Activist Faults Bawa, Emefiele’s Continued Detention By DSS #CTVTweets

‘Edo People Have Been Taken Out Of The Equation’, Says LP Gov Aspirant, Olumide Akpata #CTVTweets

Dele Alake’s Portfolio Is A Mismatch - Legal Practitioner #CTVTweets

Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, on Sunday, posted a cryptic message on social media weeks after his ministerial nomination was not confirmed by the Senate. In a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, the ex-governor dropped lyrics of ‘Who The Cap Fit’ by the late Jamaican singer, Bob Marley. El-Rufai said, “Bob Marley of blessed memory is one of most talented musicians of all time. My love for reggae music is connected with his songs and music.” The ex-governor thereafter posted lyrics of the song: “Man to man is so unjust, children “Ya don’t know who to trust “Your worst enemy could be your best friend “And your best friend, your worse enemy “Some will eat and drink with you “(Some will eat and drink with you) “Then behind them su-su ‘pon you “Then behind them su-su ‘pon you) “Only your friend know your secrets “So only he could reveal it “And who the cap fit, let them wear it! “Who the cap fit, let them wear it!” El-Rufai was one of the 48 ministerial nominees of President Bola Tinubu sent to the Senate for confirmation. The Senate approved and confirmed the ministerial nominations of 45 appointees of the President but withheld the confirmation of El-Rufai and two others over “security clearance”. On Tuesday, August 1, 2023, the Senate screened El-Rufai, a two-term governor of Kaduna from May 2015 to May 2023, and one of the nine ex-governors in the ministerial list of the President. During El-Rufai’s screening on the floor of the Senate, Senator Karimi Sunday from Kogi West Senatorial District raised a “very strong petition” against the ex-Kaduna governor that bothered on insecurity, unity, and national cohesion. Sunday, who praised El-Rufai’s performance as Kaduna governor and minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) some 20 years ago, said, “but I have a very strong petition against you that bothers on security, unity and cohesiveness of the Nigerian nation and I think that petition has to be considered along this screening exercise”. Senate President Godswill Akpabio, however, prevented El-Rufai from responding to the petition.

BTS Of “Survival,” A Film About Cervical Cancer Featuring Mike Ezuruonye, Others #CTVTweets

The Presidency says the Federal Government is on standby to monitor the distribution of palliatives – meant to cushion the impact of subsidy removal – to Nigerians at the state level. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, made this known on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday. “It is fair to say that there does not need to be a check. There needs to be a means of monitoring which is why federal regulators are involved; which is why we have put in place the palliatives distribution,” he said. The Federal Government approved N5 billion for each state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to enable them to procure food items for distribution to the poor in their respective states. Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State disclosed this at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting on Thursday.

The mayor of an Ecuadorian city said Saturday he was the victim of an attempted assassination, a day before the country goes to the polls in general elections. Francisco Tamariz, the mayor of the coastal town of La Libertad, said he escaped unharmed from the Friday evening attack, in which gunmen fired 30 shots at his vehicle. "They tried to kill me," Tamariz said on X, formerly known as Twitter, adding that more than eight people had witnessed the shooting. Ecuador will hold a presidential election Sunday after a campaign marked by the murder of a top candidate and vows to tackle the lawlessness that has engulfed the country. The small South American nation has in recent years become a playground for foreign drug mafias seeking to export cocaine from its shores, stirring up a brutal war between local gangs. The murder rate has soared above that of Mexico and Colombia, and the assassination of several politicians in the run-up to the vote underscored the challenges facing Ecuador's leaders. The most high-profile among them was presidential candidate and anti-corruption crusader Fernando Villavicencio, gunned down in broad daylight as he left a political rally just days ahead of the vote.

Technology has changed everything. During our days, you were giving only about, let's say, eight studio sessions to do like 10 songs. That's a very short period of time for you to rush it. But these days, these guys own their own studios. You can have your studio and your laptop, or you can take your time and work on your music and make sure that it comes out the way you want it to come out. - Alex O (Singer, songwriter)

Former presidential aide Doyin Okupe has suggested several economic interventions to President Bola Tinubu, including that Nigeria must quit the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Okupe offered the advice Thursday in a series of tweets titled ‘For President Bola Tinubu: Still Many Rivers to Cross’. Reviewing Tinubu’s performance since assuming office on May 29, he said the President had “hit the ground sprinting.” “Nigeria must quit OPEC. In about two decades from now, oil reserves may become meaningless,” the former Labour Party presidential campaign director said. “The present allocation of less than 2 million barrels per day for Nigeria with a population of over 200 million people and its prevailing strangulating economic conditions, given volumes of export to our main foreign exchange earner (90%) is inimical to our growth as a nation and to the wellbeing of the citizens.” Outside OPEC, Okupe argued that Nigeria could reduce its selling price of crude but also increase exports to three million barrels and above per day. “This will increase accruable revenue from forex by up to 200% or more, which will allow the CBN to have more supply of forex to the banks. In the face of surplus liquidity in forex supply, Naira will gain tremendous value over the Dollar,” he said.

Sakiru Olanrewaju Ambali, one of two Nigerian citizens residing in Canada, has been extradited to the U.S., for allegedly defrauding the pandemic unemployment benefit programmes in multiple U.S. states, the United States Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Washington has said. Ambali, 45, was arrested in February 2023, in Frankfurt, Germany, as he travelled back to Canada from Nigeria and had been detained in Germany pending extradition, a statement by the US Attorney’s Office said Friday. The suspect made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Tacoma on Friday afternoon at 2 pm after arriving in the Western District of Washington Thursday afternoon. Ambali and codefendant Fatiu Ismaila Lawal, 45, are accused of using the stolen identities of thousands of Americans to submit over 1,700 claims for pandemic unemployment benefits to over 25 different states, including Washington State. According to the indictment, Lawal and Ambali used the stolen personal information of thousands of U.S. taxpayers and residents to file fraudulent claims for COVID-19 pandemic assistance and false tax returns seeking refunds. In total, the claims sought approximately $25 million, but the conspirators obtained approximately $2.4 million, primarily from pandemic unemployment benefits. The co-conspirators allegedly submitted claims for pandemic unemployment benefits to more than 25 states including New York, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, California, and Washington. Using 13 Google accounts they filed some 900 claims. The co-conspirators also allegedly established four internet domain names that they then used for fraud – creating some 800 different email addresses that were used for fraud.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) says it has resolved to investigate the allegations of sexual assault against the suspended Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar, Prof. Cyril Ndifon. The NBA National Publicity Secretary, Akorede Habeeb Lawal, in a statement on Saturday, said the decision was reached by its National Executive Committee (NEC) at a recent monthly meeting. Lawal noted that the NBA NEC set up an ad hoc committee comprising the 1st Vice President of the NBA, Mrs Linda Rose Bala; the Assistant General Secretary of the NBA, Mr Daniel Kip; the Chairperson of the NBA Women’s Forum; and the Chairman of the NBA Calabar Branch, to investigate the allegations against the professor. The NBA’s decision comes after the Ndifon’s reported suspension by the management of the University of Calabar on Thursday over the disturbing allegations as seen in a recent viral video showing female students protesting.