Liverpool have secured important 2-0 first leg win against Spanish side Villareal in their UEFA Champions League semi final encounter on Wednesday.
Sagio Mane and own-goal by Villareal’s side gave the English team a comfortable second leg advantage.
Details later!
May Edochie, the first wife of actor cum politician, Yul Edochie, has reacted to the news of his second marriage and another son.
Yul Edochie caused a stir on social media when he announced his second marriage to fellow actor, Judy Austin, on Wednesday.
In his announcement, Yul also revealed that he has welcomed a son with Judy.
Yul’s first wife of 17 years, May Edochie, reacted to the news of her husband’s second marriage in the comment section of his post.
She said under her Husband’s post, “May God judge you both.”
Beginning of Judy, Yul relationship
Meanwhile, Judy the announced second wife of Yul whose real name is Muoghalu Uchechukwu Judith is from Umuoji in Idemilli North, Anambra state.
Judy had decided to produce her own movie for the first time and it was called Native Girl, perhaps the genesis of their relationship.
Edochie happened to be the director of the movie and the actress obviously placed him highly, going by how she spoke about him in interviews.
She had informed Edochie of her plan to produce a movie and he encouraged her to get a good story for them to work on. In an interview with The Sun, Judy had described the actor as ‘one in a million’.
In the same interview, Judy had described working with him on Native Girl as her most memorable moment as an actress because it was a challenging one.
To weaken Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo’s emergence as All Progressives Party Presidential Candidate, former governor of Ogun state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has joined the 2023 presidential race under the same platform.
Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, made this known during plenary in the red chambers on Wednesday, April 27 as seen on the Senate’s live feed on Twitter.
Dr. Lawan read a letter of notification from the senator representing Ogun Central Senatorial District, announcing his intention to contest for the office of the president.
He said the formal declaration is scheduled to hold on Thursday, May 5 by 11:00 am at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja. Amosun’s presidential declaration gives 2023 presidency an interesting dimension Legit.ng checks indicate that Amosun’s entrance into the presidential race indicates that there are two indigenes of Ogun state contesting for the position. Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN who had since declared his interest is also from the southwest state.
Amosun 64, is very close to President Buhari as the duo have been political associates since their days in the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party.
…Advises owners, managers of public places to take extra-precautions
…DSS should arrest, prosecute those planning attacks — Adamu
…Nigerians must avoid crowded areas for safety — Agbambu
The Department of State Services (DSS) has that some criminal elements are planning to launch attacks on critical infrastructures, worship centres as well relaxation centres.
It further advised the owners, patrons and managers of these centres to take extra precautions in beefing security in and around their domains.
The Department said the criminal elements hoped to return the country to the pre-2015 era reminiscent of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks on soft and hard targets in parts of the country.
This warning was made known by the Public Relations Officer of the security agency, Dr Peter Afunanya yesterday in Abuja.
He stated that while the DSS has received reports on cases of such incidents in certain areas, it has uncovered a plot by suspected criminal gangs to forge an alliance.
Their objective, Afunanya explained, was to launch further attacks on critical infrastructure and other public places frequently visited, such as worship and relaxation centres, especially during and after the holidays and festive celebrations.
He added that the groups intend to achieve some self-serving interests and cause fear among the people, and warned managers and owners of such centres to be cautious and implement basic security measures to deter the threats.
The DSS said it would continue to disrupt the trend and pattern of violent attacks and asked the people to go about their lawful businesses.
The statement partly read, “The Department of State Services (DSS) hereby draws public attention to plans by criminal elements to return the country to the pre-2015 era reminiscent of IED attacks on soft and hard targets in parts of the country.
“Though there are already reported cases of such incidents in some areas, the Service has uncovered a ploy by suspected criminal gangs to forge an alliance among themselves with a view to launching further attacks on critical infrastructure and other frequented public places like worship and relaxation centres, especially during and after the holidays and festive celebrations.
“The objective is to achieve some self-serving interests as well as cause fear among the citizenry. The Service, however, recalls its earlier warning that some groups and individuals were plotting to stoke violence in the country.
“Following these, patrons, owners, and managers of the aforementioned public places are advised to be wary of this development and implement basic security measures to deter the threats.
“While the Service is committed to the disruption of this trend and pattern of violent attacks, it will continue to partner with other security agencies to ensure that necessary drills are emplaced in order that public peace and order are not jeopardised.
“To this end, residents are enjoined to go about their lawful businesses and share, with security and law enforcement agencies, useful information on the activities of criminals.
“Meanwhile, the DGSS, Alhaji Yusuf Magaji Bichi, fwc, wishes all and sundry a hitch-free Workers’ Day and Sallah celebrations.”
DSS should take step further to arrest, prosecute those planning attacks — Adamu
Reacting to the development in a chat with Nigerian NewsDirect Newspaper on Tuesday, a security expert and Chief Executive Officer, Beacon Security Consult, Dr. Kabiru Adamu, urged Nigerians to take heed in mitigating against risk of terrorists’ bomb explosion.
In his words, “We are thankful to the SSS for the warning and urge all the locations it listed to herd the alert and take necessary precautions in the form of anti terrorism measures to mitigate the risk of bomb explosions.
“In addition we urge the SSS to go a step further to arrest and prosecute those it says are planning the terror attacks. This will give Nigerians the assurance behind these warnings.
“We also urge it to work with government agencies to advise Nigerians on what to do to identify IEDs and who call if they suspect an item is a bomb.”
Nigerians must avoid crowded areas for safety — Agbambu
Similarly, a Security and Public Safety Expert, Mr Patrick Agbambu said Nigerians should take DSS’s alert seriously and avoid crowded places when necessary.
According to him, “I think that the advice is part of the threat alert system and it is welcome. Yes, there is a possibility of this attack knowing the period we are in now.
“We are on the verge of ending Ramadan fast with so many gatherings and celebrations, so this warning is valid. I also know that terrorists will try to make some statement this period, targeting soft targets.
“Again you know that electioneering activities have begun, this will heighten the insecurity situation. There are still some ungoverned spaces in the Country which serve as a point of attraction for the criminals to perpetuate their criminalities.
“My advice for the Government is on continuous sensitisation of citizens on security consciousness.
“If possible for people to avoid crowded areas, also the mobilisation of security forces in strategic areas,” he stated.
…Second leg at Bernabeu to decide both teams fate
Manchester City will take a slight 4-3 advantage to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu for their Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid after the two sides played out a breathtaking seven-goal thriller at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.
This is coming as expectation has been shifted to their second leg encounter at the Bernabeu which will be the sole decider.
Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti couldn’t have looked more different on the sidelines on the night, with the Catalan as animated as ever while the Italian looked as cool as ever all while the game descended into beautiful chaos in front of them.
City came out flying from the start and Kevin De Bruyne had them in front inside two minutes, heading home from close range. That lead was doubled by Gabriel Jesus with just 10 minutes played and Real Madrid were at risk of collapsing and letting the tie slip.
The hosts had chances to make it 3-0, but failed to take them and were punished by Karim Benzema. With what was barely even a half-chance, the Frenchman turned in a gorgeously glanced volley from the edge of Ederson’s area with half an hour played.
Phil Foden restored City’s two-goal advantage shortly after half time after he himself had missed a big chance. But Real Madrid don’t know when they’re beaten, and Vinicius Junior scored a stunning goal to halve that deficit again, with a run and finish similar to that of Gareth Bale against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final at Mestalla.
Bernardo Silva smashed a fourth for City into the top corner when Los Blancos appeared to have stopped, expecting a freekick.
Benzema’s night wasn’t finished though, and he dispatched an audacious panenka penalty into the roof of Ederson’s net with eight minutes of the 90 left to play.
Liverpool FC will be slugging it out with another Spanish side Villarreal tomorrow, Wednesday 27th 2022.
Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom has called on the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to offer more interventions to victims of herdsmen attacks in the State as it is being done to other States across the country.
Governor Ortom stated this on Tuesday, April 26th 2022 during the flagoff of the Victims Support Fund intervention programme in the State initiated by the TY Danjuma Foundation.
He expressed appreciation to General Theophilus Danjuma for his humanitarian works, saying through the Victims Support Fund, he has been able to assist the State to offer succour to victims of terrorism any time the State called on him.
Inaugurating the programme at the Ortese IDP camp, Guma local government area, leader of the Victim Support Fund team, Mrs Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji said the intervention was to support victims of attacks in six local governments in the State including Guma, Logo, Konshisha, Gwer West, Ado and Oju, pointing out that the intervention would involve monthly distribution of various food items to the victims for six months.
She explained that as captured in the programme, the VSF would offer interventions to the IDPs in the areas of health and medical facilities, rehabilitate the Naka Water Works, provide economic empowerment support as well as set up comfortable shelters for them.
Mrs Akerele-Ogunsiji further stated that the Victims Support Fund would also roll out a psycho-social and wellness programme for the victims to take care of their mental health, saying educational support would also be offered through registering the students for WAEC as well as JAMB examinations.
She bemoaned the level of destruction that has been caused to Benue communities by the herdsmen attacks over the years and enjoined other local and international organisations to assist in alleviating the plight of the victims.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Sustainable Development Goals, Professor Magdalyn Dura and Executive Secretary, State Emergency Management Agency, Dr Emmanuel Shior in separate remarks, commended the Victim Support Fund for the intervention and appealed for expansion of the programme to cover more local government areas in the State.
Leader of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has alleged that the political bigwigs in the North including President Muhammadu Buhari are dividing the South as part of their game plan to retain power in 2023.
Adebanjo spoke on Mondday in Abuja, during a Greater Nigeria Conference (GNC) organised and well-attended by political bigwigs in the South East consisting of serving governors, former governors, senators and others.
The theme of the conference was ‘Quest for presidency of South East extraction #togetherwecan#
Adebanjo said the Northern political gladiators have been emphasising zoning but now preach merit and competence to manoeuvre their way for the North to retain power after President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said if it were by merit and competence and not the principle of zoning, some former presidents of Northern extractions wouldn’t have been president.
He said, “Let’s tell Nigerians where it should be and stop deceiving ourselves. We are now at a crossroads. My position is to say it as it is.
“The North does not want to yield power and the only thing they know is to divide the South so that they can have power in 2023. They want to divide the South West first. Now that is the turn of the South East, they (North) are now talking of competence, merit.”
Chief Adebanjo also asked former President Goodluck Jonathan, Governor Nyesom Wike and other aspirants from the South South to shelve their presidential ambition and allow the South East to produce President Buhari’s successor.
He said, “I’m appealing to Wike and other aspirants from the South South, they are not helping matters. People like Jonathan are not helping matters. President Goodluck Jonathan allowed himself to be disgraced.”
Meanwhile, the President of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) and the Middle Belt Forum have backed South East for the 2023 presidency.
Speaking at the event, President of the PANDEF, Edwin Clark said, “The people of the South East deserve the presidency of this country and they have my support. Let us do what is right. Let everybody support a president of the South East extraction. Let us give them a chance.”
Similarly, the President of the Middle Belt Forum, Dr Pogu Bitrus, said, “The South East will produce a president that will be sworn in on May 29, 2023. All of us are here for that singular reason. If we are not in support of this, we wouldn’t have been here.”
No apologies rejecting zoning – Northern elders
Reacting, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) said the forum will continue to argue that every Nigerian should have a fair chance to compete for every office available in the country.
The NEF on Monday in a reply to Chief Adebanjo said it has no apologies for insisting that zoning which is recognized only by the Peoples’ Democratic Party limits the scope for leadership selection, harms the country in terms of the quality of leadership that emerges and should not represent a source of conflict in the country.
The NEF, through its Director of Publicity and Advocacy, Dr Hakeem Baba- Ahmed said NEF will not trade insults with Chief Adebanjo because the forum has realized that doing so will be a waste of time.
Ending speculation making the rounds, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, struck a deal Monday to buy Twitter for $44 billion, capping a saga complete with hostile takeover threats before delivering him personal control of one of the most influential social media platforms on the planet.
Twitter famously served as a megaphone for former US president Donald Trump before the platform banned him, and Musk — a self-proclaimed “free-speech absolutist” — has said he wants to reform what he sees as the platform’s over-zealous content moderation.
“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” Musk said in a statement released by Twitter.
“I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots and authenticating all humans.”
The publicly traded firm will now become a private company owned by Musk, who negotiated a purchase price of $54.20 per-share, Twitter said.
“Twitter has a purpose and relevance that impacts the entire world. Deeply proud of our teams and inspired by the work that has never been more important,” the company’s CEO Parag Agrawal said in a tweet.
Musk last week lined up around $46.5 billion in financing to make the purchase happen, and Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, predicted earlier in the day that since the board could not find another buyer, it would likely accept his offer.
“This basically put (their) back against the wall, they had to come to the negotiation table,” he said in an interview on CNBC.
On Wall Street, Twitter stock was trading 5.9 percent higher around 1915 GMT.
Reacting to the acquisition, Elon tweeted, “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means.”
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency(NDLEA) has arrested a suspected billionaire drug baron behind the N3billion Tramadol deal allegedly involving the embattled suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari-led Intelligence Response Team, Chief Afam Mallinson Emmanuel Ukatu.
The anti-narcotic agency said Ukatu arrest followed months of surveillance and evasion of arrest. Ukatu, who is Chairman of Mallinson Group of Companies, was arrested onboard a flight to Abuja at the MM2 terminal of the Lagos airport, Ikeja on Wednesday 13th April.
The NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Monday, titled, ‘NDLEA arrests drug baron behind N3billion Tramadol linked to Abba Kyaris team’.
Babafemi said investigations revealed that the suspect is a major importer of large consignments of different brands and high dosages of Tramadol Hydrochloride.
According to him, the Tramadol ranging from 120mg, 200mg, 225mg and 250mg are illicit. He added that Ukatu owns pharmaceutical and plastic manufacturing companies, which he used as a cover to import illicit drugs into Nigeria.
The statement read, “This is in addition to operating 103 bank accounts, most of which are used to launder money.
“Ukatu came under watch last year after five cartons of Tramadol 225mg were seized from his staff on 4th May 2021 when he sent them to sell to undercover police officers (unknown to Ukatu) from the then Kyari-led IRT of the Nigeria Police, Ikeja Lagos. The price of a carton of Tramadol was negotiated at N17million each as against the then black market value that ranged between N18million and N20million a carton in Lagos.
“After the arrest of Ukatu’s staff: Pius Enidom and Sunday Ibekwete, Kyari’s men were then led by the suspects to Mallinson’s warehouse at Ojota in Lagos where 197 additional Cartons of Tramadol 225mg were seized by the IRT Team. The monetary value of the 202 cartons of Tramadol seized from Mallinson in one day was over N3billion.
“Three weeks after the seizure, the Kyari’s IRT team transferred only 12 Cartons of the Tramadol with one truck and a suspect to the Lagos Command of the NDLEA, leaving 190 cartons unaccounted for.
“After over eight months of following the lead, anti-narcotic officers of the Agency eventually arrested Ukatu at the Lagos airport on 13th April 2022. Kyari and four top members of his team are already facing trial for a different but similar offence at a Federal High Court in Abuja.”
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), stakeholders in the academia, the public sector and enthusiasts of technology for development, have deliberated on the benefits derivable from emerging technologies such as Blockchain, to advance the growth of the Nigerian economy.
At a recently-organised two-day workshop by the Commission, in collaboration with the Bureau of Public Sector Reforms (BPSR), stakeholders were in accord that through effective implementation of policies as expressed in guidelines, regulations and directions driven by the NCC, Blockchain could be a bedrock of economic innovation and growth.
The workshop, which took place in Abuja and focused on “Distributed Ledger Technology (Blockchain) Ecosystem, Decentralisation and Adoption Methods,” drew participants from financial institutions, Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), the academia, the Nigerian military, and paramilitary forces, the Nigerian Cyberwarfare Command, and the private sector.
The stakeholders, who spoke in turn at the workshop, acknowledged and profoundly appreciated the role of NCC in engendering a dynamic digital regulatory environment, the remarkable contribution to the growth and development of novel and emerging technologies, and NCC’s adoption of adaptive mechanisms that have enhanced emerging technologies in Nigeria.
Addressing a large audience at the event, NCC’s Director, New Media and Information Security, Dr. Haru Al-Hassan, who delivered the opening speech at the event, on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said existing national digital economy frameworks such as the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), 2020-2030 instituted by the Federal Government as well as regulatory initiatives by the Commission, have been significant enablers of Blockchain and emerging technologies in the country.
According to Al-Hassan, “Good regulatory policies are the bedrock of innovation and growth and it is the aspiration of the Commission that Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) otherwise known as Blockchain and other innovative technologies and services would continue to thrive and contribute to the growth and development of Nigeria.”
In the same vein, the Director-General, BPSR, Dr. Dasuki Arabi, informed the audience that the Nigerian government was already making efforts, through a number of initiatives, to harmonise emerging technologies with the contemporary public service sector in a way that strengthens the efficiency of the public sector. He also affirmed that Blockchain would be central in the implementation of the National e-Govt Masterplan.
The BPSR Chief Executive equally listed the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), the Bank Verification Number (BVN), automation of enforcement activities of some agencies of the government, including the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), as well as automated performance measurement systems for public sector employees, as concrete examples of the utilisation of technology in the public sector.
Arabi asserted that Nigeria ranks third in Africa, in the use of telecommunications for public service delivery, coming behind South Africa and Egypt. Arabi called on policymakers to ensure robust policy formulation that ensures improved digital literacy and increased automation in public service delivery.
Other speakers at the event included Dr. Abdul-kareem Oloyede of University of Ilorin, Kwara State; Amaka Ukwueze and Vivian Okonkwo, both of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Enugu State, and Col. Romi Legha of the Indian High Commission.
Oloyede, who clarified the difference between Blockchain and Bitcoin, stated that the former is the underlying technology used for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. He also stated that Blockchain could be utilised to minimise expenditure and expenses, speed up transactions, and improve data security for financial institutions, health care, and businesses.
Ukwueze particularly applauded the Commission for taking the lead in discussions on DLTs considering the fact that Nigeria does not have a clear-cut Blockchain policy yet, even though countries worldwide had begun integrating DLT as a central part of their business practices.
“Republic of Malta, a southern European island country, located in the south central region of the Mediterranean Sea, incorporated Blockchain into its digital and economic ecosystem. Also, China, Abu Dhabi, and Japan are also instituting DLT-friendly regulations in their governance processes,” Ukwueze said.
Accordingly, Ukwueze urged the Federal Government to adopt Blockchain deployment actively, promote legal certainty for Blockchain applications, and provide a flexible and adaptive regulatory environment that fosters innovation. Conclusively, Ukwueze stated that “government’s regulatory enforcement processes must seek to encourage companies to be consumer-centric and ensure compliance.”
In her contribution to the discourse, Okonkwo said adoption of Blockchain technology would be essential in documentation, archiving, cloud storage, identity management, and online education. Additionally, Okonkwo declared that blockchain is a cost-effective method of optimising the quality of the educational administrative processes, and equally a cost-effective application that could improve service delivery across the nation.
The DLT, such as Blockchain, DAG; Hashgraph; Holochain; Tempo (Radix), is a digital system for recording transactions of assets at multiple places simultaneously. The key features of DLT include: immutability (once written, it is extremely difficult to alter), and peer-to-peer sharing, in the sense that ledger is shared among peers while there is no central ownership.
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