Lekki shooting: 81 dons write Biden, seek travel ban for culpable officials (Punch)
Eighty-one professors of African Studies, both Nigerians and non-Nigerians, have written a letter to the United States President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, seeking sanctions, including travel ban, for those responsible for the shooting of unarmed protesters at the Lekki tollgate area of Lagos on October 20.
In their letter dated November 13, 2020, the dons urged specific policy actions in response to the #EndSARS movement in Nigeria from the incoming Biden/Harris administration.
The dons specifically wrote to the Biden-Harris Transition Team, chaired by Ted Kaufman, and co-chaired by Anita Dunn, Cedric Richmond, Michelle Lujan Grisham, and Jeffrey Zients. Read more
#EndSARS: We cannot afford to keep sinful silence when youth are being oppressed (Vanguard)
The Serving Overseer of Citadel Global Community Church, formerly known as Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare said Sunday that the leaders of the nation “cannot afford to keep sinful silence when the youth of our nation are being oppressed by a Nigerian state that is supposed to protect them”
Bakare had weeks ago said that the #EndSARS protest was a tip of an iceberg saying any attempt to resolve the issues must go beyond the surface to excavate the underlying factors that led to the protest.
In a series of Tweets where he addressed crucial issue of national importance, Bakare said there’s need to channel the tremendous energy of the Nigerian youth towards building the Nigeria of our dreams, a nation of which generations yet unborn will be proud. Read more
Ijebu-Ode-Epe expressway will be ready for Christmas, Says Abiodun (Thisday)
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, weekend, assured the people of the state that the 14.7km Ijebu-Ode-Epe express road would be ready for use by Christmas.
Abiodun made this known while on an on-the-pot assessment tour of the road, noting that about eight to nine kilometres of one lane of the road would be completed in the next 10 days.
“The entire stretch going all the way from Epe to Ijebu-Ode would be completed by Christmas,” the governor said. Read more
Ondo varsity on verge of collapse, says ASUU (Nation)
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) branch has raised the alarm over possible collapse of the institution under Governor of Oluwarotimi Akeredolu due to underfunding.
It said there was no reason to reduce budgetary allocation to the institution when the academic staff increased from 382 in the 2015/2016 academic session to 456 with 45 of them being Professors and the academic programmes increased from 61 to 63.
Rising from its congress at the weekened, the AAUA ASUU said it was worrisome that staffers of the institution have been on amputated net salaries for the past three years while four months salaries were yet to be paid. Read more
2023 Presidency: Mass defection looms in South East PDP (Vanguard)
Ahead of the 2023 Presidential elections, some prominent leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from South East geopolitical zone have threatened to dump the party for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, if the presidential ticket was not ceded to the zone.
The PDP leaders also vowed not to take vice presidential position from the party, saying that anyone from the zone that accepts vice presidential ticket will be tagged as an enemy of the zone.
A former governor from the zone who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity said that South East has been faithful to the PDP since 1998 despite what happened to the late former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekweme at the convention in Jo’s. Read more
Fastrack domestic refining capacity to end unstable petrol pricing – LCCI DG (Guardian)
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) says accelerated domestic refining and processing of petroleum products would end the unstable petroleum pricing in the country, Dr Muda Yusuf, Director-Genera of the Chamber, said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos.
He explained that this action was necessary to prevent both the deregulation policy from being derailed and a return to a subsidy regime fraught with corrupt practices.
Yusuf also called for a competitive market framework to enable the deregulation achieve positive impact, saying that quick approval of domestic refinery operations would boost access to petroleum products for economic development. Read more
Bible inspired my album – Buchi (Punch)
Talented gospel singer, Buchi Atuonwu, popularly known as Buchi, has said that the inspiration behind his new album’s title, 11.59PM, came from the Bible.
Speaking in an interview with Sunday Scoop, the Mma Mma crooner said, “The inspiration for the album is the imminent return of Jesus Christ, as time is running out for the human race. If one studies the Bible, one would see that most of the prophecies there have been fulfilled progressively from when they were written till date.
“This should let us know that every other future occurrence, as recorded in the holy book, would happen. Knowing the times we live in now, it is obviously the eleventh hour, and that is why the album is titled, 11:59Pm.” Read more
Bandits invade Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic, abduct 3 (Thisday)
Two children and a member of staff of the Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic, Zaria, Kaduna State have been abducted by gunmen.
Another member of staff of the school, whose name was given as Sunusi Hassan, and narrowly escaped being abducted, was shot in the hand by the bandits and was taken to the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), Shika, Zaria.
It was learnt that the incident happened on Saturday at about 9pm when the hoodlums invaded the staff quarters of the main campus of the school, owned by the Kaduna State Government.
The incident is coming on the heels of students’ resumption after a long break as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown. Read more
Pantami tasks youth on creativity, entrepreneurial skills (Vanguard)
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, on Saturday, advised the Nigerian youth to develop their skills and drive innovation and entrepreneurship in the space sector.
Pantami gave the advice at the closing ceremony of Hackathon Actinspace Competition organised by NIGCOMSAT Limited in Abuja.
The minister, who was represented by the Managing Director, Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Mohammed Abubakar, said the competition’s focus was critical to the needs of the space industry and humanity.
“It gives us great opportunity to become major participants in the growing global digital economy thereby making ICT not just an enabler but a catalyst for economic growth,’’ he said. Read more
David Fincher suggests “Joker” starring Joaquin Phoenix was a ‘betrayal of the mentally ill for a billion dollars’ (Metro)
David Fincher has sparked a debate after appearing to suggest that the Joker movie, directed by Todd Phillips, was ‘a betrayal of the mentally ill’. The Gone Girl director shared his thoughts on the success of the Joker character in the Dark Knight franchise, helmed by Christopher Nolan, its continuation in Todd’s 2019 standalone film and movie studios’ attitude towards smashing box office sales. Speaking to The Telegraph, David said: ‘Nobody would have thought they had a shot at a giant hit with Joker had The Dark Knight not been as massive as it was.’ He then added: ‘I don’t think anyone would have looked at that material and thought, “Yeah, let’s take [Taxi Driver’s] Travis Bickle and [The King of Comedy’s] Rupert Pupkin and conflate them, then trap him in a betrayal of the mentally ill, and trot it out for a billion dollars.’ Read more
Armenia cedes disputed land to Azerbaijan after peace deal (AlJazeera)
Armenia has begun handing over disputed territory to Azerbaijan as part of a peace accord that ended six weeks of fierce fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Residents of the Kalbajar district, which has been controlled by ethnic Armenians for decades, began a mass exodus from the mountainous province in the days leading up to Sunday, the official withdrawal date.
Residents were seen piling their belongings into vehicles before leaving for Armenia. Some of the departing ethnic-Armenians said they had exhumed graves they feared would be desecrated by Azerbaijanis. Read more
TV legend Des O’Connor dies aged 88 (Metro)
TV host, singer and beloved entertainer Des O’Connor has died aged 88. The TV legend’s agent confirmed that he died ‘peacefully’ in his sleep on Saturday in hospital, surrounded by family. O’Connor was admitted to hospital a week ago after suffering a fall at his home in Buckinghamshire. A statement from his agent and friend Pat Lake-Smith read: ‘It is with great sorrow that I confirm that Des O’Connor passed away yesterday. He had been admitted to hospital just over a week ago, following a fall at his home in Buckinghamshire. ‘He was recovering well and had been in great spirits, visited by his family – in accordance with hospital lockdown regulations – and looking forward to going home. Read more
US left out as Asia Pacific nations strike world’s biggest trade deal (RT)
Ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and five other Asia-Pacific countries, including regional leader China, have inked the world’s largest free-trade pact that covers nearly a third of global economy.
The long-discussed agreement, officially known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), was signed on the sidelines of the annual ASEAN summit on Sunday. The meeting was virtual this year due the coronavirus outbreak.
“The signing of the RCEP Agreement is a historic event as it underpins ASEAN’s role in leading a multilateral trade agreement of this magnitude, despite global and regional challenges and eight years of negotiations,” said the secretary-general of the bloc, Dato Lim Jock Hoi. Read more
Ethiopia: Tigray leader confirms bombing Eritrean capital (AlJazeera)
The leader of Ethiopia’s Tigray region said on Sunday his forces bombed the airport in Eritrea’s capital Asmara, marking a major escalation in the conflict and raising fears of wider war in the Horn of Africa.
Tigray’s President Debretsion Gebremichael also said his forces have been fighting Eritrean forces “on several fronts” for the past few days. He did not specify where but did say Eritrean forces were deployed and fighting along Ethiopia’s border.
His troops are fighting “16 divisions” of the Eritrean army in addition to Ethiopian soldiers, he said. Read more
Petrol and diesel car sales ‘to be banned after 2030’ (Metro)
Brits will reportedly be unable to buy petrol or diesel cars after 2030, with the Government set to bring forward a ban planned for 2035. An organisation representing electric vehicle drivers has welcomed the move, which Boris Johnson is set to announce next week as part of a package of green initiatives, according to the Financial Times. It comes after research released by Greenpeace earlier this week found that 32,000 more jobs would be created by a 2030 ban instead of one five years later. Read more
Israel signs $237m contract with Pfizer for 8m doses of Covid vaccine (RT)
Israel has signed a formal agreement of intent with US pharma giant Pfizer for some eight million doses of its coronavirus vaccine candidate – if and when it is approved and the company starts supplying it to foreign customers.
Pfizer could receive an upfront payment of over $35 million as early as next week, even though the agreement does not include any commitment to actually supply the vaccine, Ynet reports. The remaining $200+ million will be paid once some eight million jabs are shipped, but if increased demand in the US or other ‘circumstances’ prevent Pfizer from fulfilling the order, Jerusalem expects a refund. Read more
Lewis Hamilton wins seventh Formula 1 title – equalling Michael Schumacher (BBC)
Lewis Hamilton clinched a seventh world championship and became the most successful racing driver in history with a masterful victory in the Turkish Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver equalled Michael Schumacher’s achievement in terms of titles after already surpassing the German’s win total last month.
Victory at a treacherously wet and slippery Istanbul Park track in a topsy-turvy race was the 94th of his career.
As he received the congratulations of his team, Hamilton was almost overcome with emotion in the car after the race, saying: “To all the kids out there, dream the impossible.” Read more
Former Flying Eagles goalkeeper, Felagha for burial November 18 (Nation)
Nigeria’s former Flying Eagles goalkeeper, John Felagha who passed on in Senegal will be committed to mother earth on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 at the Atan cemetery in Lagos.
Felagha’s family in conjunction with the Aspire Football Dreams, Nigeria confirmed this on Friday noting that the decision was after deliberations in Bayelsa, his home state.
According to Aspire Football Dreams, Nigeria which had been working round the clock from when the corpse arrived Nigeria from Senegal, the late John Felagha will be given a befitting burial as arrangements have been concluded for the internment at 10:00am on November 18, 2020. Read more
Terrence Crawford stops Kell Brook to retain welterweight title (RT)
Terence Crawford retained his WBO welterweight title in style with victory over Kell Brook with a fourth-round stoppage in Las Vegas, as attention now turns to what comes next for the undefeated American.
Crawford caught Brook with a bruising right hand in the fourth round, knocking the Sheffield-born former IBF welterweight champion against the ropes, following it up with a series of blows.
Despite Brook staying on his feet, the referee ruled the first punch to be a knockdown, and gave the Englishman the count. Read more
Manchester United left-back Alex Telles tests positive for coronavirus (Metro)
Manchester United left-back Alex Telles could miss Brazil’s clash with Uruguay on Tuesday after he tested positive for coronavirus for a second time. The 27-year-old had first tested positive for Covid-19 at the end of October and has missed four games for United as a result. Telles joined up with Brazil’s squad for the international break after producing a negative test and came off the bench in his nation’s 1-0 victory over Venezuela on Friday evening. Read more
UFC: Rafael dos Anjos calls out Conor McGregor after Paul Felder win (BBC)
Rafael dos Anjos dispatched Paul Felder at UFC Vegas 14 and immediately called out Conor McGregor for his next fight.
After his points win over five rounds, the Brazilian said the lightweight division was wide open and called out the Irishman, another former champion.
“I think me and Conor is the fight to make,” said the 36-year-old.
Earlier, Britain’s Cory McKenna became the first Welsh woman to feature in the UFC and the 21-year-old marked her debut with a win over Kay Hansen. Read more
Didier Deschamps fires warning to Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud after France beat Portugal (Metro)
France boss Didier Deschamps has suggested that Olivier Giroud may need to leave Chelsea in the January transfer window.
Manchester United forward Anthony Martial started ahead of Giroud on Saturday evening as France sealed their place in the Nations League final with a 1-0 victory over Portugal.
Martial missed several clear-cut chances in France’s win and was replaced by Giroud with 12 minutes remaining. Read more