The most exhilarating part of the US Presidential election 2020 is the fact that President Trump lost the election. It is what many observers thought would happen. They prayed for it. They wished it. In the end, that is what happened on Saturday, November 7, 2020. The major news networks called the election and announced Joe Biden as the President-elect of the United States. Whatever level of excitement that the election may have generated however, it was after all, an American election. It was one of the closest and most fiercely contested elections in American history. Over 160 million voters…
Author: meridianspy
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has quit his position following expiration of the five-year tenure. Prof. Yakubu who was reappointed as INEC Chairman by President Muhammadu Buhari, handed over to AVM Ahmed Mu’azu (rtd), as Acting Chairman, on Monday. Mu’azu would take over affairs of the commission pending Prof. Yakubu’s confirmation by the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly. Speaking at the handing over ceremony, the immediate past INEC Chairman noted that it will be inappropriate for him to remain in office beyond today, 9th November 2020, without confirmation by the Senate and swearing…
Pfizer Inc has developed a COVID-19 vaccine found to be more than 90-percent effective. This is a major victory in the fight against a pandemic that has killed more than a million people and rendered economies. Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE are the first drugmakers to release successful data from a large-scale clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine, Aljazeera reports. The companies said they have so far found no serious safety concerns and expect to seek US authorisation this month for emergency use of the vaccine for people aged 16 to 85. If authorised, the number of doses will…
The petroleum workers under the aegis Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have threatened to embark on another strike, raising fears of a possible return of fuel scarcity in the country. In a letter signed and released by Lumumba Okugbawa, PENGASSAN General Secretary, on Sunday, the workers were directed by the association to vacate their duty posts. The decision was taken by PENGASSAN to kick against the failure of the government to make any concrete move as regards the differences between the association and the government on matters bordering on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information…
Officers of the Nigerian Army have reportedly been killing and breaking into the homes of residents who were not connected with the attackers that killed six soldiers and stole their weapons, Sahara Reporters reports. An eyewitness, who spoke with Sahara Reporters, said one of the soldiers shot into the air before the Keke rider was driven off in his tricycle. “As I was in the market buying something, soldiers ran in. I don’t know what was pursuing them,” the eyewitness said. “They ran and hit a Keke; the Keke boy did not do anything. They just entered the Keke and…
The Presidency has assured that Nigeria will do all it can to ensure Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former finance minister, emerged as the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, gave the assurance during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, on Sunday. Shehu stated that no stone will be left unturned by the government as Okonjo-Iweala moves to make history as first African to hold the position of DG of the trade organisation. “President Buhari has been talking to all world leaders, at some point, Ngozi had a…
The Lagos State Judicial Panel Of Inquiry set up to address the issue of police brutality has suspended sitting for one week after youths representatives pulled out of meeting in protest against freezing of accounts of some ENDSARS protesters by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Sahara Reporters reports the CBN had obtained a court order to freeze the bank account of Bolatito Rachael Oduala alongside 19 others over their role during the #ENDSARS protest. Oduala, who is also on the Lagos panel as a youth representative, withdrew from the panel sitting today in protest of the move by the CBN. Her…
No government is short of opposition. In a democracy, the residence of an animated opposition signals the buoyancy of the system. Where there is democracy, there is opposition. In fact, opposition is the mitochondria of a republican system – it keeps the government on the mill working according to purpose. Why is the Buhari administration after the only opposition platform of all citizens? Really, the principal task of the administration from its conception was dismantling instruments and institutions of check. The Buhari executive thwacked the judiciary and effectively broke its back when agents of the state attacked judges in their…
The judicial panel established by the Lagos State Government to investigate police brutality is currently playing closed-circuit TV footage from the October 20 Lekki shooting. The Cable reports the panel is saddled with the responsibility of investigating cases of brutality and human rights violations committed by operatives of the disbanded special anti-robbery squad (SARS), among other cases of abuses. At its sitting in Lekki on Friday, the panel obtained footage of the incident from the Lekki Concession Company (LCC). Doris Okuwobi, the chairperson of the panel, granted approval for the footage to be played after hearing from counsels.
Ahead of the declaration of the final result of United State presidential elections, US Secret Service has beefed up protection for Joe Biden, democrat party candidate, who is in pole position to winning the elections. This is as Donald Trump, incumbent US president and Republican candidate, continues to trail behind Biden with 214 to 264 electoral college votes respectively as at the time of this report. It should be noted that required college votes to be declared winner is pegged at 270. Washington Post reports the Secret Service has detailed more agents to Delaware, Biden’s hometown, to increase the amount…
The new data from the World Poverty Clock has revealed that over 105 million Nigerians now extremely poor in the country. Records in September 2020 had showed a total of 40.1 per cent of Nigerians lived in extreme poverty but has drastically changed in less than two months. According to Sahara Reporters, the new data seen on Thursday reflects the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on living conditions in the country. Nigeria has a total population of 205,323,520 people — of that number, 105,097,856 representing 51 per cent of the county, the data records. 51% of Nigerians now live below…
Leaders of the Southern and Middle Belt parts of the country under the auspices of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) on Wednesday, warned they would no longer allow the Northern part of the country to dictate to them, or allow them keep playing any supremacist role over others, Ripples Nigeria reports. This was the focus of a communiqué issued by the forum after an emergency meeting the forum held in Abuja. The communique was signed by Chief EK Clark (PANDEF Leader), AVM Idongesit Nkanga, Chief Broderick Bozimo, Mr. Solomon Asemota (SAN), Senator Bassey Henshaw, Prof GG Darah…