The Kano State Governorship Election Tribunal presided over by Justice Halima Shamaki has upheld the election of Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje and dismissed the petition of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Abba Kabir-Yusuf.

More to come.

Source: NAN

The Oyo State House of Assembly says the police have arrested two security guards in connection with the theft of an electrical fuse in the complex.

The Clerk of the House,Mrs Felicia Oyediran, said this at a press conference on Wednesday.

She said that the police arrested the two guards who were on duty when the theft occurred.

Oyediran, who denied reports that the thieves carted away electrical cables worth over N500,000, said the only stolen item was an electricalfuse in the generator worth N40,000.

The stolen fuse was from the generator and not an IBEDC(Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company) cable.

Though the occurrence was not the first , we have to build a burglary proof (netting) to protect the generator, she said.

She maintained that the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Sept.26, had not slowed down legislative activities in the state.

Source: NAN

By Franca Ofili

Mr Festus Adebayo, the Chief Executive of Fesadeb Communications Ltd., on Wednesday called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the housing sector to address effects of population growth on the sector.

Adebayo, who was the convener of the just-concluded 13th Abuja International Housing Show, made the call in Abuja during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

According to him, the population of the country is growing at a geometric rate, while the government is working at arithmetic progression.

He said the Federal Governments efforts could not match the countrys population growth rate.

The 18 million deficit cannot still be same, everyday we are increasing in number without increasing in ideas, policies and political will.

The government should declare state of emergency in the area of housing; you cannot be selling cement for N2,500 and then ask one to deliver a house for two million naira.

The cost of building is very high, so government should act now before it will be late, said.

Adebayo said that government should not be involved in building houses, rather it should come up with policies that would encourage people to invest in the sector.

He advised relevant authorities to focus more on what is called Rental Housing Scheme which he defined as own and pay accordingly .

Adebayo also called on the government to ban importation of building materials so that Nigerians can use local materials.

NAN reports that the United Nations Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, Leilani Farha, when she visited the country, advised that Nigeria must address its housing problem.

According to her, the United Nations estimates that Nigerias population will double by 2050 to around 400 million people to make it the worlds third-largest nation after India and China.

She said that there was lack of adequate housing in a country where most inhabitants lived on less than two dollars a day in spite of being Africas largest economy. (NAN)

Source: NAN

By Emmanuel Afonne

The Forum of Nigerians in Francophone speaking countries in the West and Central African region has commended the Department of State Services (DSS) for being alive to her responsibilities as an institution focused on the preservation of national security.

The views of the forum were conveyed in a communique at the end of her 59th Independence Anniversary reunion held at Hotel Tahiti Quarter Jak, Benin Republic and signed by its President, Dr Isaac Oduma.

The forum expressed faith in the capacity of Nigerias security agencies particularly the DSS for her many years of dedicated service delivery to the nation.

He stated: the country is blessed with an outstanding institution in the DSS and above all a committed leadership that is passionate about new reforms and keeping to the objectives of the institution.

The president of the forum further commended the sagacity and ingenuity of President Muhammadu Buhari for the supportive roles he had always played as the Commander-In-Chief of the republic of Nigeria.

The group noted with satisfaction that the country through the DSS had been exceptionally professional in the handling of issues that would otherwise dismember the country if left unattended to.

You will recall ladies and gentlemen that about two months ago, some citizens had put it on record to overthrow a legally constituted government in our country Nigeria and also disarm the DSS.

This to my knowledge, is the most deafening, unpatriotic and unwholesome intention I have ever heard since the return of democracy.

So, on behalf of the Nigerian people in the Francophone speaking countries in West and Central Africa, I must say that we are totally satisfied and pleased with the proactive measures utilised by the institution.

Without the current proactive approach employed by the agency, no one would have guaranteed the countrys existence today as we celebrate 59 years of independence.

Our challenges are still much but the road to development is not by virtue of outlawing Society with her laws, conventions and values.

We have families and investments back home and to think a Nigerian whose family is nationalised in the U.S. and UKwill contemplate and fund a revolution for parochial interest is not only unfortunate but regrettably repugnant to the values we hold as Nigerians, Oduma said.

Oduma further said that as diaspora citizens, the group members would contribute the highest foreign investments back home to enhance the nations Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and foreign reserves.

He said they would not fold their arms and watch the country go down through illicit means.

Never in the history of our national existence has a government been overthrown through a forceful means in a democratic setting such as we have today and why should any sane mind initiate or suggest that path after losing an election.

The group through its president insisted that the vote of confidence passed on the DSS and her leadership was borne out of a deep conviction of the majority of the members.

The diaspora forum urged the leadership of other security agencies to emulate and compliment the DSS in spite of recurring blackmail and arm twisting by paid media and legal merchants whose interests are against that of national security. (NAN)

Source: NAN

A woman has told how she dressed up as a bush in order to covertly capture her sister’s engagement moment.

Therese Merkel, 23, told her Twitter followers how she disguised herself to blend in with the wilderness to watch her sister Rachel getting proposed to by partner Andrew Philibeck.

The post features images of Merkel dressed in a head-to-toe twig-covered bush costume, and disguised in among some foliage, next to the cute shot of the surprise engagement moment, featuring sunflowers and lights.

“We are one years apart...why are our lives so different,” Merkel lamented in the post. The tweet has quickly gone viral, receiving more than 170,000 likes at time of writing.

Merkel opened up more about the engagement to Yahoo UK.

She tells us: “Andrew and I started devising about a month prior. We had an hour long phone call where he asked for my approval to be wed. Me and my sister are incredibly close, so i’m like the second string of parents he has to go though, we didn’t make it easy.

Merkel then helped her brother-in-law to be plan the hilarious proposal, which she played a crucial part in.

“Apart from being in the special moment, I taped the whole thing. While I was hiding, I had the perfect view to the whole thing— Andrew knew I was hiding and wasn’t even sure I was there when he walked down— thats how baller this suit was. He wrote her a loving poem, and then got down on one knee,” she says.

She adds: “After Taylor spilled the beans that Rachel and Andrew weren't alone, I revealed myself by screaming ‘She said yes!’. Rachel was very confused and I was legitimately crying tears of joy because of how special the whole event was.”

As for the responses on social media, people are congratulating the couple, as well as calling Merkel’s gesture “sweet” and saying she is “the best sister”.

A number of users are also tagging their friends in the comments thread below, saying they would be in Merkel’s position.

Sister got engaged this weekend and I dressed as a bush in the wilderness to watch/capture the moment. We are 1 yr apart.. why are our lives so different rofl pic.twitter.com/cE14RBZ9CL

— therese merkel (@theresemerkel) September 23, 2019

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri gave a South African bikini model nearly $16 million US dollars after meeting her on holiday, it emerged on Monday, as Lebanon faces violent protests over a burgeoning economic crisis.

Candice van der Merwe met Mr Hariri at a private resort in the Seychelles in 2013 when she was 20. The married father-of-three, who is Lebanon’s most powerful Sunni politician, was 43.

When asked why Mr Hariri gave her the money, she responded that they had begun a romantic relationship. “I have also been told I have a very engaging personality,” she said, in court documents obtained by The New York Times.

The gift would have remained secret were it not for South African tax authorities, who froze Ms van der Merwe’s assets, asking her to explain the change in her fortunes.

She filed suit against them for $65 million in damages, alleging that the hold on her accounts forced her to sell the property she had bought with Mr Hariri’s gift, while the related publicity severed her connection with the Prime Minister.

The court records filed as a result put the details into the public domain. As Mr Hariri gave Ms van der Merwe the money between his two terms as Prime Minister, while not in office, he does not appear to have broken any Lebanese or South African laws.

There are no allegations that the money was linked to public funds, and Mr Hariri, whose personal wealth was estimated at $1.5bn US by Forbes magazine in 2018, is clearly wealthy enough to have sent the transactions from his private accounts.

Staff at Hariri-owned English-language newspaper The Daily Star say they have not been paid their salaries in nearly four months.

Several have left as a result, leaving the publication severely understaffed.

The news of Mr Hariri’s gift came as Moody’s credit rating agency announced it has placed Lebanon’s already low credit rating “under review for a downgrade.”

On Sunday protests against the failing economy and inadequate infrastructure turned violent in the capital Beirut, as protesters blocked roads and set fire to tires.

Mr Hariri has not responded to the reports.

You’ve heard of swimming with the sharks, but what about dancing with the lions?

That’s what one woman did Saturday at New York City’s Bronx Zoo when she climbed over the safety rail at the African lion exhibit.

The unidentified woman was filmed standing in the exhibit near a lion with only a moat with a 14-foot drop separating them, according to CBS New York.

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The woman appears to dance for the lion, who doesn’t appear to be impressed, based on this Instagram video of the incident.

Hernán Reynoso, who filmed the video above, told WNBC TV that at first he thought the woman and her dancing were all part of the exhibit.

That quickly changed.

“But when I see ... she just was there, dancing, saying, ‘Hi,’ to the lion and everything and that was crazy,” Reynoso said.

Reynoso also said when he saw the lion start to get agitated and roar at the woman, he decided to grab his family and leave the scene.

Bronx Zoo officials told WABC TV that there were no injuries from the encounter, but that it has a “zero-tolerance policy” for antics of this sort.

“This action was a serious violation and unlawful trespass that could have resulted in serious injury or death. Barriers and rules are in place to keep both visitors, staff, and animals safe,” the zoo said in a statement.

The woman has not been identified, but the zoo is currently filing a criminal trespass report against her, the station said.

By Ijeoma Okigbo

Divine Oduduru finished last in heat 3 with 20.84 seconds in the mens 200m semi-finals and failed to make appearance in the events final scheduled for Tuesday.

Teammate Blessing Okagbare, on the other hand, was disqualified in her 200m heatfor lane infringement.

Both athletes have experienced a rough start in the build-up after an earlier disqualification from the 200m race.

The duo had been shortlisted to feature in the 100m race against their will.

Their non-participation in the distance resulted to their withdrawal from the other events entered.

But an appeal to the world athletics body saw them reinstated into the world championships.

Meanwhile, Patience Okon-George and Favour Ofili have qualified for the womens 400m semi-finals.

Source: NAN

Parents and Christian groups in Ghana have pushed back against a planned introduction of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) for primary school children aged four.

Education officials in Ghana say the UNESCO programme will empower children with information on their sexuality and reproductive health issues, according to BBC Africa report.

Director of the Ghana Education Service says CSE will help nurture positive attitudes, open-mindedness, respect for self and others, non-judgmental attitudes and a sense of responsibility concerning sexual and reproductive health issues.

But pressure groups in Ghana say the programme is a guise to introduce children to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender activism. It is a strategy they have a plan.

It is not always open for you to see, says Moses Foh Amoaning, leader of National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values, a pressure group that claims homosexuality is a sin.

BB reported that parents and Christian groups are questioning why young children have to be introduced to sex education before they are sexually active, describing the plans as demonic.

Leaders of Ghanas teachers association say they have not been consulted on the programme but have served notice that they are opposed to the move. The CSE programme is set to take effect after consultations with stakeholders in the education sector.

Source: NAN

By Lizzy Okoji

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday that the South African government had granted Air Peaces request to commence commercial flights to Johannesburg, South Africa

Mr Ferdinand Nwonye, spokesperson for the ministry made this known in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform that the South African Government has grantedrequest for the Nigerian Designated Airline, Air Peace to commence commercial flights to Johannesburg, South Africa.

The confirmation was granted in the process of ascertaining the level of implementation of the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and South Africa.

At the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) of the 9th Session of the Nigeria/South Africa Bi-National Commission Summit in Pretoria, South Africa on Friday, Sept. 27.

The proprietor of Air Peace Airlines, Chief Allen Onyema has also confirmed that the airline would commence operation as soon as possible to promote air travel between Nigeria and South Africa, Nwonye said.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the bi-national meeting focused on consolidation of the subsisting signed Agreements/MoUs between both countries

The Nigeria-South Africa Joint Commission was established in 1999 to promote relations between both countries and it was upgraded to Bi-National Commission (BNC) in 2001.

To showcase the strategic nature of the relationship between the two very important countries, the commission is expected to be further upgraded to the Summit level on Oct. 3. (NAN)

Source: NAN