Saraki welcomes Obaseki to PDP

Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has welcomed Edo Governor Godwin Obaseki to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and congratulated him for taking a good step in the right direction.

In a statement in Abuja from his media office, Saraki noted the bigger commendation and appreciation should go to the leaders of the Edo State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the various levels for the sense of sacrifice, patriotism and devotion to the progress of the party demonstrated by them in the process of welcoming Obaseki into its fold.

“I also thank Obaseki’s colleagues, the PDP Governors, for their role and for ensuring that while bringing him into the party, they carried along the local chapter and refrain from just unilaterally taking decisions without the input of the leaders of the party in Edo State.

source: The Nation

US missionary Gregory Dow pleads guilty to sex crimes in Kenya orphanage

An American Christian missionary has pleaded guilty in a US court to sexually abusing young girls at the orphanage he started in Kenya.

Gregory Dow, 61, admitted to four counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in a foreign place.

The orphanage was in operation from 2008 to 2017 when Mr Dow left Kenya.

The FBI and Kenyan authorities investigated him and he was charged in the US

In 2008, Dow founded the orphanage in western Kenya. It was partly funded by churches in Lancaster county in the US state of Pennsylvania, reports local newspaper LNP.

He is accused of assaulting girls from 2013. Two of the girls were 11, one was 12 and another was 13, adds LNP.

"The defendant purported to be a Christian missionary who cared for these children and asked them to call him 'Dad'. But instead of being a father figure, he preyed on their youth and vulnerability," said the US Department of Justice in a statement.

He fled Kenya in September 2017 when the allegations of assault came to light, the statement adds.

It goes on to say that the FBI acted on a tip off and Mr Dow was charged in July 2019.

"Gregory Dow hid behind his supposed faith on the other side of the world, hoping no-one in the US would know or care about the children he abused. He was wrong," said US attorney William McSwain.

Prosecutors pointed out that in 1996 he pleaded guilty to assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, for which he received two years' probation and was ordered to register as a sex offender for a decade.

Dow is scheduled to be sentenced on 29 September, reports the AP news agency.

Coronavirus: Dexamethasone proves first life-saving drug

A cheap and widely available drug can help save the lives of patients seriously ill with coronavirus. The low-dose steroid treatment dexamethasone is a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus, UK experts say.

The drug is part of the world's biggest trial testing existing treatments to see if they also work for coronavirus.

It cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. For those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth.

Had the drug had been used to treat patients in the UK from the start of the pandemic, up to 5,000 lives could have been saved, researchers say.And it could be of huge benefit in poorer countries with high numbers of Covid-19 patients.

The UK government has 200,000 courses of the drug in its stockpile and says the NHS will make dexamethasone available to patients.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there was a genuine case to celebrate "a remarkable British scientific achievement", adding: "We have taken steps to ensure we have enough supplies, even in the event of a second peak."

Chief Medical Officer for England Prof Chris Whitty said it would save lives around the world.

BBC news

Oshiomole’s Suspension: I am vindicated – APC Chieftain

The Director General of Voice of Nigeria and a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Mr. Osita Okechukwu has described the Court of Appeal judgement upholding the suspension of the national chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomole as a vindication of his position.

Reacting to the appellate court order, Okechukwu in a statement titled “Is a Daniel come to judgement?” in Abuja on Tuesday night.According to the VON boss, ” It is good riddance to bad rubbish. He was playing God. One is vindicated, as I had maintained that Comrade Adams was no more a valid chairman of our great party.

“That out of narcissism he glossed over his valid suspension by his ward executive and with culture of impunity failed to adhere to the provisions of APC Constitution. A man who lost his ward, LGA and State Exco has no reason to remain chairman.The good thing is that his suspension will afford a golden opportunity for the leadership of our party to overhaul and reposition our great party along the core progressive tenets, as we enshrined during merger in our constitution.

“Lets be frank, and do a careful review of Adams stewardship and take our party as a company in stock market.

The Nation

Why strike must continue, by ASUU

Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday said it has resolved to continue its ongoing strike to ensure government shows more commitment to the education sector as well as improve welfare of workers.

According to the union, getting revitalisation fund and unpaid earned academic allowances, ensuring government sets up and conduct visitation to universities, addressing proliferation of state universities and issues of governance in them as well as the conclusion of the renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement must be resolved if the strike must be called off.ASUU President, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, made the disclosures in a ‘Strike Bulletin 9’ he signed, which was also made available to newsmen by chairman, University of Ibadan Chapter, Professor Ayo Akinwole.

The ongoing ASUU strike is in its 13th week.

Ogunyemi noted the speedy completion of the renegotiation of 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement will birth new conditions of service, enhanced salaries for academics and improved infrastructure for Nigerian public varsities, warning that “efforts by agents of government to derail the strike through deflection of IPPIS contraption and denial of salaries have failed because the Union was fighting a just cause.”

Source; The Nation

Trump To Sign Police Reform Executive Order

U.S. President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Tuesday that will seek to improve how police officers treat African Americans and others by improving credentialing, training and mental health resources, administration officials said.

The order comes after Trump has struck a strict "law and order" tone in his response to protests around the country sparked by the death of African American George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis.

Trump has faced criticism from Democrats for his response and some allies are concerned that his handling of the protests and the coronavirus pandemic are hurting his and other Republican leaders' chances of re-election in November.

Senior administration officials said the order will aim to incentivize police departments to improve by tying federal approval of discretionary grants to good policing practices.

The order would encourage police departments to employ the latest standards for use of force; improve information sharing so that officers with shoddy records are not hired without their backgrounds being known and add social workers to law enforcement responses to non-violent cases involving drug addiction and homelessness, officials said.

"We're going to be talking about things that we've been watching and seeing for the last month and we're going to have some solutions," Trump told reporters on Monday.

Law enforcement officials and families of people who have been killed by police are expected to be part of the event where Trump will sign the order.

Lawmakers in Congress are also working on legislative responses to the calls for police reform.

"Certainly we can add on to what we do by the work that's being done in the House and in the Senate," Trump said.

source: Reuters

Appeal Court Affirms Oshiomhole’s Suspension as APC National Chairman

A three-man panel of the Court of Appeal has affirmed the suspension of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Lamido, the three-man panel dismissed Oshiomhole’s appeal for lacking in merit. The panel accordingly affirmed the decision of an Abuja High Court which had in early March ordered the suspension of Oshiomhole as APC National Chairman.

ThisDay