiday and performing the prayer at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. According to a document issued by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, only Christians over the age of 55 will be allowed to enter Israel from the Gaza Strip to pray at Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre during Easter. Five hundred permits have been issued for the holiday, as compared to 700 for Christmas, but sources in Gaza say that the age restriction means that only about 10 percent of the quota will be filled. Read more
What Kim Jong Un really wants from President Trump (Time)
Growing up in Hyesan, North Korea, a small industrial city near the border with China, Hyeonseo Lee heard plenty about Americans. But never without a modifier. “It was always ‘American bastards’ or ‘American aggressors,’” she says. When Lee was 13, her school made the obligatory pilgrimage to the Sinchon Museum of American War Atrocities. There, Lee and her classmates were told of the 35,000 civilians North Korea says were massacred by U.S. troops at the start of the Korean War in 1950. She was shown where 100 North Korean mothers were separated from their newborns as they cried out for milk. And she was brought to the room where the heartless Americans supposedly fed the babies gasoline instead, before flinging in a match. Read more
Why Africa’s two biggest economies did not sign its landmark trade deal (Economist)
Not since the creation of the World Trade Organisation in 1995 has a free trade deal involved so many countries. On March 21st in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, 44 African leaders signed an agreement to create a “Continental Free Trade Area” (CFTA). The pact will eliminate tariffs on 90% of products, liberalise services and reduce non-tariff barriers. A second phase of negotiations, to begin later this year, will focus on investment, competition and intellectual property rights. Enthusiasts say that free trade will join up Africa’s fragmented markets, ignite industrialisation and create jobs. But 11 African countries, accounting for 37% of the continent’s GDP, sat out. Among them were Nigeria and South Africa, the two largest African economies. Why? Read more
Water crisis spurs protests in Iran (Reuters)
A number of protests have broken out in Iran since the beginning of the year over water, a growing political concern due to a drought which residents of parched areas and analysts say has been exacerbated by mismanagement. The demonstrations have been relatively small, sporadic and limited to towns around the central city of Isfahan and Khuzestan province in the west. But they have highlighted an issue that played a role in earlier unrest and the authorities have cracked down, while recognising the need for change. Read more