Lagos approves 135 private hospitals for COVID-19 vaccination, okays N6,000 fee (Punch)
The Lagos State Government has engaged 135 private health facilities for the administration of COVID-19 vaccine, saying this will strengthen the mass vaccination strategy targeted at four million residents by December 2021.
The state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, in a statement on Sunday, said the number of public and private vaccination sites in Lagos was now 360.
Abayomi said the enrolled private facilities were engaged after a rigorous selection and accreditation process that hinged on quality assurance, vaccine safety and follow-up care.
He added that the list of accredited private and public facilities is available on the website of NPHCDA and the official communication channels of the Lagos State Government. Read more
Lecturer, student shot dead at Lagos College of Education (Nation)
Suspected cultists have killed a lecturer and a student at the Michael Otedola College of Primary Health Education (MOCPED) Epe, Lagos State.
The lecturer was identified as Ahmed Saheed and the student as Rasak Bakare.
The lecturer was said to have been killed around Poka Town on Friday while the student, who was chased by his assailants, was killed inside a church he ran to on Wednesday.
However, Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, said the command was only aware of the student’s murder, explaining that it was a clash between rival cult groups. Read more
Lagos constructs 345 public toilets (Punch)
The Lagos State Government has said 345 public toilets have been constructed across the state in a bid to tackle open defecation.
The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tunji Bello, disclosed this during the 2021 World Toilet Day celebration held on Friday.
Bello was represented at the event by the Special Adviser on Drainage and Water Resources, Mr Joe Igbokwe.
He said, “The state has constructed 345 public toilets in strategic locations across the metropolis, while 615 privately-owned toilets operators have also been registered. Read more
NDLEA recovers 6,043.857kg narcotics from five states, holds Brazil-based drug baron (Punch)
A Brazil-based drug merchant, Moses Okafor, has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency over 2.55 kilogrammes of cocaine recovered from a toilet at the E-Arrival Hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos.
The drug was reportedly discovered in the toilet on Friday, November 12, after it was dumped by a trafficker said to be scared of being caught by narcotic officers at the airport.
A statement on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the following day, the actual owner of the consignment, Okafor, arrived at the airport from Brazil via an Ethiopian Airline flight and was promptly arrested.
During interrogation, the suspect reportedly confirmed he was the owner of the seized drug. Read more
Speaker’s convoy assaults FAAN staff at tollgate (Sun)
A convoy belonging to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, allegedly assaulted a staff of the Commercial Department of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, yesterday.
In a Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage obtained by Daily Sun, a convoy of black Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) was seen driving towards the tollgate and, at one of the booths, the first car passed and the automatic barrier went down before the second car in the convoy could pass the booth. The security officials got angry and alighted from the vehicle and began to physically assault a man later identified to be a staff of the commercial department of FAAN. The dark complexioned victim (name withheld), who was assaulted wore a tee-shirt on a pair of jeans trousers.
A reliable source at FAAN, who witnessed the incident, told Daily Sun that the police officers who are usually stationed at the tollgate identified their colleagues in the convoy as those working for the Speaker. Daily Sun also confirmed that Gbajabiamila was not present in the convoy as he had been dropped off at one of the private hangars at the airport area, while his convoy was returning when the incident happened.
“About 3.40pm on Sunday, November, 21, a convoy belonging to the Speaker of the House of Representatives wanted to pass through the tollgate and they demanded that the barrier be lifted, so the cars would drive through at once. But it is not possible because it is automated and it only allows one car to pass through at a time. When the first car in the convoy passed through, the barrier came down and the driver now asked the FAAN staff that was manning that particular booth why he allowed the barrier to come down, and the staff told him that it is automated and can only take one car at a time. Read more
Health workers lament over delaying decision of FG (VON)
The Nigeria Health workers, under the aegis of the Joint Health Sector Union, on yesterday rebuke Federal Government over its failure to decide a harmonised rate for the new hazard allowance scale.
The President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, Godiya Ishaya, stated that the association had submitted necessary documents for the payment rates.
NARD and JOHESU had embarked on industrial action over the failure of the federal government to increase the hazard allowance being paid to doctors and health workers.
It was revealed that doctors and health workers were still being paid N5, 000 as a hazard allowance. Read more
Electoral Act: Adamant APC governors in crucial meeting (Tribune)
Governors on the platform of the All Progressives Congress are meeting tonight at the Kebbi state Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro Abuja.
A party source privy to the meeting told Nigerian Tribune that the governors are unrelenting in their opposition to the adoption of the Direct Primaries option for the emergence of party’s candidates by the National Assembly in the Electoral Act 2021 passed by both chambers of Parliament.
Senior Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly (Senate) Senator Babajide Omoworare last Friday dropped the hint that the Bill had been sent to President Muhammadu Buhari for his presidential assent.
Checks revealed that a meeting brokered by Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo between the governors and the leadership of the National Assembly last week ended in a deadlock as both camps refused to yield grounds. Read more
Oyo to pay Osun N1b over LAUTECH sole ownership (ThisDay)
The Chairman, Governing Council Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Prof. Deji Omole, Sunday, said the Oyo State government is set to pay Osun State government another N1billion or before first week of December out of the N8 billion contained in the asset sharing agreement.
He said Governor Seyi Makinde had also released the sum of N500 million to the institution as grant for the smooth take-off of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Renewable Natural Resources in Iseyin Campus of the university.
Omole who made the disclosures yesterday in a statement to mark one year anniversary of the sole ownership of LAUTECH and six months of the inauguration the Governing Council of the institution, said Governor Makinde has paid five out of eight months salaries owed workers of the institution before taking over the sole ownership of the institution, stating that the balance would be cleared in the next six months.
It would be recalled that Oyo State became the sole owner of LAUTECH on November 20, 2021, following an agreement reached between the defunct owners of Oyo and Osun States. Read more
Alleged N20b Bailout: Kogi gives EFCC 48-hour ultimatum to apologise (Channels)
The Kogi State Government has given a 48-hour ultimatum to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to apologise and retract a malicious statement that it kept N20 billion bailout fund meant to pay salaries in a commercial bank meant to yield interest.
In a briefing on Sunday in Lagos, the Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, said the state government did not open or create the said account.
“I want to assure you that after 48 hours from today, if they refuse to retract their ill-fated, false, politically motivated, irresponsible press statement, we will drag them to court,” the commissioner said.
The commissioner equally challenged the anti-graft agency to produce the account mandate and details of those who operated the account. Read more
FCT teachers vow to continue strike (Leadership)
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) said it has resolved to continue with its strike because the area councils’ chairmen are yet to make serious commitment towards the settlement of the contentious issues as it concerns the primary schools teachers.
The chairman of the NUT, Comrade Stephen Knabayi, who made this known yesterday, said the union appreciated the FCT minister for being proactive in giving the directive for the settlement of the secondary schools’ teachers’ outstanding arrears before the end of December 2021.
According to Knabayi, “The ALGON letter to the union where they are saying that they will commence some payment from December allocation, instead of November, which makes us understand that there is no serious commitment on the part of the council chairmen, hence, the strike continues.”
However, some parents have expressed worry over the continuous strike action by the teachers across the FCT. Read more
US: Car rams into Wisconsin Christmas parade (DW)
A vehicle sped into a Christmas parade in the US state of Wisconsin on Sunday, leaving more than 20 people injured, according to local authorities.
The attack occurred in Waukesha, a city within the Milwaukee metropolitan area.
Police said the scene was now safe and they had “a person of interest they were looking into at this point.” However, local media reported that Waukesha residents have been asked to shelter in place as police search for suspects.
Waukesha Mayor Shawn Riley told a local TV station he did not believe there was any more danger to the public. Read more
Bulgarian president sails to reelection on anti-corruption message (TheHill)
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev won a second term in office by a wide margin during Sunday’s presidential run-off election, Reuters reported.
According to exit polls, Radev earned 66 percent of the votes, defeating his opponent Anastas Gerdzhikov who earned 32 percent of the vote.
Radev, a former air-force commander, nearly won the election outright in the first round on Nov. 14, according to Reuters.
He told reporters on Sunday the results “clearly highlighted the desire of the people for change, to break with corruption, robbery and unlawfulness and remove the mafia from power.” Read more
All new buildings will need to have charging points for electric vehicles installed from next year (DailyMail)
New homes and buildings will be required to install electric vehicle charging points from next year, Boris Johnson will confirm today.
In a speech to the Confederation of British Industry annual conference, the Prime Minister is set to announce legislation to drive an electric car ‘revolution’.
New-build homes, supermarkets and workplaces will have to install charging points as standard by law, while properties undergoing major renovations will also be forced to make the upgrades.
Mr Johnson is expected to say: ‘We will require new homes and buildings to have EV charging points, with another 145,000 charging points to be installed thanks to these regulations. Read more
Midwives gather in cities across UK to protest ‘crisis’ in maternity care (Metro)
Midwives have staged protests across the UK to call on the Government to address the ‘crisis’ in maternity care.
Organisers of the demonstrations say more must be done to stop people leaving the profession amid warnings there soon ‘won’t be any midwives left.’
Supporters of the March with Midwives event were asked to gather in towns and cities across much of the UK on Sunday, with rallies held in London’s Parliament Square, Birmingham and Manchester.
The Royal College of Midwives say staff are exhausted after years of working in wards with ‘too few staff and inadequate resources.’ Read more
Covid: Austria back in lockdown as protests rock Europe (BBC)
Austria has returned to a full national lockdown as protests against new restrictions aimed at curbing Covid-19 infections spread across Europe.
From midnight, Austrians have been asked to work from home and non-essential shops have closed.
New restrictions have sparked protests throughout Europe. People clashed with police in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Infection rates have risen sharply on the continent, prompting warnings from the World Health Organization (WHO). Read more
2 of 17 missionaries kidnapped in Haiti released (Aljazeera)
Two of the 17 Christian missionaries kidnapped in Haiti last month have been released, according to the group’s United States-based church organisation.
In a statement on Sunday, the Christian Aid Ministries said, “We have learned that two of the hostages in Haiti were released.”
It said it could not give the names of those released, why they were freed or other information.
“While we rejoice at this release, our hearts are with the 15 people who are still being held,” it added. Read more
One Nation anti-vaccine mandate bill rejected despite support from 5 coalition senators (Guardian)
One Nation’s anti-Covid vaccination mandate bill has been rejected in the Senate, despite five government senators crossing the floor to support it.
On Monday morning Liberals Gerard Rennick and Alex Antic, who have threatened to withhold support from government legislation, voted for the bill contradicting the Morrison government’s aged care vaccine mandate and state government public health orders.
The rebel pair were joined by Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Matt Canavan and Sam McMahon, who has opened a fresh front of dispute with her own government, complaining her territory rights bill to restore legislative power on euthanasia had been bumped from the agenda to make way for the vaccine mandate debate.
One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, and senator Malcolm Roberts signalled they supported their bill, but were not allowed to vote in the Senate as both attended parliament remotely from Queensland. Read more
BTS and Coldplay deliver first-ever live ‘My Universe’ Performance at the American Music Awards (People)
BTS’ moves are still smooth as butter!
The K-pop stars joined Coldplay onstage at the American Music Awards on Sunday for the first live performance of their hit collaboration “My Universe.”
Though BTS didn’t perform a signature choreographed dance routine, they grooved along to the song as they interacted with fans in the crowd, who cheered enthusiastically throughout the performance.
At the end, both BTS and Coldplay engaged in a dance party of sorts as controlled fireworks blasted off behind them on stage. Read more
Lawyers demand FIFA pay off Gernot Rohr (Nation)
Lawyers representing Gernot Rohr have proposed that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) pay him off through their annual FIFA subvention.
The amount of the severance payoff is the stumbling block to an official announcement by the NFF that Rohr has been relieved of the Super Eagles top post.
The NFF have already proposed to pay him a year’s salary, which comes to about $600,000, for him to step down.
However, it appears Rohr’s lawyers want a lot more. Their proposal will besides the severance pay off include penalty payments. Read more
Inter beat Napoli in thriller to fire title warning shot (France24)
Inter Milan strengthened their Serie A title defence on Sunday with an enthralling 3-2 win over Napoli which moved them to within four points of the league leaders.
Simone Inzaghi’s side came back from Piotr Zielinski’s powerful early strike to close the gap on both Napoli and AC Milan, who lost 4-3 at Fiorentina on Saturday, in a breathless encounter at the San Siro.
Hakan Calhanoglu levelled the scores from the penalty spot midway through the first half and further goals from Ivan Perisic and Lautaro Martinez made sure of the points and made a three-way title race even more interesting.
Napoli, who also scored through Dries Mertens with 11 minutes left, lost their unbeaten league record just as Milan did in Florence after Samir Handanovic pulled off a miracle save to deny Mario Rui’s header in stoppage time. Read more
Michael Carrick offers Manchester United the quality they crave most and Pep Guardiola knows it (ManchesterEveningNews)
Manchester United find themselves in purgatory.
After the disastrous 4-1 loss at Watford, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is out of his job and United’s next regime prepares to begin.
And it’s now up to Michael Carrick to steady the ship, having been handed the reins on an interim basis. The United great has served under both Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho since his retirement but this will be an inaugural turn in the dugout. And at a time when United crave stability.
United will continue their search for a more medium-term interim replacement for Solskjaer but, until then, Carrick will be the man at the helm. And while he does not have any prior experience of managing a top club like United, there seems as much upside to him leading a disillusioned group of players as there is a risk that things go from bad to worse. Read more
Chaos in Lyon as Marseille’s Payet struck by bottle again (France24)
Sunday’s Ligue 1 match between Lyon and Marseille was abandoned nearly two hours after it was interrupted when Dimitri Payet was hit by a water bottle thrown from the crowd for the second time this season.
Payet required treatment after being struck on the side of the head as he prepared to take a corner in the fifth minute, prompting both teams to return to the changing rooms.
Marseille president Pablo Longoria called it a “dark night for football”.
“Dimitri is affected psychologically, it’s not normal,” he told Amazon Prime. Read more
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai said she is safe in video call, says IOC (TheAthletic)
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai said she is safe in a video call with the International Olympic Committee, the Olympics governing body announced in a statement on Sunday. The announcement comes amid global concern for Peng’s safety and her recent unknown whereabouts after accusing a former Chinese government official of sexual assault.
IOC president Thomas Bach, Chinese sports official Li Lingwei and the Chair of the Athletes’ Commission, Emma Terho, participated in a 30-minute call with Peng, per the committee. The 35-year-old women’s doubles player said she is “safe and well” at her home in Beijing and requests for her privacy to be respected at this time, according to the IOC. The committee released an image of Peng on a video call but did not provide any video of the call.
“I was relieved to see that Peng Shuai was doing fine, which was our main concern,” Terho said in a statement. “She appeared to be relaxed. I offered her our support and to stay in touch at any time of her convenience, which she obviously appreciated.”
On Nov. 2, Peng posted a lengthy social media message accusing retired Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of pressuring her into having sex with him despite her refusals three years ago. Peng also said that she had sex with Zhang seven years ago and developed feelings for him after that, per the Associated Press. Read more
NBA: Fracas as LeBron James ejected for only 2nd time, after leaving opponent bleeding (StraitsTimes)
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was ejected from their 121-116 victory over host Detroit on Sunday (Nov 21) after receiving a flagrant foul for slamming his left fist into the face of Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart.
The strike left a big gash in Stewart’s face with blood pouring out of it. It also enraged him as Stewart repeatedly tried to charge at James as his teammates and coaches unsuccessfully tried to calm him down.
The ejection of James came in his second contest after missing eight games with an abdominal strain. It is his second career ejection. Read more
Qatar GP: Fernando Alonso opens up on long-awaited F1 podium return and why it ‘means a lot’ (Sky)
Fernando Alonso has admitted he was beginning to wonder whether he ever would finish on the podium in Formula 1 again, as the former world champion ended a seven-year and 105-race wait for the 98th rostrum visit of his illustrious career.
The 40-year-old Spaniard earned driver of the day honours in F1’s inaugural Qatar GP for Alpine by impressively making what proved a challenging one-stop tyre strategy work to finish behind only title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, and ahead of Sergio Perez.
Having already impressed to qualify fifth on Saturday, Alonso was promoted two places after pre-race grid drops for Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas and then overtook Pierre Gasly in what he described as a “very important” move on the opening lap to run second in the early stages.
That typically-feisty early move laid the foundations for the next 56 laps. Read more