The Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Biodun Oyebanji has commiserated with his Lagos State counterpart, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the people of Lagos State over Thursdays train crash that left about six people dead and several injured. The accident involved a train and a Lagos State Staff bus around the Ikeja area of the State. []

48 polling units to be relocated before March 18 polls over attacks. With few days to the conduct of the Governorship and State Assembly elections, suspected Fulani terrorists have overrun six local government areas in Benue State, killing over 34 people in the last seven days. The local government areas affected include Gwer-West, Kwande, Makurdi, []

Following the postponement of the governorship and State House of Assembly elections, earlier scheduled for Saturday, March 11 to March 18, 2023, the management of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), has hereby postponed the resumption of academic activities in the institution to March 21. In a statement issued by the university and titled: Extension of []

The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) in Ebonyi State has raised the alarm over alleged human rights abuses in the state. At a joint press conference in Abakaliki, the state capital, CSOs and CUPP alleged that the state was one of the few states of the federation []

The Supreme Court on Friday sacked Senator Ibrahim Shekarau, the senator-elect on the platform of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) and recognised Senator Rufai Hanga as the partys authentic candidate for the 2023 general election. New Telegraph had reported that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Shekarau the winner of the 2023 Kano Central []

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has broken the silence over his alleged involvement in depriving the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi of emerging victoriously in the February 25 election in the state. Governor Wike who denied the accusations that he worked against Obis presidential bid said he could not have worked against []

Matt Gaetz sponsored a resolution in the House, supported by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, to force congressional oversight of the continued U.S. military presence in Syria. Ahead of a Wednesday vote on his resolution to force congressional oversight on the continuation of U.S. military operations in Syria, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. was feeling bullish. "Hope springs eternal," he told The Intercept when asked whether the measure would pass. The resolution was ultimately voted down on Wednesday night with 47 Republicans joining 56 Democrats in support of the bill. Despite the resolution's defeat, it was just the beginning in a string of efforts to end U.S. military operations abroad, according to its sponsor. "Syria is my leadoff hitter. We're going to take a trip around the globe. We may go to Yemen. We may have stops in Niger. We may have stops in Sudan. Maybe ultimately, we'll end in Ukraine," Gaetz said.

A prominent Igbo leader and Prime Minister of Anambra State Association of Town Unions (ASATU), Ambassador (Dr) John Chukwudi Metchie, has called on the Igbo community in Jos and other parts of Plateau State, to rally around and give massive support to Dr Patrick Dakum, the Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in the forthcoming election. []

The Governors of Rivers and Benue States, Nyesom Wike, and Samuel Ortom, have challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to expose governors responsible for stealing local government funds. The governors who were part of the five Integrity Governors among the governors of the Peoples Democratic Party threw the challenge to the President during the inauguration of the []

The embattled former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekeremadu has revealed why he sought his daughters kidney donor outside his family members. Ekweremadu who spoke on Friday at a court in London said he was advised by his doctor against seeking a kidney donor from among his family members. Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, are currently []

The Lagos State Gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour has promised to eradicate touts and thuggery under the guise of the Agbero System in the state if elected governor in the forthcoming election. The governorship hopeful made this promise while reeling out his plans for the state at the Youth Oclock breakfast []

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said that Nigerias crude oil sales rose by 46.41 per cent to push Nigerias total export to N26.79tn in 2022. This is as total trade rose by 31.79 per cent from N39.75tn in 2021 to N52.39tn in 2022. In 2022, crude oil sales totalled N21.09tn, a 46.41 per cent increase []

 https://greatgameindia.com/after-india-now-iran-poised-to-ditch-dollar-in-trade-with-africa/

Motorbikes and Ouagadougou's Women: A Journey to Freedom

A woman rides a motorcycle in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on March 2, 2023.

By Lauriane Noelle Vofo Kana and AFP

BURKINA FASO

In Burkina Faso's capital, many ride their motorcycles every day to commute, go to school or move around the city.

In 2020, nearly one Burkinabe in seven owned a motorcycle.

the vehicle is also a tool of emancipation, For women like Valrie Dambr

"This defines the Burkinabe woman, the courage of women. In fact, riding a motorcycle demands courage," the motorist.

When Nigerian filmmaker Kagho Idhebor first came to Ouagadougou he was blown away by how many women whizzed about on motorcycles. So much so that he directed "Burkina Babes", a documentary on that. It even ran at Africa's largest film the FESPACO, the pan-African cinema and TV festival of Ouagadougou.

"I have been to couple of parts of the world and even in Nigeria you see a lot of motorcycles, guys driving motorcycles but I have not seen women in the last country driving motorcycles with so much attitude and very independent and that captivated me, like I was blown away!," the man in his thirties exlaims.

Since 1977, the Women's School for Skills Initiation and Training is based in Ouagadougou. It has trained over 700 women to be mechanics and bodywork repairers.

Trailblazers

"In the coastal countries (in West Africa), people went straight to cars" from walking or using bicycles, said anthropologist Jocelyne Vokouma. "But we (in Burkina) turned to motorbikes before using cars."

The key period of change was the early 1990s, she said.

Until then, "a woman would proudly say that her motorbike had been bought by her husband. 'My husband is doing OK,' was what women used to say," Vokouma revealed.

But the country went through wrenching austerity and many men lost their jobs.

Women then picked up the baton, setting up small businesses such as selling fruit and vegetables to make money -- and as time progressed, many used their savings to...

Ghana Soldiers Train in US Imperialist Military Exercises 'Flintlock'

African soldiers on board Spanish navy ship Audaz as part of Flintlock 2023 training exercise, in Accra on Mar. 9, 2023.

A group of African soldiers have been selected to participating in an annual U.S. military-led counterterrorism exercise.

The Flintlock 2023 drills, a two-week training, are being staged in Ghana and Ivory Coast.

On Thursday (Mar. 9) the troops were in Accra, on board Spanish navy ship Audaz. US Major DeMarco explained the benefits of such training.

"The benefits to Ghana and its neighbouring countries from this specific training is it not only prepares our African partner nations for maritime security operations but it also fosters the interoperability and collective security that we are trying to aim for with exercise Flintlock."

Thursday's training saw troops learning how to conduct anti-piracy operations. Spains ambassador to Ghana deemed the partnership with West African countries strategic adding that "events in the region have direct impact [...] on Europe."

"We have been cooperating for many years and with counties like Ghana, we are contributing to facing common challenges like terrorists and piracy and at the same time building local capacities. We believe that these are activities for mutual benefits of both parties and we're cooperating with our partners like Ghana."

Terrorist insurgencies have destabilized countries in the region like Burkina Faso and Mali.

The training will run until March 15, 29 nations and over a thousand personnel will participating in Flintlock 2023.

Flintlock - U.S. Africa Command's largest annual special operations exercise - has taken place annually since 2005.

China's Xi Jinping Handed Historic Third Term as President

Friday, March 10, 2023

China's President Xi Jinping (2nd R) arrives with Politburo Standing Committee members Zhao Leji (L), Wang Huning (2nd L) and Li Qiang for the third plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 10, 2023. 

By AFP

Beijing,

Xi Jinping was handed a third term as Chinese President on Friday, capping a rise that has seen him become the country's most powerful leader in generations.

The appointment by China's rubber-stamp parliament comes after Xi locked in another five years as head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in October.

Since then, the 69-year-old Xi has weathered widespread protests over his zero-Covid policy and the deaths of countless people after its abandonment.

Those issues have been avoided at this week's National People's Congress (NPC), a carefully choreographed event that is also set to appoint Xi ally Li Qiang as the new premier.

On Friday, delegates handed Xi a third term as China's president and re-elected him as head of the country's Central Military Commission in a unanimous vote.

Xi's re-election is the culmination of a remarkable rise in which he has gone from a relatively little-known party apparatchik to the leader of a rising global power.

His coronation sets him up to become communist China's longest-serving president, and means Xi could rule well into his seventies -- if no challenger emerges.

Adrian Geiges, co-author of "Xi Jinping: The Most Powerful Man in the World", told AFP he did not think Xi was motivated by a desire for personal enrichment, despite international media investigations having revealed his family's amassed wealth.

"That's not his interest," Geiges said.

"He really has a vision about China, he wants to see China as the most powerful country in the world."

Tearing up the rulebook

For decades, China -- scarred by the dictatorial reign and cult of personali...

Senegal ex-PM in Police Custody After Questioning President Macky Sall

Friday, March 10, 2023

In this file photo taken on August 27, 2021 President of Senegal Macky Sall attends the Vaccine Equity for Africa event in Berlin, amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

By AFP

Dakar,

Senegal's former prime minister Cheikh Hadjibou Soumare was taken into police custody on Thursday after asking President Macky Sall if he had financed a French political figure, a defence lawyer said.

Soumare, who was budget minister and then prime minister from 2007 to 2009 under former president Abdoulaye Wade, was summoned by police on Thursday, a police official told AFP.

In an open letter to President Sall last weekend, Soumare asked the president whether he had donated 12 million euros ($12.7 million) to a "French political figure" whose party is distinguished "by hatred and rejection of others".

The Senegalese government, in a statement on Tuesday, denied making any financial donation to the leader of France's National Rally, Marine Le Pen, who visited Sall in the capital Dakar on January 18.

In a statement, it said it "rejects and strongly condemns such insinuations" which it described as "cowardly and unfounded".

"We have just been notified that (Soumare) has been placed in custody" after his interrogation by the police "at the request of the public prosecutor", Mame Adama Gueye, a defence lawyer, told reporters on Thursday.

Rights defenders and Sall's opponents say civil liberties in Senegal are coming under pressure in the run-up to the February 2024 election.

The government refutes that there has been any regression and says the law is applied fairly in Senegal.

Sall, who was elected in 2012 and again in 2019, has not confirmed or denied whether he intends to override the constitution and run for a third presidential term in 2024.

International Womens Day 2023: How Boomplay is Driving Equality and Equity Through Music Streaming

What you need to know:

Boomplay has a diverse music catalogue of 95 million songs from across Africa and globally. It gives artists both men and women alike the opportunity to earn from their musical talent, thus enabling a more inclusive music industry.

Together with its partners, Boomplay has shown that it is possible for women musicians and performing artistes in general to fully unlock their potential. Women artistes have pushed their foot in and theres no turning back because the African society is, thankfully, gradually embracing equity.

By Evans Ongwae

As the world celebrates and shines a spotlight on women for this years International Womens Day (IWD) and Womens History Month, we look at Kenyas music industry and the plenty of success it has to showcase. Narrowing it down to music streaming, the most popular means of accessing music in todays world, we spoke to some great women at Boomplay, as well as their partners and artists, to understand their thoughts and role in embracing equality and equity in their individual spaces.

For Boomplay, charity seems to truly begin at home. Tosin Sorinola, Boomplays Director of Artist and Media Relations, puts it succinctly: One can easily tell that Boomplay is a huge supporter and driver of womens representation and empowerment through our workforce, which consists of great women in leadership positions at management and other levels across our local, regional and global operations. The General Managers of four of the six countries where Boomplay has a physical presence are female, and we also have women in director positions in our global leadership teams.  

These top executives, backed by their respective Boomplay teams, are changing the narrative of the under-representation of women in Africas music industry. Boomplay, which has a diverse music catalogue of 95 million songs from across Africa and globally, gives artists both men and women alike the opportunity to earn from their musical talent, t...

Extremists Kill 25 Fishermen in Northeast Nigeria

By HARUNA UMAR and CHINEDU ASADU

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) Islamic extremists killed at least 25 fishermen during an attack in northeastern Nigerias Borno state, the police told The Associated Press on Thursday,

The rebels attacked the fishermen in the remote Mukdolo village of Borno where the years-long extremist violence is concentrated, said the local police chief Abdu Umar. Some of the bodies in the Wednesday attack were recovered and buried on Thursday, he said.

There is no single human being in that place because it has been abandoned but the villagers from Dikwa go there to fish. Unfortunately, this time, Boko Haram (extremists) surrounded the place and killed 25 of them and nine escaped, the police chief said of the attack. Locals reported more than 30 killed in the attack.

Nigeria, Africas most populous country and largest economy, continues to grapple with a 14-year-old insurgency in the northeast by Islamic extremist rebels of Boko Haram and its offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province. The extremists are fighting to establish Shariah law and to stop Western education.

More than 35,000 people have died and over 2 million have been displaced by the extremist violence, according to the U.N. Development Program.

Abba Modu with the local security outfit in Borno said the latest attack on Wednesday occurred after the rebels warned locals to stay off the river in the Mukdolo village which is near Sambisa forest, a popular hideout for the militants.

The Boko Haram people said they now own the river, and no villager would be allowed to fish there except their members, said Modu.

It was a tragic and sad event that happened to our people, and we have just returned from attending their burial, Mohammed Zakariya Dikwa, a local lawmaker from the area, told The AP.

In the last two weeks, dozens of the rebels have either been killed or arrested while more than 1,300 of them surrendered to Nigeria troops, according to Musa Danmadami, a spokesman fo...

<p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Election Postponement: Voters, Parties Express Mixed Reactions</b></span></p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href= "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDUKRDyy2uN3wsH6IVTTKlPd9yFPHIX35Tq5jg0KLS4cORwBGfvMsN9ojRVFMs5XRR-zginYyFOjTxegLlW1VWeDwepaDD_9Vgjoj8Jkg43T6yvNoQkG2RWA59fAmhX3q3sGDoHf8UvbtqYeFr0K8G_o1ItolqzYOMUopu7oF3S8DvkL8_GHU/s750/Nigeria%20INEC%20Chair.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src= "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDUKRDyy2uN3wsH6IVTTKlPd9yFPHIX35Tq5jg0KLS4cORwBGfvMsN9ojRVFMs5XRR-zginYyFOjTxegLlW1VWeDwepaDD_9Vgjoj8Jkg43T6yvNoQkG2RWA59fAmhX3q3sGDoHf8UvbtqYeFr0K8G_o1ItolqzYOMUopu7oF3S8DvkL8_GHU/w400-h224/Nigeria%20INEC%20Chair.webp" width="400"></a></div> <p>By Fidelis Mac-Leva, Abbas Jimoh & Saawua Terzungwe   </p> <p>A cross section of Nigerians and some political parties have expressed mixed reactions to the postponement</p> <p>By Our Reporters</p> <p>Fri, 10 Mar 2023 5:18:23 WAT</p> <p>By Fidelis Mac-Leva, Abbas Jimoh & Saawua Terzungwe

A cross section of Nigerians and some political parties have expressed mixed reactions to the postponement of the governorship and state assembly elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Daily Trust reports that INEC on Wednesday night postponed the earlier scheduled March 11 governorship and state assembly elections to March 18, 2023.

The commission, in a statement issued by its National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said the postponement was a result of the litigation against the electoral body.

He said following Wednesdays ruling by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on the reconfiguration of the BVAS used for the presidential election held on February 25, 2023, the commission met to assess its impact on its preparations for the governorship and state house of assembly elections scheduled for March 11, 2023.</p> <p>Mixed reactions have trailed the postponement from political parties and some Nigerians. While some welcomed the development, others said they were disappointed with INEC even as others cautioned the electoral body not to do anything that would erode the confidence in them by Nigerians.</p> <p>Speaking with Daily Trust in Kano, Salihu Tanko, the governorship candidate of the PRP, said there was no reason for INEC to be failing in terms of logistics and operations.</p> <p>Secondly there is no issue with IReV; one of the reasons I decided to contest is that of confidence in the process based on INECs assurances. I was given so much assurance by INEC and the presidency but IReV failed on the Election Day and now INEC has shifted the next round o...

Nigeria Bus Crashes into Train; 6 Dead and Dozens Injured

By CHINEDU ASADU

Victims of a train crash receive treatment outside the emergency unit of the Lagos general hospital in Ikeja Lagos, Nigeria, Thursday March 9, 2023. Three people were killed and more than 80 injured after a passenger bus was crushed by a moving train in Nigeria's commercial hub of Lagos, the emergency response agency said on Thursday. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) Six people were killed and dozens injured when a train crashed into a passenger bus in Lagos, Nigeria on Thursday, said the emergency response agency.

The bus was taking government staff to work when it collided with the intra-city train in the Ikeja area of Lagos, said Ibrahim Farinloye, head of Nigerias National Emergency Management Agency in the state.

So far, 84 people were rescued alive and taken to the hospital ... (and) the total deaths so far is six including those who died at the hospital, said Farinloye. All of the injured people were from the bus, no one on the train was hurt, he said.

Train and truck accidents are common in many Nigerian cities where traffic regulations are usually not adhered to, say local residents. They are a serious problem in Lagos, Nigerias largest city and commercial hub, despite tough penalties introduced by authorities in recent years to try to curb the crashes.

The bus driver involved in Thursdays crash disobeyed the traffic signal, said Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, secretary with the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency. According to Oke-Osanyintolu, the immediate cause of the incident was the bus drivers reckless driving in which he tried to beat the train traffic signal before the train hit him.

Lagos governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said he was deeply saddened by the news and called for blood donations. Lets say a prayer for the families and a prayer of mercy and protection for our state, he tweeted.

___

Associated Press journalist Dan Ikpoyi in Lagos, Nigeria contributed.

La Nina, Which Worsens Hurricanes and Drought, is Gone

By SETH BORENSTEIN

FILE - A house sits in Rock Creek after floodwaters washed away a road and a bridge in Red Lodge, Mont., Wednesday, June 15, 2022. After three nasty years, the La Nina weather phenomenon is gone, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday, March 9, 2023. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) After three nasty years, the La Nina weather phenomenon that increases Atlantic hurricane activity and worsens western drought is gone, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.

Thats usually good news for the United States and other parts of the world, including drought-stricken northeast Africa, scientists said.

The globe is now in whats considered a neutral condition and probably trending to an El Nino in late summer or fall, said climate scientist Michelle LHeureux, head of NOAAs El Nino/La Nina forecast office.

Its over, said research scientist Azhar Ehsan, who heads Columbia Universitys El Nino/La Nina forecasting. Mother Nature thought to get rid of this one because its enough.

La Nina is a natural and temporary cooling of parts of the Pacific Ocean that changes weather worldwide. In the United States, because La Nina is connected to more Atlantic storms and deeper droughts and wildfires in the West, La Ninas often are more damaging and expensive than their more famous flip side, El Nino, experts said and studies show.

Generally, American agriculture is more damaged by La Nina than El Nino. If the globe jumps into El Nino it means more rain for the Midwestern corn belt and grains in general and could be beneficial, said Michael Ferrari, chief scientific officer of Climate Alpha, a firm that advises investors on financial decisions based on climate.

When theres a La Nina, there are more storms in the Atlantic during hurricane season because it removes conditions that suppress storm formation. Neutral or El Nino conditions make it harder for storms to get going, but not impossible, scienti...

For Immediate Release, March 8, 2023 A group of Nigerians led by Govindex Leadership, Empowerment and Development Foundation have sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over its failure to comply with Section 160(I) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended) and Sections 60(5) and 148 of the Electoral Act, []

An open letter to Joe Biden By Olivia DiNucci Dear President Biden, My name is Olivia DiNucci and I am the anti-war activist who interrupted your dinner in DC the other night. You, the most powerful man in the world, were sitting right in front of me. Normal people like me dont often have access to people []

When former US President  George W. Bush and his neocon regime launched their anti-terrorism campaign after the September 11th attacks, he declared that Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.   Western threats against the Global South continue today.  In the recent Munich []

This was originally published in October 2015. People these days look at you like a weirdo if you talk about the healing properties of plants or any other holistic practices. Much like anything else, there is a lot of politics and money behind our modern medical system. It all starts with John D. Rockefeller (1839 1937) []

[NATOs goal is] to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down. Lord Ismay, first NATO Secretary-General (1952-1957). Near-term-thinking [by political and business decision-makers] is not only deeply irresponsibleit is immoral. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, (in a speech to the General Assembly, Monday February 6, 2023). Ukraine, a new and important space on []

Chief Martin Agbaso is a Nigerian economist, politician and was a one time winner candidate for Governor of Imo State. He was a special assistant on Ecology to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Olusegun Obasanjo and is married to Robin Agbaso, an American. The Agbasos have three children. Formative Period Chief []