Second wave of the virus has begun in many parts of the world but Nigerians are still flouting COVID-19 protocols.
Many countries are experiencing a resurgence of the coronavirus but Nigerians do not seem concerned as many people are no longer wearing masks, washing hands and maintaining social distance, thinking the virus has disappeared. The United Kingdom during the week recorded 500 deaths in one day while United states also recorded over 100,000 cases just in one day, a sudden spike than usual in both countries. The cases in Nigeria has also been on the increase, rising to 180 cases in a day on November 5th from 111 cases on November 1st 2020. This is an indication the virus is still very much around and we need to start wearing our masks and washing our hands regularly.
US elections: Trump files lawsuit with Biden on the Brink of victory
Joe Biden continues to edge closer to victory in the US presidential race as election officials tallied votes in the handful of states that will determine the outcome. President Donald Trump alleged fraud without providing evidence filed lawsuits and called for recounts in a race yet to be decided. Biden seems to have a clearer route to presidency than Trump.
Biden could either win Pennsylvania or any two out of Georgia, Nevada and Arizona to emerge winner. Trump’s options are quite limited, he needs to hang onto both Pennsylvania and Georgia and overtake Biden in either Nevada or Arizona. Biden is steadily eating away Trump’s lead in Pennsylvania and already leading in Nevada and Arizona putting him on the brink of victory. The election is taking some time to conclude as the COVID-19 led to a lot of people voting by mail and not physically.
Adeoye Owolewa makes History as First Nigerian-American elected into the US Congressman
The recent US general election has come with some record-shattering news as 31-year old Adeoye Owolewa becomes the first Nigerian American congress man. Owolewa pulled 82.65% votes to defeat other candidates. Owolewa’s father is from Kwara State and mother is from Oyo, is a PhD holder in Pharmacy from the Northeastern University, Boston.
International Criminal Court begins probe into shooting of protesters at Lekki toll gate
It has been over two weeks since the shooting of peaceful protesters at the Lekki toll gate but there has been no consensus on what happen that night. Global human rights group Amnesty International had said security forces opened fire on demonstrators, killing and injuring a number of people. These allegations have been rejected by the Nigerian police and the Army. The ICC have refused to sweep the incidence under the carpet and has decided to step in to begin preliminary examination into the shootings which occurred at the Lekki toll gate.
FG seeks fresh $1.2 billion loan from Brazil
The Federal Government has resolved to borrowing $1.2 billion from Brazil to finance agricultural programmes in the 2021 budget. The minister of finance Zainab Ahmed disclosed that the government would acquire 100,000 hectares of land in each state for food production. Ahmed also added that link roads will be built in such locations to provide access for farmers to move farm produce to market and reduce post-harvest losses. This act did not go down well with Nigerians as they humorously went on twitter to say Nigerian will soon borrow from Benin Republic and Ghana.
Nigerian woman wins US state assembly elections
35-year old Esther Agbaje has been elected into the Minnesota House of Representatives in Tuesday’s United States general elections. Agbaje won by a landslide, scoring a total of 17,396 votes, which represents 74.7% of the total ballots cast. Agbaje graduated from George Washington University, Washington, D.C., with a degree in political science, holds a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Pennsylvania and also a law degree from Harvard University.
LCC submits CCTV footage, says camera stopped recording at 8pm
The Lekki Conservation Centre (LCC), operator of the Lekki toll gate finally submitted the footage from the night when peaceful protesters were shot at the Lekki toll gate. Nigerian were disappointed when they said the footage stopped recording at 8pm, an hour after the shooting began. Regarding the power outage that night, the LCC pointed out that the power outage on the night of the shooting was because its staff were withdrawn from office locations after the announcement of the curfew by the Lagos State Government, so they could not switch on backup generators when power was interrupted.
Nigerian stock market ranks third best performing in the world
The Nigerian stock market has witnessed all shades of investor sentiment ranging from a drastic sell off in April to the October rally. The Nigerian stock market dipped 23 percent between January and April but has recovered by 14.53 percent year-till-date, ranking 3rd best performing globally, according to data from Bloomberg terminal. The record low yield environment in the fixed income space has added to the allure of stocks in the last two months, as investors seek higher returns on investment
EFCC grills Babatunde fowler over fraud allegations against Alpha beta
Babatunde Fowler, former chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), is currently being grilled by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged fraud. Fowler was invited over tax evasion allegation allegations against Alpha Beta Consulting. Alpha-beta is a consulting firm handling the computation, tracking and reconciliation of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in Lagos State. Fowler allegedly defrauded the Lagos state government to the tune of N100 billion when he was in office as chairman of FIRS.
