Biafra: Nnamdi Kanu is drowning, creating confusion – Ralph Uwazuruike

Ralph Uwazuruike, leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, has dismissed a claim by Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People, IPOB, that he collected oil blocks from the Nigerian government.

Uwazuruike, who is also leader of the Biafra Independent Movement, BIM, said the allegation by Kanu was baseless and malicious which should be dismissed by the general public.

He described Kanu as a drowning man who knew nothing about the struggle for Biafra.

He lamented that the IPOB leader prefers traveling around the world, creating confusion and panic.

He stated that the IPOB leader should be grateful that he got Biafra into the membership of the unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, UNPO, in the Hague, rather than making false claims.

Daily Post

S.Africans reluctant to return to places of worship despite lockdown easing

White plastic chairs are sprayed down with sanitiser and a smartly dressed cleaner says a prayer while dusting before a first service in her church in more than nine weeks.

President Cyril Ramaphosa gave places of worship across South Africa the greenlight to reopen from June 1 provided they could satisfy appropriate COVID-19 self-regulation measures.

But few have done so to date, with many worshippers hesitant to return for fear of catching the coronavirus.

"Our first service was today... we didn't have as many of our congregation members as usual," Pastor Sylvain Malindhva of Peniel ministries told AFP.

"The fear is there... a lot of people are still hesitating to come to the churches."

In Johannesburg's crowded business district, some small evangelical churches have opened up for services under strict government regulations including the wearing of masks and social distancing.

"God gave us also wisdom and intelligence. We can't just say because we are praying we are not going to observe those preventative measures," Malindhva said.

But many religious locals are opting to stay away.

RTL Today

Makinde: why we have not prosecuted Ajimobi, aides

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has explained that the need to follow bureaucratic processes has been delaying the decision to drag key leaders in the administration of former governor Abiola Ajimobi before the state anti-corruption agency.

The governor disclosed this through his Chief Press Secretary Taiwo Adisa while featuring on Southwest Political Circuit, a political interview programme on Ibadan-based Fresh F. M. 105.9 at the weekend. He featured along with the Special Adviser on politics and Strategy Babatunde Oduyoye.

The governor established the Oyo State Economic and Financial Crimes Commission within his first six months in office to send signals to government officials about his seriousness to run a corruption-free government. But the agency is yet to get members of the board to manage it.n the first three months of his tenure, Makinde constantly accused his predecessor and his aides of committing infractions while in office.

When asked why Ajimobi and his aides have not been prosecuted in spite of claims of misdemeanor, Adisa explained that government procedures are long and compulsory, adding that jumping any stage of the process can jeopardize an entire policy or project, no matter how lofty. He said Makinde’s administration has a list of the infractions committed by members of the past administration as well as documents to prove them but that the process of establishing the agency, appointing people of impeccable character and ensuring that it is properly set to succeed is long and must be followed. He assured that they would be brought to justice at the right time.

Adisa also denied that Makinde’s administration was deliberately defaming Ajimobi because of his laudable achievements in infrastructural development, stressing that the new government was only performing the duty of updating the public about the state of governance in the state.

While answering questions on the issues that have been troubling the coalition that produced Makinde’s victory in the last election, Oduyoye said there was nothing to worry about because the diverse interests within the coalition were being addressed everyday successfully. About Sen. Olufemi Lanlehin, Hon. Mulikat Akande-Adeola and others, Oduyoye said talks were going on with them with signs of positive results.

The Nation

Nigeria coronavirus Hits 12,233 cases - NCDC

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, became the third African country to record over 10,000 cases of COVID-19. The milestone was reached on May 31 when 307 new cases took its tally to 10,162.

As Africa’s biggest economy, the federal government has continued to enforce regulations across the board even though most state governments have moved to relax restrictions.

Lagos is rolling out a progressive reopening of the economy. It is the most impacted state with over 5,000 cases as of May 31. Only Cross River State had yet to record a case.

The national response is led by the Presidential Task Force, PTF, led by SGF Boss Mustapha along with a national coordinator and relevant ministers – chief among them, Health, Foreign Affairs and Education ministries.

Africannews

Trump says the economy will cure the 'very sad problem' of police killing blacks

Over the past two days, President Trump has twice been asked how he plans to address the systemic racism in U.S. police departments spotlighted by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and both times he has made clear that he believes the solution is a healthy economy.

In a Thursday radio interview with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, Trump was asked about his reaction to the fact that just 36 percent of African-Americans say they trust local police, compared with 70 percent of whites. “How do you change things?” Kilmeade asked the president.

“Well, I think it’s a very sad problem,” Trump replied. “As you know, as a Republican I’m doing very well with African-Americans and with the vote, with the — in polls and everything — especially, I mean, I haven’t seen one very recently because you had the plague come in from China, so that changed things up, but we had the best economy ever. We had the best numbers for African-American employment and unemployment in history. Best homeownership, best everything. We had the best numbers in everything — not only African-American, but the African-American numbers were great.”

Kilmeade, who is friendly to Trump, briefly pressed the president further. “But how do you handle the law enforcement part of this? How do you handle the law enforcement part of this?”

Trump went off on another tangent in his answer, complaining that he didn’t get enough credit for his remarks about Floyd’s death during an unrelated speech about space exploration. He did not address Kilmeade’s question about systemic changes.

“Well, I think you have to get better than what they’ve been doing. I mean, obviously that was a terrible thing,” Trump replied. “And I’ve spoken about it numerous times in various speeches. And you know, it’s interesting, I spoke about it when we launched a very successful rocket — a tremendous program that culminated on that day and obviously it goes on from there. But I then made a speech and it was a speech about the rocket, and I devoted 25 percent of the speech, probably, to what happened — or more — to what happened with respect to George — George Floyd — and it was ... and then you listen to news, ‘He doesn’t talk about George Floyd.’ The rocket went off, then I made a speech and I talked about George Floyd, but they said he didn’t talk about George Floyd. Half, maybe even almost half of the speech, but a large portion of the speech was devoted to that.

Stakeholders back Uzodimma on new Imo University of Agric

Stakeholders from Umuagwo in Imo State,  have lent  their  support to Governor  Hope Uzodinma’s  plan to establish  a new Imo State University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences on their land.

The stakeholders had hitherto vehemently battled with past administrations against the establishment of the university because of the provision of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) and multi campus arrangement in the law establishing the university.

The stakeholders said they believed that the PPP provision was  a ploy by a former governor to take over the university after leaving office, insisting that it must be 100  percent owned by the government.

Lagos To Begin Meter Production

The Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, is working towards local production of affordable smart meters to improve electricity supply in the state.

Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Olalere Odusote, an engineer, said the state was targetting innovative metering solutions.

He spoke at a briefing on the 365 days of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in Lagos.

Towards achieving the administration’s agenda, the ministry has accelerated a light-up programme, electrification of public infrastructure, clean energy initiatives, local capacity building and oil and gas interventions.He said the accelerated power programme aimed at facilitating electricity distribution to under-served and unserved communities will be implemented in phases, with the first phase focusing on low-income communities.

Odusote said the governor has approved the procurement and installation of 20,000 metres for communities in Lagos, adding that the ministry has also concluded an electricity franchising agreement with distribution companies.

“We have also launched a smart meter design programme to increase meter penetration in the state by leveraging local capacity towards improving electricity distribution and monitoring,” the commissioner said.

The Nation