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The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Wednesday, administered the Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of Office to three new Permanent Secretaries of the Federal Civil Service.
Buhari swore them in at the Council Chamber of the presidential villa, Abuja.The newly Permanent Secretaries are Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, Mr Udo Okokon Ekanem and Lydia Shehu Jafiya.
Favour Ashe and Nzubechi Nwokocha led the pack as all Nigerian sprinters on Tuesday qualified for the next heats in the 100m Round 1 at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK.Ashe was Nigeria’s first runner, finishing first in Round 1, Heat 1 of the men’s 100m in 10.12secs, above England’s Nethaneel Blake (10.14secs) and St Kitts and Nevis’ Nadale Buntin (10.37secs).Ashe’s time would prove to be the best of all Nigerian sprinters on the day, as Raymond Ekevwo, who came closest, recorded 10.14secs to narrowly edge out Jamaica’s Kemar Cole (10.15secs) to second place in Heat 4.In Heat 6, Godson Oghenebrume finished third in 10.36secs, behind Sri Lanka’s Yupun Abeykoon (10.06secs), the only runner to beat Ashe’s time, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Kion Benjamin (10.34secs).
Nzubechi Nwokocha finished first in Round 1, Heat 1 of the women’s 100m with a time of 10.99secs above New Zealand’s Zoe Hobbs (11.09secs) and England’s Asha Philip (11.27secs).Rosemary Chukwuma also finished first in Heat 4 at 11.02secs, above Botswana’s Oarabile Tshosa (11.40secs) and Guyana’s Jasmine Abrams (11.41secs).In Heat 5, Joy Udo-Gabriel produced her season’s best of 11.43secs to finish third behind Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye (11.14secs) and The Bahamas’ Tynia Gaither (11.19secs).
In Group B of the Women’s Shot Put qualifying round, Orobosa Frank finished fifth with a throw of 16.27m earning her a qualification to the next round.
A woman was shot dead in a broad-daylight attack in Queens, New York, and police allege she was killed by a homeless man who’d been staying at her apartment. Sydney Lugo, 24, had been arguing with the man, Tariak Stykes, 34, near 109th Avenue and 120th Street in South Ozone Park around 9:20 a.m. on Monday, August 1, when he allegedly shot her in the right arm, cops said.
She was rushed to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center where she succumbed to her injuries, police said on Tuesday, August 2.
Lugo, who lived in an apartment building close to the scene, had allowed Stykes to stay with her temporarily, cops said. The two were arguing when Stykes allegedly opened fire, but the exact nature of their squabble is unclear, police said. Styles was taken into custody shortly after the shooting and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon, cops said.
Manchester United stars, Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire were reportedly the most abused players on Twitter last season.
According to a report published on Tuesday August 2, nearly three-quarters of Premier League footballers received abusive messages with some of them receiving them daily. The report, carried out by The Alan Turing Institute and Ofcom and using new technology, analysed 2.3million messages directed at players in the English top-flight over the first five months of the 2021-22 season.
It found 60,000 posts deemed abusive, with 68 percent of players in the top flight receiving at least one message in that period.
One in 14 players received abusive tweets every day, according to the report, with half of all abusive messages being directed at 12 players, who received on average 15 per day. Ronaldo received 12,520 abusive tweets while Maguire had 8,954 and Marcus Rashford, also of Manchester United, had the third-highest total with 2,557. Eight Manchester United players featured in the top 10. Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane, England’s captain, and Manchester City’s Jack Grealish made the top 10.
As a club, Tottenham players had the highest percentage of total tweets that were abusive, 3.7 per cent. ‘These stark findings uncover the extent to which footballers are subjected to vile abuse across social media,’ Dr Bertie Vidgen, lead author of the report and Head of Online Safety at The Alan Turing Institute, said. See the top 10 most abused players on Twitter during 2021-22 season below.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Man United)
2. Harry Maguire (Man United)
3. Marcus Rashford (Man United)
4. Bruno Fernandes (Man United)
5. Harry Kane (Tottenham)
6. Fred (Man United)
7. Jesse Lingard (Man United)
8. Jack Grealish (Man City)
9. Paul Pogba (Man United)
10. David de Gea (Man United)
Chris Rock reportedly has ‘no plans’ to reach out to Will Smith after the actor publicly apologized for slapping him at the Academy Awards, it has been claimed.Over the weekend, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star, 53, offered an apology, where he said he had taken the last four months to ‘work’ on himself after the incident at the Oscars in March.
He also said he reached out to Chris, but the message he got was that he’s not ready to talk when he is, he will reach out.
A source has reported the comedian, 57, isn’t currently ready to rekindle a friendship and said that Will’s apology was simply a bid to repair his public image.An insider told ET Online: ‘Chris has no plans to reach out to Will’ before adding: ‘He [Will] needs the public’s forgiveness, not Chris’.’Chris, who was hosting the Academy Awards show back in March, joked that Smith’s wife Jada looked like ‘G.I. Jane’ because of her bald, and not knowing that the actress suffers from alopecia.
A crash involving two vehicles in the early hours of Tuesday along Alaro City, Epe area of Lagos State claimed 16 lives and injured five.Twenty-three male adults were involved in the crash; while 16 died, five were critically injured, and two suffered no injuries.Confirming the accident, the Federal Road Safety Corps, Lagos Command, noted that the crash occurred at 03:00 am and was caused by impaired visibility due to reckless driving.A statement by the FRSC Public Education Officer of the command, Olabisi Sonusi, revealed that the five injured victims have been hospitalised.It partly read, “The vehicles involved in the crash were a white bus with Registration number KTN 262YJ and an Articulated truck (Registration Number unknown).
FRSC operatives and other emergency management agencies are on ground, ensuring prompt recovery and evacuation of all crashed vehicles.“The Sector Commander Federal Road Safety Corps Lagos Sector Command Corps Commander Olusegun Ogungbemide, therefore, advised motorists to always avoid night journey because of impaired visibility at that hour.
He also admonished the motoring public always to observe construction signage and speed limits at such zones.“Ogungbemide is also using this medium to commiserate with the families of the deceased, while wishing the injured quick recovery.”
A Nigerian man identified as Wesley Anthony Ogheneruona Ojih, from Ebor- Orogun, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, has narrated how his two sons died in a motor accident same day. The teenagers, Favour Ogheneruona, 16, and Precious Ogheneruona,14, were laid to rest in their hometown after a funeral service at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Agbor on Thursday, July 21, 2022.
The brothers were said to be on the same motorcycle when they had a fatal collision with a tipper lorry on the Owa-Okei Road, Owa which led to their death on May 24, 2022.
In an interview published by Ika Weekly Newspaper on Tuesday, August 2, Ogheneruona Ojih revealed that his first son was looking forward to studying Engineering, while the second hoped to become a medical doctor before the age of 22. “I had a total of five sons until I lost my first two sons, Precious and Favour Ogheneruona, to death; who had concluded their May/June WAEC examination and just started the NECO examination,” he said.
They have only written Marketing and Physics Practical before the ugly incident that occurred on the 24th, of May 2022.
On that fateful day, they had no examination to write, so they decided to join their mother, my wife, and me on the farm at Otolokpo and by 1 pm, to go back to Agbor for their NECO thumbprinting. It was on their way back, between Owa Ekei and Owa Alero, that a big truck (tipper) crushed them to death. “Their death was a huge loss to us, as my first son was already anticipating studying Engineering, while the second one to become a medical doctor, before the age of twenty-two.
We loved our children so much; they were very obedient and are committed to our well-being of the family, even at their young age. They were working for us because they were envisaging that as they are working for us, we the parents will in turn would use those resources to send them to the University He further added, “The Bible said we should give God thanks in every situation of life, actually, it is better they died that way than becoming a nuisance to society and source of burden to us because the impact of the accident on them was tremendous.”
To the glory of God, despite the fact my late sons died at a young age, they were able to write their names in the sands of time.” The late brothers were students of Igumbor Otiku Secondary School, and according to their father would be greatly missed by the school community as well as St John the Baptist Catholic Church, Agbor, their former parish; Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Abavo and St Dominic Catholic Church, Otolokpo will really miss them. Speaking further, he advised everyone to live in a way that pleases God and humanity, adding that there is no need for people to live their lives as if they are the owner, saying that one day, all will give account to God. “At least when we die people should be able to say one or two good things about us. And parents should know that the devil is after the youths, as such they should raise up their children in the fear of God and not go into fetish activities so that the destiny of the children would not be damaged,” he concluded.
The Rivers State Police Command has arrested two armed robbery suspects who allegedly raped a pregnant woman during one of their operations. Spokesperson of the command, Grace Iringe-Koko, disclosed this in a statement on Monday, August 1, 2022. The PPRO said the two suspects, Saviour Gbarale, 24, and Onyedikachi Uhala, 18, of Etche Street in Borikiri, Port Harcourt, were arrested by operatives of the C4i Intelligence Unit of the command. “The suspects specialise in house breaking and have been linked to series of recent armed robberies in the Port Harcourt metropolis and its environs. Investigations also revealed that the suspects raped and sexually abused a pregnant woman in the cause of their nefarious operations.” she stated.
The Niger State Police Command has arrested a teenager and one other over the kidnap and murder of a 13-year-old boy, Yasir Salisu.The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Wasiu, in a statement in Minna, said the victim went missing on July 29.Wasiu said the suspects, Nafiu Umar, 18, and Usman Sabiu, 22, confessed to kidnapping the victim to collect ransom from his father.“Usman Sabiu confessed to have conspired with Nafiu Umar and abducted the missing person to the house of Nafiu with the intention of collecting N100,000 from the victim’s father.
Unfortunately, he claimed that the victim could not produce the father’s contact to demand ransom and both suspects were identified by the victim, who are neighbours, hence the victim was strangled and killed by the suspects,” the statement read.The PPRO added that the suspects buried the body in a shallow grave by the riverside.“However, the corpse was exhumed and deposited at the Umar Yar’adua Hospital morgue for an autopsy,” the police spokesman said.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Lagos state governor, Gboyega Akosile, has vowed to ensure Arise TV anchor, Rufai Oseni, gets punished for a traffic infraction. Rufai came on Twitter this afternoon to cry out after some police officers confiscated his car for driving on the lane meant for the Bus Rapid Transit BRT.
In his tweets, Rufai noted that he broke a traffic rule. He however added that he did not know that the lane was for BRT buses as he spotted other vehicles making use of the lane.
He however gave an update that he has resolved the issue with the spokesperson of the state police command, SP Benjamin Hundeyin. Moments later, Akosile took to his Twitter handle to pledge that the government will ensue necessary action is taken against Rufai for breaking the law.
A broadcaster, Rufai Oseni, has come under fire from the Lagos State Police Command spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin and the Chief Press Secretary to the Lagos State governor, Gboyega Akosile, for committing a traffic offence.
Oseni first tweeted, claiming that a gun was pointed at him and his vehicle driven away.He said, “A Nigerian police officer pointed a gun at me and forcefully took my keys and drove my car off, because he wanted to enforce a traffic infraction.”
Responding, Hundeyin said,“Rufai, let’s not do this. You admitted to me that you passed a BRT lane. It’s against the law. Your claim that Google maps took you there is not tenable. You disobeyed and resisted the officers. We’ll sanction the officer who misused firearm if proven.”
Oseni fired båck saying, “#BenHundeyin, a gun was pointed at me and my car was forcefully driven off. Now you are lying Ben, if I resisted how did they drive my car off and why did you ask me to send my car details? All I want is justice. I noted there was an infraction.
It’s best you stop the lies!”Meanwhile, the CPS joined the fray saying, “Thank you Rufai, while the #PoliceNG deal with the police officer in their own way, we’d ensure that necessary action is taken against you for driving on BRT lane as you’ve admitted to the police.
On January 30, 2016, Danish aid worker Anja Ringgren Lovén was photographed giving water to a severely emaciated 2-year-old boy, whom she rescued after he was branded a witch by his family and left to starve to death in Akwa Ibom. The boy had wandered the streets for months when Anja got a phone call and immediately led a rescue team including her husband David Emmanuel Umem, to bring the child to the Children’s Education and Development Foundation (ACAEDF) aka “Land of Hope”
Taking to Facebook page on Monday, August 1, 2022, Lovén revealed that Hope finally met his father few days ago after six years. The aid worker said Hope’s parents are divorced, however, she didn’t reveal circumstances that led to the boy being branded a witch and abandoned.
Read her post below:
For more than 6 years of searching we have finally found Hope´s father !!! A few days ago Land of Hope Director of Child Development Nsidibe Orok and I took Hope on home visit.
We want the villagers to witness Hope´s amazing transformation The last time we took Hope back to his village was in 2018 where we held a conference about superstition in the city hall for the entire community. This time Hope was excited to be back because he understands more and much to our surprise we suddenly stood face to face with his uncle, the brother to his mother !!
In 2016 when we rescued Hope, the uncle was working in another state so he was not around. He also told us that Hope´s father was back in the village after being away for years. Suddenly we were on our way to Hope´s father´s house. It was very surreal. The uncle told us that Hope looked a lot like his father and it was true. The resemblance was striking. Hope´s parents are divorced. Due to safety reasons and legality I cannot go into details. But I will say this, Hope´s father was very surprised to see his son again. And Hope just kept staring at him. David Jr. was there too. He was so caring and with hand signs he kept telling Hope that everything was fine.
When we came back to the Land of Hope, Hope took my phone and was so excited to show the children the pictures of him and his father. Exactly like all the other children do when they come back from home visit. Hope is not going to live with his father or mother for many reasons. But no matter what has happened in the past, children need to know their roots. Children need to know where they come from because it helps shape their identity.
Hope has the right to have an identity. Having an identity is a fundamental human right. For Hope to know more about his cultural background and where he comes from will help him to develop a strong sense of who he really is. For Hope to know where he comes from does not mean that he will ever forget what happened, on the contrary, it will set him free and take him to a more powerful place in his life.
American rapper, Mystikal has been arrested in his home state of Louisiana after being accused of rape, among other crimes. The New Orleans-bred rapper (real name Michael Tyler) was booked into the Ascension Parish Jail on Sunday afternoon, July 31, on multiple felony charges, including first-degree rape, domestic abuse battery; strangulation and robbery. The 51-year-old has also been charged with two misdemeanors: false imprisonment and criminal damage to property worth less than $1,000. All five offenses reportedly took place at 9:21 a.m. on Sunday morning. Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office records reveal Mystikal has yet to post bond and is currently behind bars awaiting arraignment.
In 2004, he was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual battery.The rapper and his two bodyguards had forced his hairstylist to perform oral sex on them in return for not turning her into police for cashing $80,000 worth of unauthorized checks from his bank account. Mystikal was released in 2010 and registered as a sex offender in Louisiana, but found himself back behind bars just two years later on a domestic abuse battery charge against his partner, violating the terms of his probation. In August 2017, the Ghetto Fabulous MC was charged with rape and held on a $3 million bond stemming from an alleged sexual assault against a woman at a Shreveport casino. However, the charges were eventually dropped due to insufficient evidence.
Benin Republic has unveiled a 98 feet tall statue of Queen Tassi Hangbe, who formed the Dahomey Amazons, an all-female military unit that existed in the Dahomey Kingdom.The military unit operated from the 1700s till 1904.
Nichelle Nichols, a groundbreaking Black actress who played communications officer Nyota Uhura with cool authority on the popular 1960s series “Star Trek,” has died at 89.Her son, Kyle Johnson, announced the death on the official uhura.com website, saying, “Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and passed away. Her light, however, like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain.”A family spokesman said Nichols died in Silver City, New Mexico, where she had been living with her son.Tributes poured in quickly, including from a long list of devoted “Trekkies.”
William Shatner, who played the USS Enterprise’s Captain James T. Kirk, sent his condolences to Nichols’ family.“She was a beautiful woman & played an admirable character that did so much for redefining social issues both here in the US & throughout the world. I will certainly miss her.”
George Takei, who as helmsman Sulu shared the bridge with Lieutenant Uhura, called her “trailblazing and incomparable.
”And US President Joe Biden said Nichols “redefined what is possible for Black Americans and women.”“Our nation is forever indebted to inspiring artists like Nichelle Nichols, who shows us a future where unity, dignity, and respect are cornerstones of every society,” he said in a statement.Nichols made history with one of the first interracial kisses on US television — a 1968 embrace shared with Shatner (a kiss deemed worthy of a separate entry in Wikipedia).Martin Luther King Jr. himself once praised Nichols, who broke ground with her powerful performance at a time when Black actors more often were cast as servants or criminals.
The former Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University, Professor Lateef Akanni Hussein is dead. According to a statement on the official LASU page on Facebook on Monday, Hussein died after a brief illness on Sunday, 31st July, 2022 aged 75.
Prof. Hussein, a professor of Physics was the sixth Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University; he served between 2005 and 2011. Hussein will be buried on Monday according to Islamic rites.
American singer, NeYo, has called on his fans to respect him and give his family the privacy to work through the breakdown of his marriage.
NeYo’s wife, Crystal, has alleged that he cheated on her with multiple women in an emotional statement. “8 years of life and deception. 8 years of unknowingly sharing my life and husband with numerous women who sell their bodies to him unprotected…every last one of them,” the model, 36, said in a statement on her Instagram page.
Reacting NeYo took to his Twitter handle to say, “For the sake of our children, my family and I will work through our challenges behind closed doors. Personal matters are not meant tobe addressed and dissected in public forums. I simply ask that you please respect me and my family’s privacy at this time.”
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is unlikely to devalue the naira, despite rising demand for the dollar at both official and parallel markets, The Nation has learnt.
A report by Augusto & Co. titled: “2022: The Story So Far & What Lies Ahead”, said the naira, which started this year at N567/$ at the parallel market, now exchanges at N707/$. It is N416.37/$ at the official market.”The report added that the declining value of the local currency “has pushed up the exchange rate premium between the official and parallel markets to N290.63/$.
”The last devaluation of the naira was in May 2021, when the CBN adopted the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Rate (NAFEX), also known as the Investor and Exporter (I&E) forex window rate, as its official exchange rate to the dollar.The report read in part: “We do not expect the CBN to officially devalue the exchange rate despite sustained pressure. At the official market, we expect the naira to hover between N419/$ and N425/$ through the end of 2022.The persistent swings and volatility of the naira exchange rate have worsened in recent time. It began a wild race on July 19, depreciating by 16 per cent to N717/$ on July 28 before appreciating to N707 on July 29.
”The report explained that election-related uncertainty will severely limit capital inflows in the remaining months of 2022, even if domestic interest rates rise further.The Agusto & Co. report noted that long-term inflation is one of the exchange rate stoking factors, adding that the differential between two countries’ long-term inflation rates would be mirrored in the exchange rate depreciation between both nations.In other words, the long-term rate of inflation of the naira compared to that of the US Dollar plays a significant role in what the value of the Naira would be relative to the dollar.This, it predicted, will also impair CBN’s ability to intervene in the foreign exchange market, hence, the reserves level will stabilise at about $41 billion by the end of 2022.Since the Naira has a higher long-term rate of inflation (12 per cent) compared to the US Dollar (two per cent), it is a weaker currency and will depreciate by approximately 10 per cent,” it said.The report enumerated three major mechanisms for exchange rate determination, namely, pegged exchange rate system, floating currency, and a crawling peg.It explained that although each of the options has its own shortcomings, a crawling peg option is more suitable for Nigeria.
As a result, external reserves accretion, which has been ostensibly triggered by the CBN’s interest rate hike, is expected to be constrained.An Economist and Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, said the naira surprised speculators and market watchers by appreciating by 1.5 per cent from N718/$ to N707/$ on Friday.“Most analysts were fearing that an N1000/$ was within shouting distance. As unpalatable as N707/$ may sound, some Nigerians are breathing a sigh of relief. The reason for this respite is mainly because of a naira crunch,” he explained.
He said there is temporary resistance at N718/$ and a market correction which means the naira may appreciate N695/$ before falling again.These are technical movements which do not address the fundamental weaknesses in the Nigerian forex market and the short supply of dollars from the CBN and exporters. That means, there is a limit to how much naira is available in the system,” Rewane said.
Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, on Sunday, defeated his immediate younger brother, Chief Austin Umahi, and three others to emerge the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the rescheduled senatorial primary election for Ebonyi South.Umahi scored 250 votes to defeat his closest rival, Austin, who scored 10 votes to come second.Other contestants who stood for the primary, according to the Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Prof. Emmanuel Adebayo, included Ann Ago-Eze, who he said got no vote; Nwakaego Chukwu, who scored five votes; and Mrs Ibiam Margaret, who got three votes.However, our correspondent observed that Agom-Eze did not participate in the primary.
Announcing the result of the election, which took place at the Afikpo North Local Council headquarters on Sunday, Adebayo declared Umahi the winner of the election.He said, “I, Prof. Adebayo, by the powers bestowed on me by the National Working Committee of the party, declare as follows: total number of voters, 285, accredited votes, 270 votes; votes cast, 275; number of valid votes, 268; while invalid votes is seven votes.
“I do hereby declare that Mr David Umahi, having scored the highest votes, is hereby the winner of the primary election for Ebonyi South Senatorial zone.”
In his acceptance speech, Umahi commended the electoral committee for the peaceful and transparent conduct of the primary.He also commended the delegates for the confidence reposed in him, assuring them that the APC would emerge victorious at the forthcoming general elections in the state come 2023.
Liverpool left it late to secure a 3-1 win over Manchester City in the 100th Community Shield at the King Power Stadium.
New boy Julian Alvarez had initially cancelled out a stunning opener from Trent Alexander-Arnold, but Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez struck in the dying embers in front of the Reds faithful.
Liverpool looked the much fresher of the two sides in the early exchanges, and it only took 21 minutes for their dominance to pay off courtesy of Alexander-Arnold’s sublime first-time finish into the far corner from a good 20 yards.
With Alisson Becker and Caoimhin Kelleher sidelined, Liverpool’s third-choice goalkeeper was called into action to save from Erling Braut Haaland before the Norwegian’s acrobatic attempt from close range failed to come off.
Fans got to see a glimpse of Nunez and Alvarez on the King Power turf in the second half, and Liverpool fans wanted a penalty when the former went over following a challenge from Ederson, who got just enough of the ball.
However, it was City’s South American who would have the bigger impact, as Alvarez followed up on Phil Foden’s saved effort to poke home a 70th-minute equaliser, which was initially disallowed before a lengthy VAR check allowed those in sky blue to celebrate.10 minutes later, Liverpool fans were the ones demanding the intervention of VAR after Nunez’s header struck Ruben Dias on the arm, and Craig Pawson awarded a penalty after checking the monitor. Salah stepped up and found the bottom corner to put Liverpool 2-1 ahead, despite Ederson going the right way.
Nunez missed a good chance to make it three for Liverpool in the 87th minute after heading wide from James Milner’s cross, but the Uruguay international made no mistake in second-half injury time, as his diving header nestled into the back of the net to wrap up an emphatic Liverpool win.
The new strikers were taking centre stage all afternoon, and there was time for Haaland to crash a late effort against the bar from only a few yards out before the celebrations started for Liverpool.