Former president of Ivorian Football Federation (FIF), Jacques Anouma

Former president of Ivorian Football Federation (FIF), Jacques Anouma, has decided to seek election as president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in March 2021, sports sources indicated in Dakar, Senegal.

He has already obtained the support and sponsorship of his national federation, as required by the eligibility requirements, said the sources.

The Ivorian Football Federation president, Sidy Diallo, confirmed the information in a statement issued on Saturday.

Before I embark on such a competition, I must be sure I have my destiny in hand, said Mr Anouma, a few weeks ago. If he took the step, it is certainly because he has met all the conditions.

His candidacy comes a few days after the incumbent Ahmad Ahmad of Malagasy claimed to have the support of 46 federations out of the 54 affiliated to CAF.

Ahmad has been CAF president since March 16, 2017.

Other candidates for the post are Tunisians Wadie el Jory and Tarek Bouchamaoui, Moroccan Fouzi Lekjaa, Nigerian Amaju Pinnick and Egyptian Hani Abo Rida.

The deadline for the submission of applications for the post is November 12, 2020, and approved list will be unveiled by CAF on January 11. (PANA/NAN)

Source: NAN News

COVID-19 updates by NCDC

By Abujah Racheal

The Nigeria Centre For Disease Control (NCDC), has announced 300 new infections of the Coronavirus outbreak in the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NCDC made this known via its verified website on Sunday.

The NCDC said after some weeks of recording low number of cases in the country, the300 new cases brings the total number of infections in Nigeria to 64,090.

The health agency also announced the discharged of 26 patients from isolation centers across the country.

The NCDC said that the countrys epicenter, Lagos State, reported 255 new COVID-19 cases, its highest number of single-day infections since August 22.

The high number of infection in Lagos came 24 hours after the state recorded no new case of the virus. The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had27 infections; Oyo 10; Kaduna 5; Ondo 2 and Kano 1.

According to the NCDC,26 COVID-19 patients have been discharged in the last 24 hours with 59,910 as the total number of successfully treated cases in the country.

The public health Agency said that no new COVID-19 deaths were reported during the period as the national death toll remained 1,154 for the fourth consecutive day.

The agency said that it had activated a multi-sectoral national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), at Level III, to coordinate the national response activities in the country. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Scores of terrorists killed in massive airstrikes on hideouts in Borno DHQ

By Sumaila Ogbaje

The Defence Headquarters says the Air Task Force of Operation Lafiya Dole, has neutralised several terrorists of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) in airstrikes at Tumbun Allura in Borno.

The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, in a statement on Monday, said the airstrikes also destroyed the terrorists logistics hub on the fringes of Lake Chad in Northern Borno.

Enenche said that some of their structures, including a suspected fuel storage facility were also destroyed in the attack.

He said the air raid was executed Sunday following a credible Human Intelligence reports as well as aerial surveillance missions which led to the identification of the location.

According to him, a command post as well as a suspected fuel dump, with large number of jerry cans and barrels concealed in make shift structures within the settlement were discovered and destroyed.

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) attack aircraft, dispatched by the Air Task Force to engage the location, scored accurate hits in the target area resulting in the destruction of the terrorists fuel dump, which was seen engulfed in flames.

Several ISWAP elements were also neutralised as a result of the air strike, he said.

Source: NAN News

Pakistans Supreme Court on Monday approved bail for the Editor-in-Chief of the countrys largest media group, after he was detained for eight months without formal charges, a defence lawyer said.

Mir Shakeelur Rehman, who owns Jang Media Group, was arrested in March by anti-graft authorities on allegations of corruption related to a property deal he conducted more than three decades ago.

Rehman has since been in custody, but was never formally charged in court, in defiance of the countrys laws, his lawyer, Amjad Pervaiz, said.

The Lahore High Court denied bail to Rehman in July, in what lawyers unions called a decision against all principles of justice.

Rehmans Jang Media Group publishes newspapers in both Urdu and English and runs Pakistans most popular television network Geo.

Unions for lawyers and journalist have been protesting against the arrest, saying it is part of a larger crackdown on those critical of the government and the military.

Pakistani media and journalists have faced threats and harassment since the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan took office in 2018 after elections tainted by allegations of manipulation by the military. (dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

European Union

The EU will impose tariffs on U.S. products in the dispute surrounding aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing, European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Monday.

A recent World Trade Organisation ruling permitted the EU to impose tariffs, Dombrovskis said.

And thats what we are doing, he said.

The ruling, issued in mid-October, allows the EU to impose tariffs worth nearly four billion dollars (3.37 billion euros) on U.S. imports annually to retaliate against unfair aircraft subsidies.

The EU would remain open to negotiations, however, with the commission advocating for both sides to drop tariffs on each others products, Dombrovskis said.

In a similar case, the WTO authorised the U.S. in 2019 to impose tariffs on EUproducts worth up to 7.5 billion dollars (6.3 billion euros) in response to illegal state aid to European plane-maker Airbus. (dpa/NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Nana Musa

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) will officially launch Retirement Savings Account (RSA) transfer system, under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) on Nov. 16.

The Head Corporate Communication, PenCom, Mr Peter Aghahowa, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Monday.

He said the commissionhad concluded arrangements for the take-off of RSA transfer to allow the RSA holders to transfer their accounts from one Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) to another once in a year.

He said this in line with section 13 of the Pension Reform Act 2014.

The launch date for the RSA Transfer System is scheduled for Nov. 16, this will signify the official opening of the RSA Transfer Window.

Priorto this launch, the commission had successfully developed the RSA transfer application a robust electronic platform that would enable seamless RSA transfers.

Also, the commission have conducted extensive workshops for licensed Pension Operators and State Pension Bureaus in readiness for this epoch-making event, Aghahowa said.

He said the activation of the RSA transfer process would stimulate competition and improve service delivery in the pension industry.

He also said it would assert the right of RSA holders to determine which PFA managed their pension contributions and retirement benefits.

Source: NAN News

Prof.Olanrewaju Fagbohun (SAN), Vice-Chancellor Lagos State University (LASU)

By Oluwakemi Oladipo

Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun (SAN), Vice-Chancellor, Lagos State University (LASU), on Monday said that to adopt and accept virtual learning in post-COVID-19 era, Nigerian institutions needed to invest in online resources.

Fagbohun, a Professor of Environmental Law, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

According to him, it is clear in this COVID-19 era that academic institutions must invest in online resources.

Investment of academic institutions in this area, will ease and guide the attention of students to these online resources to complement whatever the lecturers are teaching them.

If the lecturer is going to focus on going into classrooms to teach face to face for two hours, the same cannot be done online because the students will get tired.

The pedagogy must change, you want to go online in your lecture for some 15 to 20 minutes, so you can still be able to retain that attention of the students with some online materials, he said.

The vice-chancellor said that LASU management always encouraged their faculty members to give support to their students, in terms of engaging them through other media platform such as WhatsApp, especially things they were used to.

Lecturers should give their students guide on online resources which will complement what they were taught during lectures.

Those are the critical things if we are going to make a success and delivery of virtual learning for our students.

The critical path of virtual learning in education system now is something that nobody can doubt and must be achieved.

I believe the way to go about it, in terms of getting our students key into virtual learning system, is first and foremost, for the management of every institution to believe they can achieve it, he said.

Fagbohun added that we might not have the online resources of Ivy League institutions in America or the U.K. were using to lecture but we could still effectively use virtual learning to support students.

He said that there must be a change of mindset within the education system by starting the process, then developing and aggressively improve on what we had.

I know we do not have enough online resources but that should not be an excuse not to start by taking our students through and giving them the opportunity of virtual learning.

Virtual learning can be looked at as a context of real time, that is, as the lecturer is teaching and students are responding online.

It can be a challenge to some of our students, particularly students who reside in rural areas and lack internet facilities, he said.

According to Fagbohun,the way to address students who are having challenges on internet facilities is for the lecturer to upload materials online for the students.

The students will have the opportunity to go online and assess those materials at their own convenient time which will help in the long term, Faghoun said.

Source: NAN News

PDP Logo

By Yemi Adeleye

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Lagos State charpter, has advised Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure more fairness as he commences second term in office on Monday.

The state PDP Publicity Secretary, Taofik Gani, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos.

He said that the INEC boss on his reappointment should read the riot act to the INEC officials to elevate fairness in elections.

Indeed, the INEC Chairman should show more fairness and be able to speak the truth to his employer. The INEC chairman should prove his critics wrong by delivering credible elections all over the country.

Prof. Yakubu must show competence by not limiting duty to Election Day alone. He must read the riot act to all staff of the commission and himself to stay very credible and contented.

All he needs is stern body language and all will be proper. The late Dora Akunyile single-handedly revolutionised service delivery at NAFDAC, today she remains a heroine, Gani said.

The PDP spokesman urged the INEC chairman to reform and reinvigorates the electoral process by also ensuring credible continuous voter registration, education and elections.

Importantly, INEC must regularise continuous voter registration, look into adopting electronic voting.

We can start from all possible constituencies. Even in the U.S., some areas still did manual voting. These two areas should start now, he added.

NAN reports that after five years tenure, the INEC Chairman on Monday commenced a fresh term.

Yakubus reappointment by President Muhammadu Buhari, was announced on Oct. 27, in a letter to the Senate for confirmation, making him the first INEC chairman to have his tenure extended by another five years. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

COVID-19

By Abujah Racheal

Prof. Clement Adebamowo, a Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health has said that the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak may have some positive and negative impact on cancer occurrence in patients.

Adebamowo, who is also an Associate Director Marlene and Stewart Greenabaum Cancer Center at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine made the claim in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Monday in Abuja.

Now that we have COVID-19, it is going to have some positive impact on cancer occurrence and some negative impact.

The negative impact is that we are already seeing that patients are not coming to hospitals even in developed countries so programmes for screening cancer are not seeing as many patients as they should be seeing.

What that means is that, later on, more people will be presenting with advanced cancer and they will have poor outcomes to treatment.

That is one possible impact of COVID-19 on cancer.

COVID-19 may also cause some cancers to reduce in incidence, like cervical cancer which is associated with Human papillomavirus (HPV), he said.

He said that HPV could be spread through personal contact, including sexual contact.

So when you have a virus that is putting pressure on human population to reduce personal contact, then the spread of viruses that are dependent on high levels of personal contact will reduce.

So, what we are going to see in future is a balance between these two contending forces, he explained.

The expert said that there was no available evidence to show if COVID-19 virus was going to be associated with any specific type of cancer or other non-communicable diseases in future.

We have seen preliminary evidence that it is associated with some mental health issues, long-time respiratory health issues, cardiovascular diseases and neurological diseases.

But cancer takes a long time before it occurs so whether people who have been infected by COVID-19 clear the virus, whether it remains in their system and if it would increase their risk of non-communicable diseases in the future is an open area for research, he stressed.

He said that COVID-19 was a viral pandemic which WHO had been preparing a plan for responding to for about 20 years.

One of the things that I have found disappointing in the current pandemic is how many countries did not implement those plans and there was a lot of confusion and denial of the science and of the public health, he noted.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

Condom

By Amina Ahmed

The Ward Development Committee (WDC), Ganjuwa Local Government Council in Bauchi State has decried scarcity of Child Birth Spacing (CBS) commodities especially condoms in the area.

The WDC Chairman, Mr Mustpha Ibrahim, made the observation when Bauchi StatePublic Health Media Network visited Kafin Madaki Primary Healthcare Center (PHC) on Monday.

Ibrahim attributed the out of stock of CBS commodities in Kafin Madaki PHCto high demand of services by men in the area.

He said that husbands especially, were becoming considerate in respect to quality andhealthy lifestyle.

Husbands openly discuss CBS and go to facilities to access services, especially condoms.

The person in charge told me during a meeting that condoms finish first out of other CBS commodities because men are coming for the services.

CBS is well accepted because we have parents coming forpremarital counseling with intended couples. Our volunteers are conducting house to house for the success of CBS, he said.

The WDC chairman appealed to the Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency to avail the health centre with CBS commodities to avoid unplanned pregnancies.

Earlier, Mr Sani Usman, the deputy in charge of PHC Kafin Madaki said that no fewer than 60 CBS clients access the services monthly.

Usman said that in October, the facilities were out of stock of child birth spacing commodities.

In October, PHC were out of stock but this is because of an increase in the number of clientele recorded, Usman said.

He noted that somechallenges encountered with CBS were because the new clients experience minor side effects and the officials still counseled them appropriately. (NAN)

Source: NAN News