IYANDA'SBLOG

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
Protests rock the Twin Cities area after the shocking death of an unarmed black man during an arrest.

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
One young woman used popular game Animal Crossing for her family tradition of Bai San.

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
When Covid-19 hit, zookeeper Caitlin Henderson ended up in lockdown with 70 spiders.

The English Premier League will resume on June 17 after the 20 clubs in the division agreed “in principle” to return to play and complete the remainder of the 2019-20 season that was halted in mid-March due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

It was revealed that Manchester City versus Arsenal will be one of the first matches to be played.

Aston Villa’s home clash with Sheffield United will also be played same day to mark the return of the English top flight, it was disclosed as well.  English Premier League Soccer Ball GettyImages

Apart from the EPL, many football leagues and other sporting events around the world were put on hold as a result of the pandemic that had claimed hundreds of thousands of lives across many countries.

 

Sports News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
https://ift.tt/36HiIEo

Festus Onigbinde, former Super Eagles Coach, has attributed the static nature of sports in Nigeria to lack of development policies by the Nigerian government.

Onigbinde told SaharaReporters on Wednesday that instead of setting and achieving clear goals that would lead to the development of the sport in the country; the government has only focused on organising competitions and participating in competitions.

Festus Onigbinde

He said, "In some of these countries, the level of technology is much higher than what we have here and that will eventually have some effects.

“It appears that we are helpless. Are we making any effort? I was reading this afternoon of a country making efforts to use technology for cheering during games. Do we have that type of technology here? The Coronavirus has affected and will continue to affect our sports for some time.

"The greatest challenge of sports in Nigeria is development. We don't have a developmental programme, we are just taking part in sports for the fun of it. For those who are directly involved, it's for what they can get from it -- no developmental programme. Even in the private life of an individual, if you are in a business and you are not developing that business, what will happen? It will fold up and that is the situation with Nigerian sports.

"Things were better in the past but all we think of now is competition, to take part and organise whereas competitions are like examinations in schools. Why does a teacher set up exams? He wants to know how much the students have learned.

"If you are organising competitions in sports, what are you assessing? What have you put into this performance? I maintain that the greatest problem of sports in Nigeria is lack of development, we are not developing sports."

Sports News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
https://ift.tt/36DyQHd

Gernot Rohr, coach of Nigeria's Super Eagles, has extended his contract with the Nigeria Football Federation for two and half years.

The new contract is expected to end after the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

Rohr said he was looking forward to the next AFCON games as well as the World Cup qualifier.

“Yes, I can confirm that we found an agreement with NFF to continue our collaboration for two and half years. 

“I am proud of the confidence shown by NFF, it is rare to work in the same national team for more than six years," he told TheCable on Friday.
He continued, “Our team has a good future, our players have discipline and the staff is working in the same spirit.

“Yes, we want to go to the next AFCON and do very well there. And we want to start the World Cup qualifiers well and participate in Quatar with good results there.

“I am happy to continue with the squad we built together since 4 years. Stability is important for progress and complicity.

“There is still a big work to do. With the commitment of the players and the support of the fans we will able to do great things."
 

Sports News AddThis :  Original Author :  Saharareporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
https://ift.tt/2PjOXRV

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
The woman is being treated for critical injuries after the incident in New South Wales, authorities say.

Smart Adeyemi, senator representing Kogi West at the National Assembly, has asked affluent Nigerians to pay property tax to save the nation's dwindling economy from total collapse.

Adeyemi while speaking at the Senate on Thursday, said Nigeria's squandered resources in the time of oil boom had come back to bite President Muhammadu Buhari as oil prices crash.

He said, “When we were asking the government of the day at that time to diversify the economy at the time oil was selling at $100 to $150, that party squandered our resources. 

“Roads were not built, road lines were not constructed, where did the money go? Who were the people who were in charge of our resources?

“I pity this President, I pity this government now that oil is selling at $22 or $30.”

The senator said those living in mansions should pay property tax to save the country’s economy.

He added, “In the last decade or so, we used to have some of these toll gates but suddenly they were removed by other party when they were in government.
“I think the time has come for those who drive exotic cars, SUVs to pay tax to government.

“Before the masses will rise, we should start looking at introducing property tax. For those living in mansion, they should start paying back to the society to save the economy of our nation from collapse.”

Politics Taxes News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
https://ift.tt/2NuC5sU

The Nigerian Government has dismissed allegations of corruption levelled against Akimwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, calling on the financial institution to shun calls for a fresh probe on his tenure. 

In a letter written by Zainab Ahmed, Nigeria's Minister of Finance, to Chairman of the Board of Governors of the AfDB, the Nigerian Government expressed support for the work Adesina was doing at the institution. 

The letter reads in part, “The call for an ‘independent investigation’ of the President is outside of the laid down rules, procedures and governing system of the bank and its articles as it relates to the Code of Conduct on Ethics for the President. 

“As Board of Governors (made up of the finance ministers of member countries), we must uphold the rule of law and respect the governance systems of the bank. If there’s any governance issues that needs improvement, these can be considered and amendments proposed for adoption in line with laid down procedures.

“The Nigerian Government welcomes the conclusion of the Ethics Committee and the decision of the Chair of the Board of Governors.

“The Ethics Committee, following three months of work to examine the whistleblowers’ allegations made against the President, dismissed each and every one of the allegations of the whistleblowers against the President as unsubstantiated and baseless."

Ahmed said Adesina’s accomplishments as head of the AfDB includes securing a General Capital Increase of $115bn, the largest ever in the history of the bank; he led the bank to develop a $10bn Crisis Response Facility for Africa to fight the Coronavirus pandemic as well as leading the bank to launch a $3bn “Fight COVID19” social bond, the largest US dollar denominated social bond ever in world's history.

The minister said the call for "independent investigation" was outside laid down rules, procedures and guidelines of the laws governing the bank and any changes to that must follow laid down procedures.

Politics News AddThis :  Original Author :  Saharareporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
https://ift.tt/36CiluS

President of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Yerima Shettima, has accused Northern governors of turning banditry and killings in the region into business by not doing what is necessary.

Shettima, who spoke with SaharaReporters, also blamed President Muhammadu Buhari for not taking definitive steps to end banditry and insurgency in the region.

He attributed the incessant killings to poor leadership in the region.

He said, “The renewed attack emanated from lack of leadership, those who are saddled with responsibilities are not serious.  Yerima Shettima SaharaReporters Media/File Photo

“What does it take our security forces if not that everything has been politicized and some of them take it as a business that they make so much money out of it. What does it take to wipe off this banditry?

“It is because there is no political will. It has become a business where they receive money in the name of security vote; unaccounted for, non-remittable, so they just continue doing it as a business. The day they wake up and there is no banditry, automatically, no more business.”

Shettima compared the bandit attacks to Boko Haram, saying Northern governors lacked the political will to put an end to the unnecessary killings.

He said, “When there is no clear direction or policy by government to tackle the issue and with lack of political will to address issues, things will continue to metamorphose to something else.

“When the leaders lack the political will to address these issues, it becomes the order of the day and this is exactly what we are facing in the northern part of the country.

“Banditry issue is high, Nigerians are tired of hearing we will let us see it. Do it and don’t tell us, just do it because things are getting out of hand.”

Shettima said the President must immediately swing into action to end the killing in his state, noting that it the issue was not addressed, it could spread to other parts of the country.

He added, “It will be impossible until we have a government at the central willing and determined to address this issue once and for all.

“They need a political will to address this issue, otherwise, what is affecting us today will turn out to be a serious problem in other parts of the country. We must see it as our collective responsibility to fight it out, all hands must be on deck.”

Insurgency Politics Interview News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
https://ift.tt/2BcWyhR

A group, Nigeria Integrity Movement, has called for transparency in the constitution of membership of the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Appeal Panel.

The group in a letter to the Acting President of Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Monica B. Dongban-Mensem, asked for transparency and sense of justice in constituting members of the panel that will adjudicate in the case.

In the letter dated May 26 and signed by its National Coordinator, Kayode Esan, NIM said extra-judicial murder of innocent citizens during the November 2019 gubernatorial election in state should as well not be ignored. 

The group said, “The Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal delivered its split judgment on Saturday, May 23, 2020. Two members of the panel, Justices Kashim G. Kaigama from Yobe State and Baraka Wali from Katsina State ruled in favour of Alhaji Yahaya Bello of All Progressives Congress while Justice Ohimai Ovbiagele from Edo State stood against the above. The details of the judgment is in the public domain.

“As a result of the above, the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate in the election, Musa Wada, have vowed to approach the Court of Appeal for enduring justice to be served.

“In the light of this, the Nigeria Integrity Movement, a non-partisan and non-political civil society group, hereby appeals to the leadership of the Court of Appeal to exercise due diligence, transparency and sense of justice in constituting members of the Appeal Panel that will adjudicate in the case.”

Legal Politics News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
https://ift.tt/2MTxC2C

Poor network connection on Thursday prevented Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari, from addressing a United Nations virtual meeting.

Themed on finance for development, the meeting was convened by at the instance of the UN Secretary General, António Guterres.

Buhari’s connection from Abuja had hitches right from the start as he went on and off for seconds before the video connection went off completely, a report by PUNCH said.  Presidency

He briefly highlighted the impact of COVID -19 on African countries and how the situation was making it difficult for Nigeria to fund the 2020 budget before he was disconnected by poor network connection completely.

The organisers quickly called on the Prime Minister of Thailand, Prayut Chan-o-cha, to make his own presentation.

Chan-o-cha too seemed to have connection issues but he substituted his presentation with a pre-recorded video speech.

 

International Internet Politics PUBLIC HEALTH News AddThis :  Featured Image :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
https://ift.tt/3esghZ9

A Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed the powers of the Independent National Electoral Commission to deregister political parties, which failed to comply with the provisions of the law particularly Section 225 A of the 1999 constitution as amended.

Delivering the judgment on Thursday, Justice Taiwo Taiwo affirmed that the constitutional powers of the electoral commission and reasons given by the commission for the deregistration of parties are valid and in conformity with the law.

The court therefore held that the deregistration of National Unity Party as a political party in Nigeria was lawfully done in exercise of vested constitutional powers of the INEC.

NUP is one of the 74 parties deregistered by the INEC in February.

See Also Breaking News BREAKING: INEC Deregisters Over 70 Political Parties 0 Comments 3 Months Ago

Legal Politics News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
https://ift.tt/36EL9mq

The Niger Delta Rights Advocates has accused the Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission of adopting various strategies to stop the probe of its activities by the National Assembly.

According to the NDRA, the shutting down of NDDC headquarters on Thursday following the death of the agency’s Acting Director of Finance and Administration, Ibanga Bassey Etang, was a ploy to frustrate the investigation of a missing N40bn by the lawmakers.

In a statement on Thursday, spokesperson for the group, Darlington Nwauju, said, “We received with surprise the shutdown of the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt by the Interim Management Committee.  Niger Delta Development Commision (NDDC) Building, Port Harcourt. Google/Charles Megafu

“We believe this latest ploy is to divert attention from the probe of N40bn allegedly wasted in just three months by the current IMC.

“The NDRA is alarmed that after the open boasting by the Ag MD of the NDDC, Prof Kema Pondei, last Tuesday on the readiness of the commission to face any form of probe and even accusing chairmen of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on the Niger Delta of corruptly inserting projects into the NDDC's 2019 budget; and with just seven days to the expiration of the advertorials by the HoR investigative committee calling for memoranda on the activities of the NDDC, we fear that shutting down the commission might after all not be in the overall public interest and may lead to underground manoeuvring to abort the impending probe. 

“The NDRA therefore calls on the NASS investigative committees not to be deterred by the antics of the IMC but forge ahead to unearth the whereabouts of N40bn of taxpayers money wasted in just within 90 days under the supervision of Senator Godswill Akpabio as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.

“Posterity will need to forgive the National Assembly if the accusations and counter-accusations flying around about the activities of the NDDC are not comprehensively investigated and all those involved in the corporate looting of the scarce resources meant for the development of the region are not named, shamed and prosecuted.”

See Also Niger Delta NDDC Shuts Down Operation After Death Of Acting Finance Director 0 Comments 6 Hours Ago

Corruption Niger Delta Politics News AddThis :  Original Author :  SaharaReporters, New York Disable advertisements : 
https://ift.tt/2TIQBQb

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
A historian argues they should be public record over the sacking of Australia's prime minister in 1975.

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
Khadiza Begum, a Rohingya refugee, left Myanmar to escape violence but found more horror at sea.

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
A selection of the week's best photos from across the continent.

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
Cannes, Toronto and Sundance are among the film festivals uniting for an online streaming event.

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
LEDs already light our houses but developments are making them even more powerful.

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
The coronavirus pandemic becomes a different kind of challenge when you use your mouth as your ‘hands’.

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
Juana Zúñiga contracted the virus at her care home near Santiago, where she is the oldest resident.

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
A TikTok video helped an Indian family find their missing father at the other end of the country.

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
China says the bill will rein in "terrorism" but many feel it will end Hong Kong's unique status.