Youths held a memorial car procession at the Lekki tollgate
Hundreds turned out to remember October 20th 2020, the first anniversary of when the Nigerian army shot at unarmed protested at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos during the last year’s EndSARS protest. Green and white flags of different sizes were fixed on buses, cars and motorcycles as young people drove though the toll gate chanting popular songs used to remember those who lost their lives one year ago. Not quite long after the procession began, the police fired teargas canisters to disperse youth while some were put in black police vans and taken away. Volunteers activated the pro bone legal aid network that had helped free protesters last year.
Delta to pay 102 million to police brutality victims
A total sum of N102,450,000 would be paid as incidental claims to victims of police brutality and human rights violations in Delta State. This is coming amid pockets of agitation over the delay in the implementation of the report of the Judicial Panel of Enquiry set up in the wake of last year’s #EndSARS unrest. Secretary to Delta State Government (SSG), Patrick Ukah, revealed this in a statement in Asaba. Ukah said the decision to mitigate the pains suffered by some of the victims was based on the consideration of the report by the judicial panel of inquiry. The judicial panel, which was inaugurated by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa in October 2020, received a total of 86 petitions for which it conducted public hearings in Asaba and Warri, with full legal representation for all parties. He said the committee is to ensure that the fundamental human rights of citizens are respected and protected by police officers in the course of duty.
Facebook plans change of name to focus on metaverse
One of the most popular social media companies, Facebook, is planning to change its name to be known for more than just social media. This new identity is suspected to be announced at Facebook’s annual Connect conference on October 28, 2021, and it will reflect its focus on building the metaverse, according to a source cited by a tech blog- The Verge. The rebranding is also to position the Facebook app as one among many others under a parent company overseeing groups like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus. “We will effectively transition from people seeing us as primarily being a social media company to being a metaverse company,” Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, said this in July. Metaverse is a term which refers to shared virtual world environments which people can access via the internet. The term can refer to digital spaces which are made more lifelike by the use of virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR).
Read also: #EndSARS: Might becomes right
Lagos communities to experience 6 Hours Outage
The business activities in some communities in Badagry, Lagos State will be disrupted on Saturday by a six-hour planned outage as announced by the management of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC). The General Manager, Corporate Communications, EKEDC, Godwin Idemudia, said in a statement, on Wednesday that the outage would start between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m on Saturday, Oct. 23. Idemudia said the outage was to allow the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to effect the maintenance of their equipment at Agbara 132/32 station.According to the general manager, the outage will affect customers in areas like Agbara Estate, Edu, Badagry, Mowo, Agemowo, Oke-Ira, Odan, Morogbo, Ijanikin, Era, Adaloko and environs.
Household spending surpasses pre-pandemic levels
Household consumption has surpassed pre-pandemic levels but this is because Nigerians have to pay more for goods and services and not because they are earning more.According to a report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on the Expenditure and Income approach to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), household consumption rose 13.7 percent to N54.8 trillion in the first half of 2021 compared to N48.2 trillion in H1 2020 and N49 trillion and N44 trillion in H1 2019 and H1 2018 respectively.Nigerians are spending more on goods and services as a result of rising prices which reduces the funds available for savings and investment necessary to grow the economy.
Kenya Surpasses Global Average of Female Board Directors
Kenya has outperformed the global average of female board directors after witnessing significant progress in board diversity and inclusion in the last nine years, a new report shows. According to the 2021 Board Diversity and Inclusion Survey report released in Nairobi last week, Kenya’s gender diversity in the boardroom now stands at 36 per cent, a significant growth from 21 per cent in 2017. Currently, the global average of women holding board positions stands at 23.3 per cent up from 20.4 per cent in 2018. The report undertaken by the Kenya Institute of Management (KIM) in partnership with Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), New Faces New Voices (NFNV) and the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) observes that women constitute 21 per cent of the appointed board chairpersons, while the global average is three per cent. Female representation in C-suite roles in Kenya constitutes 37 per cent compared to 21 per cent globally, with the average age of Kenyan board members now standing at 47.6 years down from 55.8 years in 2017.
