Author: Opalim Lifted

Fresh facts have emerged on the anti-Atiku sentiments expressed in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital last Wednesday when the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flagged off its campaign in Ake area of the metropolis. The presidential rally held at the Ake Palace ground commenced around 9 am but Atiku kept the party supporters waiting under the blazing sun until 3.30 pm when he addressed them briefly and left after greeting the Alake and Paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo. But on his way out and about 150 meters away from the venue, suspected hoodlums petted his…

At least five people were injured in a blast on Sunday at the gates of the mayor’s office in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu and gunfire continued to sound, a member of the ambulance service and a witness said. Somalia’s Islamist group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack. Abdikadir Abdirahman, director of Aamin Ambulance Services, told reporters that ambulance staff had so far evacuated five injured people from the scene of the blast. Gunfire was still ongoing in the area and it was difficult for ambulances to access the area, he said. “We were in the office and we were deafened…

Ten people have died following a shooting at a ballroom dance studio in the Californian city of Monterey Park, police said. Police say another 10 people are injured and the suspect remains at large. The shooting happened at about 22:20 local time on Saturday (06:20 GMT on Sunday). Thousands of people had earlier gathered in the city for the Monterey Park Lunar New Year festival. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said they are seeking a male suspect who fled the scene but did not provide any other details about him. Captain Andrew Mayer said that emergency services arrived on…

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has filed a lawsuit against the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari(retd.), over “the failure to reverse the unlawful, unjust, and unreasonable increase in electricity tariff, and to probe the spending of public funds as ‘investments and bailouts’ to DisCos and GenCos since 2005.” Joined in the suit as Respondents are the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, and the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading PLC. Following reported approval by NERC, electricity tariffs were increased across DisCos in the country in December 2022. Several prepaid customers…

Contrary to political permutations, the forthcoming presidential election in Nigeria would not be predictable, a United States-based election monitoring organization, National Endowment for Democracy has said. While the 2023 election in Nigeria was “a consequential election,” the US agency commended Nigeria for the technology-driven electoral process and expressed optimism that the country would be the second-largest democracy in the world in 2050. The President and Chief Executive Officer of NED, Damon Wilson, stated these in an interview with journalists in Abuja during a meeting convened by Yiaga Africa to interact with other stakeholders on preparations for the 2023 general elections.…

The public transport system in Lagos State is set to wear a new face as the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) blue line rail project will be officially launched on Tuesday, Jan. 24, in Marina. With the first phase now completed, President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to officially inaugurate the project already acknowledged by residents as a landmark. As the city struggles with traffic congestion which has taken its toll on residents, the Blue line Rail project is expected to bring some succour. Some Lagos residents, who spoke to the media reporters said the completion of the project was a…

India has blocked the airing of a BBC documentary that questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership during the 2002 Gujarat riots, saying that even sharing of any clips via social media is barred. Directions to block the clips from being shared have been issued using emergency powers available to the government under the country’s information technology rules, said Kanchan Gupta, an adviser to the government, on his Twitter handle on Saturday. While the BBC has not aired the documentary in India, the video was uploaded on some YouTube channels, Gupta said. The government has issued orders to Twitter to block…

Thousands of people protested in Madrid on Saturday against Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s leftist government in a rally held in a key election year in Spain that was backed by the far-right party Vox. Participants waved red and yellow Spanish flags and called on Sanchez to resign. Some held up signs with a photo of the Socialist premier calling him a “traitor”. Around 30,000 people gathered in Madrid’s Cibeles Square for the rally, according to the central government’s delegation in the Spanish capital. Organizers said some 700,000 people had taken part. The protest was called by dozens of mainly right-leaning…

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Saturday helped kick off a new rural electrification project in Senegal that will bring reliable power to 350,000 people while supporting some 500 jobs in 14 U.S. states. Yellen traveled to the site of the project, led by Illinois-based engineering firm Weldy Lamont, as part of a three-country trip to Africa that aims to expand U.S.-African ties and address challenges such as climate change, food security, and debt. The new project received technical assistance from the U.S. Power Africa initiative, capacity building through the U.S. Agency for Trade and Development, and a $91 million…

Canada said it would take back 23 of its citizens who were held in Islamic State camps in north-east Syria. The group includes six women, 13 infants, and four men. British-Canadian dual national, Jack Letts, whose British citizenship was revoked, is among the men who will be brought back. Lawyer Barbara Jackman, representing one of the four men, said the parents were happy with the court’s decision. The judge asked that the men should be repatriated “as soon as reasonably possible,” Ms. Jackman said. Foreigners banned from buying homes in Canada The repatriation would be the largest so far for…