Nigerian act Yemi Alade is thanking God for sparing her after surviving a car crash in Spain.

A former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, recommended that the Economic Community of West African States avoid a possible war with Niger since it would essentially be a battle between brothers.

El-Rufai urged the West African group to take action to stop a war that might have consequences for the northern part of Nigeria in the early hours of Tuesday via his account on X, (formerly Twitter).

The former governor of Kaduna compared ECOWAS’s impending military intervention in Niger to a civil war between brothers.

“I remember the Dire Straits rock classic from the 1970s,” He said, “TUESDAY THOUGHT: As ECOWAS beats the drums of war, I recall the 1970s rock classic by Dire Straits – ‘Brothers in Arms’ because a war within our subregion is a war between brothers.

“Indeed, the people of Niger Republic are one and the same with those living in Northern Nigeria. Let us bend therefore over backwards to avoid this civil war between brothers. And so for this bright Tuesday, please enjoy this classic and reflect on the equally timeless lyrics. Music is something to enjoy, but being so overwhelmed with public affairs in the last 10 years, I have lost valuable pleasurable moments. Time to catch up on lost time. Enjoy!! Life is too short not too!! – #elrufai

Recall that on Friday, August 18, 2023, the ECOWAS military leaders met in Accra, Ghana, to examine whether military intervention in Niger would be feasible.

Following fruitless diplomatic efforts by several ECOWAS parties, this action is a response to the military coup that took place in the nation.

The police command in Enugu says it killed two suspected kidnappers and rescued a kidnap victim at the outskirts of the metropolis.

The Bayelsa government has promised to pay wage awards to all local government employees, starting from August, to cushion the hardships caused by the petrol subsidy removal.

Deputy Governor Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo gave the assurance on Monday at a meeting with local government stakeholders, including the eight caretaker committee chairmen, labour leaders and principal officers of the LGAs at Government House, Yenagoa.

He announced that the government, in collaboration with the LGAs, would also ensure the payment of gratuities to the councils’ retirees.

He informed that the Bayelsa government had approved 30 per cent payment of the gratuities across the board for retirees, starting from August.

On the wage awards, the deputy governor said council workers on grade levels one to six would now earn N20,000 as additional salary, grade levels seven to 10, N30,000, while those on grade levels 12 to 14 will now have N40,000 added to their salaries.

He added that government also approved N50,000 as wage awards to council employees on grade level 15 to 17, while heads of local governments will earn N100,000 as additional salary.

“While waiting for the reliefs from the federal government, we are proposing a wage award for local government employees. The governor has given anticipatory approval but I believe he will give the final approval this week. And we will start implementing the approval,” stated the deputy governor.

“That is why I have always encouraged local government workers to be patient with us. We are aware of your sufferings and the state government will not hesitate to intervene.”

He explained the government made some gratuities proposal, “which we want the local governments to support us” and the proposal is to pay 30 per cent across the board “to all those who have retired from wherever the payment stopped to 2022 and one month in 2023.”

Mr Ewhrudjakpo added, “Our plan is for every local government retiree to get something at the end of this month (August). The Governor has already approved this. We are only going to raise a committee to supervise the payment because we still have some grey areas to address.”

Mr Ewhrudjakpo, who commended local government workers and retirees for their understanding and patience, assured that the Prosperity Administration would continue to take steps to address issues concerning their welfare.

On the ongoing data capturing exercise for the computerisation of staff on the Oracle Payroll System, the deputy governor appealed to the workers’ union at the local government level to be a little bit patient with government to test run the software and make necessary corrections before full take-off.

He also assured that approval would be given for the conduct of the 2023 senior staff promotion exercise, due in 2023.

Police commissioner Kanayo Uzuegbu has embarked on a confidence-building patrol and interface with traders and transporters in Enugu.

Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned home on Tuesday after 15 years in self-imposed exile.

A private jet with Mr Thaksin on board landed at Don Mueang Airport in the capital Bangkok on Tuesday morning, Thai local media reported.

Mr Thaksin, who made his fortune in the telecom industry, was elected prime minister in 2001.

In 2006, he was overthrown in a military coup.Mr Thaksin was accused of corruption and abuse of power, as well as disrespect for the monarchy.

In 2008, he fled the country into exile to avoid imprisonment.

Mr Thaksin could still be imprisoned now that he has returned.

However, political observers doubt that the 74-year-old billionaire would spend much time behind bars if so.

In Thailand, convicts over the age of 70 can apply for parole or a royal pardon.

Mr Thaksin’s return came a few hours before parliament is due to hold another vote on electing a new prime minister.

The Thaksin-backed Pheu Thai Party is seeking power with property tycoon Srettha Thavisin as its candidate and an alliance with conservatives.

The party depends on the support of the military-appointed Senate chamber of parliament to come to power.

The country has had no new prime minister since the parliamentary election three months ago.

Pheu Thai, which came second in the election, has now taken over the formation of the government after the leader of the winning progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) failed in his bid to become prime minister.

He failed due to opposition from the military-appointed Senate.

The Ondo government says it feels the “pains” of its people as they endure the hardships caused by fuel subsidy removal, stressing that President Bola Tinubu’s 3,000 bags of rice for “vulnerable” people in the state are not enough.

EDU ASSUMES OFFICE AS NEW MINISTER OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION.

The new Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Chimaobim Edu today assumed office at the Ministry’s Headquarters in Abuja and raised hope for 136 million poor Nigerians.

She said that His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, is passionate about alleviating poverty and renewing the hopes of Nigerians.

According to her, if the statistics of having over 200 million Nigerians is correct, then 136 million poor Nigerians is alarming and completely unacceptable to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

She said the Ministry was renamed to bring back smiles on the faces of Nigerians and assured that before the end of Mr. President’s first tenure, a lot would be done to address the issue of poverty in the country.

“There is need to get down to those who are underserved and renew their hopes. We are going to be very sincere, transparent and accountable to Nigerians. We are going to speak out and tell them what we are doing”.

She told the management and staff of the Ministry that she is a team player, a good listener and operates an open door policy.

She solicited the cooperation of all staff and stakeholders to realise the vision of Mr President of lifting 136 million poor Nigerians out of poverty.

She said there is a huge task ahead and all hands must be on deck to achieve the mandate of the Ministry.

Dr Edu pledged to make the Ministry one of the best Ministries in Nigeria.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, mni, NPOM, said it is a nice coincidence that the Minister was assuming Office on 21st August the same day the Ministry is marking its 4th anniversary.

He appreciated Mr. President for the appointment of a vibrant woman to head the Ministry, adding that the Ministry is the closest to the people because it mops up the fallout from other Ministries and agencies.

He assured the Honourable Minister of the full cooperation and support of the management and staff of the ministry to achieve the mandate given to her.

He officially handed over the affairs of the Ministry to the newly inaugurated Minister.

In attendance were: Directors of the Ministry, Agencies of the Ministry and the Media.

The Kaduna state government has announced the downward review of tuition fees in state-owned tertiary institutions.

He said:

Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno has urged security agencies to continue to step up intelligence capability in containing security challenges facing the nation.

The Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN), codenamed Amotekun, in Ondo State on Monday arrested a juvenile robber (name withheld), who adopted the name of a notorious Nigerian armed robber, “Oyenusi”.

The Nigerian Army, on Monday, said it had rescued another Chibok girl, Mary Nkeki, 27, in Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno.

The Osun State House of Assembly has directed the immediate suspension of the ongoing staff audit for workers on the payroll of Osun State Government, being handled by Sally Tibbot Consulting.

This was disclosed in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Olamide Tiamiyu, obtained in Osogbo on Monday.

The audit had witnessed pockets of disruption, the latest being the faceoff between the consultant, Sa’adat Bakrin-Ottun and staff members of Osun State University last week Friday during the verification exercise.

Tiamiyu also said the decision to suspend the audit followed an emergency meeting of the lawmakers on the petitions written against the consultant.

He further said the Speaker had constituted an ad-hoc committee to look into the issues around the petitions and come up with necessary recommendations.

The statement further read, “The Osun State House of Assembly has directed the consultant handling the staff audit of workers in the employment of the State Government, Sally Tibbot Consulting, to suspend the process until further notice.

“The directive of the House was conveyed by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Adewale Egbedun, to the newsmen on Monday after an emergency meeting with other Honourable members to review the petitions written against the consultant to the Osun State House of Assembly.

“The Speaker further constituted an ad-hoc committee to look into the issues around the petition and come up with necessary recommendations.

“Consequently, all relevant stakeholders have been invited to the House of Assembly for a meeting on Tuesday 22nd August by 10.00 am prompt.”

The Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Mosque in Al Mushrif, a district in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, has been renamed to ‘Mariam, Umm Eisa’ which translates from Arabic to English as ‘Mary Mother of Jesus’.

The renaming of the mosque was ordered by Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi crown prince, “to consolidate bonds of humanity between followers of different religions,” Gulf News reports.

Reacting to the development, a senior chaplain at St Andrew’s Church, Andrew Thompson, was quoted as saying, “We are delighted that we are celebrating something that we have in common between both our faiths.

“Mary, as the mother of Jesus, is of course a holy, special figure in our communities. She is a woman who symbolises obedience to God.

“We look forward to growing in deeper understanding with our neighbours, and we celebrate with them the new name of the mosque,” Thompson said.

Jeramie Rinne, senior pastor of the Evangelical Community Church in Abu Dhabi, also hailed the news.

“Mohammad has made another generous gesture of religious tolerance in renaming the mosque.

The UAE continues to set the pace in this region for peaceful coexistence and cooperation. We are very encouraged and feel blessed to be a part of this nation,” he said.

A church in Al Ain was said to have recently opened its doors for Maghrib prayers.

Church workers reportedly laid down carpets on the wooden floor for over 200 Asian Muslim workers to say their prayers.

The Nigerian Naval force on Monday paraded pipeline vandals and crude oil thieves.

The gang of about 10 suspects were paraded with equipment used to steal the country’s resources at the NNS Beecroft, Naval Base, Apapa, Lagos.

The Russian army said it repelled another Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow on Monday morning.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has commenced the distribution of relief materials to flood victims in Kwara.

As tropical storm Hilary bears down on Southern California, a series of earthquakes complicated the picture even further, with a magnitude 5.1 quake just south of the Los Padres National Forest around 2:45 p.m.

Sunday (2145 GMT).Four more followed suit in the minutes after, ranging from 3.1 to 3.6 on the Richter scale.

The storm made landfall Sunday on the Baja California peninsula of Mexico, with “catastrophic and life-threatening flooding” expected in the region, including across parts of the southwestern U.S., according to the National Hurricane Centre.

One person drowned Saturday in the Mexican town of Santa Rosalia, on the peninsula’s eastern coast, when a vehicle was swept away in an overflowing stream.

Rescue workers managed to save four other people, said Edith Aguilar Villavicencio, the mayor of Mulege township.

Forecasters have warned of “life-threatening” flooding in areas not known for rainfall and said strong winds might down trees and power lines.

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Saturday declared a state of emergency ahead of Hilary’s expected landing later Sunday.

The storm is expected to enter the history books as the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years.

The police in Burkina Faso killed 40 Islamist fighters, the army said on Sunday.

The terrorists ambushed a police reconnaissance mission in Koulpelogo province in the north-east of the country on Saturday, the military said.

Five police officers were also killed during the attack.

Armed groups have been active in the Sahel state and its neighbours Mali and Niger for years.

Some of the armed groups have sworn allegiance to the terrorist groups Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

Thousands have died in the conflict with armed groups with millions of people displaced.

All three countries are led by military leaders who took power in military coups – the most recent of which was in Niger on July 26.

Burkina Faso, which has a population of around 21 million, is led by a military transitional government that promised the population after a coup in autumn to eradicate the jihadists – but so far without success.

A Niger Delta chieftain, Nature Dumale, on Sunday hailed the decision of President Bola Tinubu to return the supervision of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to the Presidency.

“We are standing behind President Tinubu and we await, with great enthusiasm and renewed vigour, the speedy development of our homeland,” he stated.