Mali coup: Bah Ndaw sworn in as civilian leader

 

Mali's new president has been sworn into office, five weeks after the overthrow of Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.

Former Defence Minister Bah Ndaw, 70, was picked by the coup leader, Colonel Assimi Goita, to head a transitional government until elections, which are expected in 18 months.

Col Goita is vice-president.

The appointment of a civilian president was a condition for the West African regional group, Ecowas, to lift the sanctions it imposed after the coup.

Stocks of goods are running low in the Malian capital, Bamako.

But after Mr Ndaw's inauguration, Ecowas officials said they would only lift the embargo after a civilian prime minister was also appointed.

BBC News

Nigeria Labour Unions Called off Strike, Electricity Tariffs Hike Suspended

 

Labour Unions in Nigeria have suspended their planned nationwide strike that was to begin on Monday, Labour Minister Festus Keyamo has said on Twitter.

The suspension follows overnight talks between the government and the unions.

The strike was to protest against the recent doubling of electricity bills, an increase in petrol price and high cost of living in the country, the BBC's Ishaq Khalid reports.

The government had said the measures were needed to shore up the economy which has been badly affected by the fall in global oil prices due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The minister said the electricity tariffs will now be suspended for two weeks and a committee formed to "examine the justification for the new policy".

BBC NEWS

US-based Nigerian doctor says COVID 19 has a cure

A US-based Nigerian doctor, Dr. Stella Emmanuel, has alleged there is a conspiracy of a group of pharmaceutical practitioners on COVID-19.

The radiologist, who said she has singlehandedly treated over 350 COVID-19, with no record of death, most of them elderly with underlying ailments, said she has been getting death threats and ran to the white House to expose the conspiracy.

She claimed COVID-19 has a cure and there is no need to wear a mask or create social distance.

Fearing for her life, she made a recorded speech to tell the world that there is nothing to fear.

According to her: “I’m Dr Stella Emmanuel I’m a primary care physician in Houston Texas.

“I actually went to medical school in West Africa, Nigeria, where I took care of malaria patients treated with hydroxychloroquine and stuff like that so I’m actually used to these medications

“I’m here because I have personally treated over 350 patients with COVID, patients that have diabetes patients that have high blood pressure patients that have asthma or people at my oldest person is 92, 87-year-olds and the result has been the same.

” I put them on hydroxychloroquine, I put them on zinc, I put them on Zithromax and they are all well; for the past few months I’ve taken care of over 350 patients.

“I have not lost one patient and on top of that I’ve put myself my staff and many doctors that I know on same drug for prevention.

“We see 10 to 15 COVID-19 patients every day. We give them breathing treatments, we only wear surgical mask.

“None of us has gotten sick, it works, so right now and I came here to Washington DC to say America nobody needs to die with this study that made me start using hydroxychloroquine.”

She said even research has shown that hiccup is a sympton of COVID-19 and is treated also with hydroxychloroquine.

“They definitely know that hydroxycholoquine is working. I’m upset, why I’m upset is that I see people that cannot breathe walk-in.

” I see diabetics sitting in my office knowing that this is a death sentence and they can breathe and I hold them and I tell them it’s going to be okay you’re going to leave and we treat them and they leave.

“No one has died. So if some fake science, some persons sponsored by all these fake Pharma companies come out to say it doesn’t work, I can tell you categorically is fake science.

“I want to know who is behind it because there is no way I can treat 350 patients and counting and nobody is dead.

“So I came here to Washington DC to tell America nobody needs to get sick. This virus has a cure it is called hydroxychloroquine, zinc and zithromax.

” I don’t even want to talk about mask… hello you don’t need mask. I know they don’t want to open schools now, but you don’t need these people to be locked down.

“There is prevention and there is a cure and let me tell you something all you fake doctors out there, that tell me this is a double-blinded study.

“You want a double-blinded study when people are dying it’s unethical.”

Alleged release: Hushpuppi’s lawyer speaks

Gal Pissetzky, a Chicago-based lawyer, has denied rumors insinuating the release of Ramoni Abbas, an alleged multi-million dollar fraudster facing charges in the U.S.

On Wednesday, screenshots of the Bureau of Prisons website, showing his release, went viral.

According to the details on the website, which were verified by this paper, Mr. Abbas (popularly known as Huspuppi) was released on July 20.

Mr. Pissetzky, said the bureau’s records showed ‘released’ because of his transfer to California.

“These reports are not true. He has not been released. The Bureau of prisons website shows that he was released simply because he is being transferred now to California,” he said on Wednesday evening.

Mr Abbas’s case was transferred from Illinois to the Central District of California for prosecution, last Monday.

Mr Abbas, 37, who was resident in Dubai and known for flaunting extravagant lifestyle on social media, was arrested last month over wire fraud allegations. He was extradited to the U.S on July 3.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation had earlier alleged that Mr Abbas was part of a network that made “hundreds of millions of dollars” from business email compromise frauds and other scams.

Also, the American government said Mr Abbas funded his extravagant lifestyle with stolen money.

If convicted, he could spend the next 20 years in U.S. federal prison.

Magu to open defence before Salami panel today

AFTER waiting for a copy of the allegations against him, the Presidential Investigation Committee on the activities of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Wednesday agreed to give  the suspended Acting Chairman of the agency Mr. Ibrahim Magu a report to enter his Defence.

The report is that of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Assets( PCARA), which contains all allegations against Magu.

But the Chairman of the panel, Justice Isa Ayo Salami extracted a commitment from the counsel to Magu, Barrister Wahab Shittu that PCARA’s report will not be leaked to the press.

Magu, who said all the allegations against him were false, is expected to open his defence today.

The suspended EFCC chairman was at the panel’s venue for about eight hours but he had a brief encounter with the team

Wearing a white Kaftan with a white cap to match, the suspended EFCC chairman took a 78-page response to the committee, bordering on a query by the AGF, PCARA’s report and other allegations in public domain.

The committee however  said it may accept  Magu’s response only after serving him the issues in PCARA’s report.

A top source said: “After waiting for hours, the panel met with Magu for a few minutes. The committee later decided to make a  copy of the PCARA report available to Magu to enable him to address all the allegations against him.

FEC approves N75b youth investment fund

THE Federal Government on Wednesday approved the establishment of the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) to the tune of N75 billion.

The NYIF, which will operate as a youth bank, will create a financial support base for innovative youths aged 18 to 35.

Disclosing this to State House Correspondents after a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare, said youths with ideas and innovation can apply for funding from the youth bank.

“For the first time in the history of Nigeria, the FEC approved the establishment of the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) to the tune of N75 billion.

“This fund is meant to create a special window for accessing credit facilities and financing on the part of our youths that will help to fund their ideas, innovations and support their enterprise.

“The best way to call it is that for the first time the country will have a youth bank – a fund that will cater specifically for our youth within the stipulated age band, which is going to be between 18 and 35 years.

“The second approval secured was for the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development to play a lead role in working on necessary steps that need to be taken in terms of legislation, organisation and other aspects of financing.

NDDC spent N4.2b in one day, Akpabio tells Reps

CONTRACT splitting is rampant in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Niger Delta Affairs Minister Godswill Akpabio, said on Monday.

According to him, the management of the agency indulges in splitting contracts to outwit the minister and evade approval.

Speaking before the House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta in Abuja, the minister alleged that the agency spent “over N4.2 billion in a day in tranches of N49 million.”

The committee is probing how N40 billion was spent by the Interim Management Committee (IMC).

Akpabio was invited with the Acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei.

Pondei fainted during the proceedings and had to be revived and taken to the hospital.

The minister also told the panel why Ms. Joi Nunieh was sacked as the agency’s managing director. Ms Nunieh, Akpabio said, was sacked, following a letter from the late Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, that she did not posses the requisite qualification to occupy a public office.

On the allegation that the agency had been awarding contracts without going through the procurement process and signing of necessary documents, the minister said only three contracts had been awarded since his assumption of office.

The minister hinted that in all the contracting processes, both the technical and financial bidding processes were conducted before they were awarded.

Akpabio, however, claimed that NDDC managers have been splitting contracts to evade his signature, saying he has no hands in the contract payments by the agency as government regulation does not allow ministers to pay for parastatals’ contracts.