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President Bolsonaro has seen his popularity plummet amid criticism of his handling of the pandemic.

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Amanda Gorman became the youngest inaugural poet when she recited The Hill We Climb.

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Sunday arrested a man with illicit drugs worth over N2 billion at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

This was disclosed in a statement issued by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Monday.

According to the statement, the suspect had in his possession, 7.1 kilogram of Methamphetamine carefully concealed in food spices and packed in a Swiss polo suitcase.

The illicit substance was said to be bound for Spain with a street value of over N2 billion.

The statement quoted the Commander, NDLEA MMIA’s Special command, Ahmadu Garba, as saying that one of the suspects was arrested on Sunday.

Garba said the suspect was arrested during the outward clearance of passengers on Air Marroc.

“Unarguably, the closure of borders occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic is responsible for the surge in the price of these drugs.

“For instance, the price of meth in Australia had increased from $200 to $600 per gramme due to supply cut, hence the desperation by the traffickers and barons alike,’’ Garba said.

Also, Garba said the Command equally intercepted a suspect at Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) export shed of the airport with 800 grammes of Cannabis Sativa.

According to him, the operatives also seized 19.950 kg of green leaves suspected to be khat, noting that the cannabis, cleverly concealed in foodstuff, was bound for Dubai, UAE.

In a follow-up operation, he said another suspect was arrested in connection with the seized 800 grammes of cannabis.

He said investigations were ongoing with a view to establishing more leads and getting the owner of the khat leaves arrested.

The statement also quoted the Chair, NDLEA, Buba Marwa, as commending men and officers of the command for the arrests and seizures.

Marwa reiterated the agency’s commitment to launching offensive action against the activities of drug barons and traffickers wherever they are across Nigeria.

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Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Sunday arrested a man with illicit drugs worth over N2 billion at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

This was disclosed in a statement issued by the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Monday.

According to the statement, the suspect had in his possession, 7.1 kilogram of Methamphetamine carefully concealed in food spices and packed in a Swiss polo suitcase.

The illicit substance was said to be bound for Spain with a street value of over N2 billion.

The statement quoted the Commander, NDLEA MMIA’s Special command, Ahmadu Garba, as saying that one of the suspects was arrested on Sunday.

Garba said the suspect was arrested during the outward clearance of passengers on Air Marroc.

“Unarguably, the closure of borders occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic is responsible for the surge in the price of these drugs.

“For instance, the price of meth in Australia had increased from $200 to $600 per gramme due to supply cut, hence the desperation by the traffickers and barons alike,’’ Garba said.

Also, Garba said the Command equally intercepted a suspect at Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) export shed of the airport with 800 grammes of Cannabis Sativa.

According to him, the operatives also seized 19.950 kg of green leaves suspected to be khat, noting that the cannabis, cleverly concealed in foodstuff, was bound for Dubai, UAE.

In a follow-up operation, he said another suspect was arrested in connection with the seized 800 grammes of cannabis.

He said investigations were ongoing with a view to establishing more leads and getting the owner of the khat leaves arrested.

The statement also quoted the Chair, NDLEA, Buba Marwa, as commending men and officers of the command for the arrests and seizures.

Marwa reiterated the agency’s commitment to launching offensive action against the activities of drug barons and traffickers wherever they are across Nigeria.

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President Muhammadu Buhari will on Tuesday leave Nigeria for the United Kingdom in what the Presidency described as “routine medical leave.”

According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President is expected back in the country in the second week of April 2021.

The statement read, “President Muhammadu Buhari proceeds to London, the United Kingdom, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, for a routine medical check-up.

“The President meets with Security Chiefs first in the morning, after which he embarks on the journey.

“He is due back in the country during the second week of April 2021.”

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President Muhammadu Buhari will on Tuesday leave Nigeria for the United Kingdom in what the Presidency described as “routine medical leave.”

According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President is expected back in the country in the second week of April 2021.

The statement read, “President Muhammadu Buhari proceeds to London, the United Kingdom, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, for a routine medical check-up.

“The President meets with Security Chiefs first in the morning, after which he embarks on the journey.

“He is due back in the country during the second week of April 2021.”

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President Muhammadu Buhari will on Tuesday leave Nigeria for the United Kingdom in what the Presidency described as “routine medical leave.”

According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President is expected back in the country in the second week of April 2021.

The statement read, “President Muhammadu Buhari proceeds to London, the United Kingdom, Tuesday, March 30, 2021, for a routine medical check-up.

“The President meets with Security Chiefs first in the morning, after which he embarks on the journey.

“He is due back in the country during the second week of April 2021.”

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Boris Johnson and more than 20 leaders say another health emergency is a matter of "not if, but when".

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Ryan Fischer was shot in the chest as he walked the star's three French bulldogs in February.

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A black political hopeful, a Minnesota resident and a retired officer share their thoughts.

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Photographer Daniel Freeman travelled across the US to capture striking night-time shots.

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Drones are being used to track bees that have been trained to sense chemicals in landmines.

Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president, has expressed fear about some economic indices suggesting that the country is slipping into a failed state.

Atiku, who contested the 2019 presidential election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, said this in a statement in Abuja on Sunday.

The statement signed by him is titled, 'World's Highest Unemployment Rate: Time To Help This Government, Help Nigeria."

Atiku lamented that his earlier warnings to the regime of the President Muhammadu Buhari were ignored.

He said, "In a situation where we are simultaneously the world headquarters for extreme poverty, the world capital for out-of-school children, and the nation with the highest unemployment rate on earth, there is a genuine and present danger that we might slip into the failed states index – God forbid!"

He attributed the cause of the nation's current predicament to the All Progressives Congress-led regime's decision to abandon "the people-centred leadership and free trade and deregulatory policies" of the former President Olusegun Obasanjo administration.

Atiku said the country at that time was maintaining an almost single-digit unemployment rate.

He said the Buhari regime was now implementing discredit command and control policies that had led to a "massive capital flight" from Nigeria.

Atiku said, "Even with the lack of funds, we continue to ramp up government involvement in sectors that ought to be left to the private sector, with the latest being the ill-advised $1.5bn so-called rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery that has failed to turn a profit for years.

"What this government must realise is that the unprecedented insecurity Nigeria is facing is the result of youth unemployment.

"Idleness is the worst feature of unemployment because it channels the energy of our youth away from production and towards destruction, and that is why Nigeria is now the third most terrorised nation on earth."

The PDP chieftain urged the Buhari regime to ensure that all school-age children were encouraged to be in school by paying parents earning less than $800 per annum a monthly stipend of N5,000.

He said, "If we can get the 13.5 million out-of-school Nigerian children into school, we will turn the corner in one generation.

"If we do not do this, then the floodgates of unemployment will be further opened next year and in the years to come.

"As a nation, we are better off privatising our refineries and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation through the time-tested Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas model in which the Federal Government owns 49 per cent equity and the private sector 51 per cent."

Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, says about 30 million Nigerians were unemployed before Buhari took over office.

Adesina said the recent report released by the National Bureau of Statistics that 23.2 million Nigerians are unemployed was not new.

The President's spokesman said this on Sunday on Channels Television's 'Sunday Politics.'

Checks by The PUNCH, however, showed that the unemployment rate was 8.9 per cent when Buhari took office in May 2015, while it has now grown to 33.3 per cent under Buhari.

Responding to a question, Adesina said, "You will recall that in the build-up to the 2015 elections when the APC was campaigning, the figure that then-candidate Buhari used was that a minimum of 30 million Nigerians was unemployed, particularly youths and that his government was going to do something about it.

"That was in 2014/2015. So, don't make it appear like a genie that just came out of the bottle. No, it had always been there. It had always been there."

Adesina also lambasted former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar for calling on the President to improve.

Adesina added, "The former Vice-President was in power for eight years. Now, he is in the opposition. You can't take whatever he says as the gospel. When former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar was in government with President Olusegun Obasanjo, where did they take the country?

"Where did they leave the country? I have seen clips on social media where he said some things they promised to do, particularly on power; some people collected some trillions and didn't deliver. Former Vice-President is part of the rot this country became.

"He cannot exculpate himself; he cannot sit in judgment over anybody. He played his part for eight years and they left the country where they left it. He cannot, like Pontius Pilate, begin to wash clean of what Nigeria has become."

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The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has resolved to commence an indefinite strike on April 1, 2021, if the government refuses to accede to its demands.

This was the outcome of its Extraordinary National Executive Council meeting held on Saturday March 27, 2021, at the Trauma Center of National Hospital Abuja to review its earlier ultimatum and deliberate on burning issues affecting residency training, healthcare delivery and the welfare.

File Photo of Protesting Doctors Sahara Reporters Media

The communique of the NEC attended by over 50 chapters of NARD was signed by its President, Dr. Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi; Secretary-General, Dr. Jerry Isogun and Publicity/Social Secretary, Dr. Dotun Osikoya and obtained by journalists on Sunday evening.

The document reads, “The NEC unanimously agreed that NARD should proceed on a total and indefinite strike on April 1 2021, by 8am if the following demands are not met (regardless of quota system) before the end of business on March 31 2021.

“Immediate payment of all salary arrears including March salaries for our members in all Federal (GIFMIS platform) and State Tertiary Health Institutions across the country especially ASUTH, IMSUTH and UNIMEDTH.

“Upward review of the current hazard allowance to 50% of consolidated basic salaries of all health workers and payment of the outstanding COVID – 19 inducement allowance especially in State owned-tertiary Institutions.

“Abolishment of the exorbitant bench fees being paid by our members on outside postings in all Training Institutions across the country with immediate effect.

“Payment of Salary shortfalls of 2014, 2015 and 2016 to our members in all Federal Institutions including state owned institutions as earlier agreed with NARD.

“Payment of death in service insurance for all health workers who died as a result of COVID-19 infection or other infectious diseases in the country.”

The NARD also demanded the “immediate implementation of September 2017 Memorandum of Terms of Settlement between NARD and the Federal Government of Nigeria in order to bring lasting peace to the health sector and curb the ongoing ugly trend of brain drain from the health sector.”

it also demanded the “sack of the Registrar of Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria for failure to demonstrate competence in the handling of the central placement of house officers. This will give room for smooth implementation of the central placement of house officers without further delays.”

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The death of a 43-year-old Nigerian national at DDU hospital on Sunday sparked violent protest in west Delhi's Tilak Nagar by his compatriots who alleged that a cop assaulted him.

Police have denied the allegation.

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The agitated African nationals created ruckus following the death of Leohand Lyeanyi, Outlook India reports.

They broke glasses at Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) hospital. Initially, they were around 20 to 30, but their numbers increased to 100.

The mob also attacked the local people and police personnel, they said. The nationals also attacked officials of the High Commission of Nigeria who had come to meet them, police said.

The Nigerian protestors, however, claimed that Lyeanyi died after being lathi-charged by the police.

Denying the charges, the police maintained that the victim was not hit by them and his medico-legal case (MLC) report showed no external injury on the body.

A senior police officer said they received information about Lyeanyi's death at around 3.30 am on Sunday from the DDU hospital.

He said the post-mortem report of the victim is awaited. Police also said that they have found CCTV footage wherein the victim could be seen stepping out of an auto-rickshaw and sitting near a shop. He then collapsed, hitting his head on the ground.

There was nobody around him, they said. Two cases have been registered against the violent mob, police said, adding that a probe is on in the matter.

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The youth wing of the apex Igbo socio-cultural body, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has carpeted the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Garba Shehu, over his comments that President Muhammadu Buhari is very passionate about Nigeria's unity.

Ohanaeze Youth Council rather maintained that Buhari's actions and inactions pose a threat to Nigeria's unity. 

Ohanaeze Ndigbo

The National President of OYC, Igboayaka. O Igboayaka, in a statement, described President Buhari as "a direct opposite of Nigeria's unity". 

The statement partly read, "Shehu is on a paid job, and one of the aides that are endangering the unity of Nigeria through his sycophantic service to the president.

"Buhari has divided Nigeria more than any other president in the history of Nigeria. He is the most tribalistic President Nigeria has ever produced.

"President Buhari and his cabal have violated the federal character principle with reckless abandon, leading Nigeria into the path of disintegration. His high-handedness with tribal impunity contributed to the present ethnic crisis ravaging Nigeria.

"President Buhari has done everything possible to foster Nigeria's disunity. What remains is the explosion of Nigeria into many countries, which shall happen soon if APC and PDP deny Ndigbo an opportunity to fly their flags during the 2023 presidential election. 

"With the rate of insecurity and mayhem perpetrated by Buhari's relatives, activities of bandits, kidnappers and Fulani killer herdsmen that are sucking the blood of innocent Nigerians daily, Buhari lacks the moral justification to claim that he is passionate about Nigeria's unity. In all ramifications, there will be no Nigeria if APC and PDP fail to field an Igbo person as their presidential candidate in 2023."

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The youth wing of the apex Igbo socio-cultural body, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has carpeted the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Garba Shehu, over his comments that President Muhammadu Buhari is very passionate about Nigeria's unity.

Ohanaeze Youth Council rather maintained that Buhari's actions and inactions pose a threat to Nigeria's unity. 

Ohanaeze Ndigbo

The National President of OYC, Igboayaka. O Igboayaka, in a statement, described President Buhari as "a direct opposite of Nigeria's unity". 

The statement partly read, "Shehu is on a paid job, and one of the aides that are endangering the unity of Nigeria through his sycophantic service to the president.

"Buhari has divided Nigeria more than any other president in the history of Nigeria. He is the most tribalistic President Nigeria has ever produced.

"President Buhari and his cabal have violated the federal character principle with reckless abandon, leading Nigeria into the path of disintegration. His high-handedness with tribal impunity contributed to the present ethnic crisis ravaging Nigeria.

"President Buhari has done everything possible to foster Nigeria's disunity. What remains is the explosion of Nigeria into many countries, which shall happen soon if APC and PDP deny Ndigbo an opportunity to fly their flags during the 2023 presidential election. 

"With the rate of insecurity and mayhem perpetrated by Buhari's relatives, activities of bandits, kidnappers and Fulani killer herdsmen that are sucking the blood of innocent Nigerians daily, Buhari lacks the moral justification to claim that he is passionate about Nigeria's unity. In all ramifications, there will be no Nigeria if APC and PDP fail to field an Igbo person as their presidential candidate in 2023."

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The Presidency has said that there was not a time when the current administration promised to make one naira equivalent to one dollar. 

Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, said the claims suggesting that President Muhammadu Buhari made such a promise are false.

"It does not exist, it is fake, it is false, it is apocryphal, it doesn't exist," Adesina insisted while appearing as a guest on Channels Television's Sunday Politics.

Adesina said the minister of information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, debunked the claim many times and challenged anyone with clips and publications to make them available.

Speaking further about negative criticisms directed at the president and the administration, Mr. Adesina said Nigerians must stop dwelling solely on the negatives if the country is to forge ahead in the progressive path.

The president's special media aide argued that there are silver linings in the sky. He, however, opined that it is typical of Nigeria that when the break in the clouds comes, no one talks about them.

Adesina's comments come on the heels of some assertions made by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, following a recent report that tagged Nigeria as the nation with the world's highest unemployment rate.

In a statement on Sunday, Atiku said the present Nigerian government could not address issues facing the country.

The PDP presidential candidate in the last election called on stakeholders and elder statesmen to help in rescuing Nigeria, which he noted is on the precipice.

In addressing Atiku and reacting to the dismissive report, Adesina maintained that all nations in the world experience negatives. If that becomes a focus, then there will be many more to talk about.

He, however, declared that there are also many positives in Nigeria, adding that Nigerians must look out for the cheery reports and encourage themselves.

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The Presidency has said that there was not a time when the current administration promised to make one naira equivalent to one dollar. 

Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, said the claims suggesting that President Muhammadu Buhari made such a promise are false.

"It does not exist, it is fake, it is false, it is apocryphal, it doesn't exist," Adesina insisted while appearing as a guest on Channels Television's Sunday Politics.

Adesina said the minister of information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, debunked the claim many times and challenged anyone with clips and publications to make them available.

Speaking further about negative criticisms directed at the president and the administration, Mr. Adesina said Nigerians must stop dwelling solely on the negatives if the country is to forge ahead in the progressive path.

The president's special media aide argued that there are silver linings in the sky. He, however, opined that it is typical of Nigeria that when the break in the clouds comes, no one talks about them.

Adesina's comments come on the heels of some assertions made by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, following a recent report that tagged Nigeria as the nation with the world's highest unemployment rate.

In a statement on Sunday, Atiku said the present Nigerian government could not address issues facing the country.

The PDP presidential candidate in the last election called on stakeholders and elder statesmen to help in rescuing Nigeria, which he noted is on the precipice.

In addressing Atiku and reacting to the dismissive report, Adesina maintained that all nations in the world experience negatives. If that becomes a focus, then there will be many more to talk about.

He, however, declared that there are also many positives in Nigeria, adding that Nigerians must look out for the cheery reports and encourage themselves.

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Mama Sarah Onyango Obama, the grandmother of former US President Barrack Obama, is dead.

According to Nairobi News, her demise was confirmed by her daughter, Marsat Obama, who said her mother died at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital, Kisumu at 4.45am on Monday.

She had been admitted to the hospital on Sunday morning.

The family is making arrangements to have her buried today (Monday) at the Muslim Cemetery in Kisumu.

“We are trying to see whether we shall be able to bury her today and if not, we shall bury her tomorrow,” a relative said.

Obama's father, Barack Obama Sr., was born in Kogelo, a rural village in western Kenya. He left for studies on a scholarship in the United States where he met a white woman, Ann Dunham, at the University of Hawaii. The couple got married but divorced when the younger Obama was two years old. His father returned to Kenya where he died in a car crash in Nairobi in 1982. The StraitTimes reports that Mr Obama never really knew his father, whom he met only once when he was 10, but he felt a connection that eventually took him to Kenya in 1987 in search of his roots.
 

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