The United Arab Emirates Government has announced a 40-day state mourning over the death of the country’s President, Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on Friday.
The official news agency of the United Arab Emirates tweeted on Friday that he passed on at the age of 73.
“The Ministry of Presidential Affairs mourn the people of the UAE, the Arab and Islamic nations, and the whole world. The leader of the nation and the patron of its march, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, passed away to the Lord’s side today, Friday, May 13.
“The Ministry of Presidential Affairs also announced that the UAE will observe a forty-day state mourning with the flag flown at half-mast starting today, and suspend work at all ministries, departments, and federal, local and private entities for three days,” the agency tweeted.
Prior to his death, Al Nahyan served as the Emir of Abu Dhabi and led the territory’s modernization.
The meeting held between representatives of the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities on Thursday has ended in a deadlock.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Agboola Gambari, and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, were unable to convince the union to put an end to their ongoing strike action.
The meeting was co-chaired by the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, the President’s Chief of Staff and the Christian Association of Nigeria’s (CAN) President, Dr. Supo Ayokunle.
It was held at the banquet hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, and had in attendance other registered trade unions in universities, as well as identified interest groups and civil society groups.
It was revealed that the FG and the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) made attempts to persuade ASUU to call of the strike and reopen the tertiary institutions during a closed-door session, but the Union’s leadership declined saying the government had to fulfill part of their demands which they would then use as incentive to convince their members to end the strike.
Speaking on the outcome of the meeting later, Ngige said the FG was able to reach an agreement with ASUU, adding that specific agreements would begin being implemented next week and that issues of wage review and renegotiation of the 2009 agreement would be addressed soon.
“We have reached some agreements and we hope that by next week, those agreements will be maturing and the different unions will have something to tell their members, so that they can call off the strike.
“We have put some timelines for some aspects like renegotiation of 2009 agreement in terms of condition of service and wage review. So, we are hopeful that by next weekend, the unions will see a conclusion of that area,” the Minister said.
Also speaking, the ASUU President, Prof Emmanuel Osedeke, recalled how NIREC had intervened in November last year to resolve some of the issues they had with the government, noting how the Sultan and CAN leader met with met with President Buhari who set up a three-man committee which met with the union for the first time on Thursday.
“Why our people are worried is this: even when we had gone on strike for 12 weeks, that committee is meeting with us for the first time today. Suppose we didn’t go on strike, it’s going to take three years. That is the problem we are having in the system. I believe these problems can be resolved within three days if the will is there on both sides”, he said.
THE WHISTLER had reported that ASUU extended its strike by another three months on Monday, May 9th 2022, following the end of its last extension. The roll-over strike was effective from 12:01 am, May 8, 2022.
Some other demands include payment of earned academic allowances, funds for the revitalization of public universities, promotion arrears, and poor funding of state universities.
ASUU has also insisted on the release of the reports of the government’s visitation panels to federal universities and regular payment of salary to lecturers.
Elon Musk has announced that he will be putting his $44 billion dollar Twitter acquisition deal on hold.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Musk said he took the decision pending when he’s able to confirm Twitter’s claim that spam and fake accounts indeed represent less than 5% of total users of the microblogging platform.
“Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users,” he tweeted.
Following the pause, Twitter shares fell by 17.7% to $37.10 in premarket trading, reports Reuters.
This is the lowest price the shares have fallen to since Musk announced that he had purchased a large stake in the company back in April.
This means that the likelihood that the deal will close at the agreed price of $54.20 per share may fall below 50%.
It was reported that Twitter had earlier estimated that fake or spam accounts on the platform represented less than 5% of its monetizable daily active users during the first quarter of 2022, when it recorded 229 million users.
The Tesla CEO has earlier pledged to remove “spam bots” and authenticate all humans on Twitter.
Earlier this week, Musk had revealed that when the deal closes, he would reverse Donald Trump’s Twitter ban, calling the decision to ban him in the first place “a morally bad decision”.
“I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump. I think that was a mistake. It alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice.
“It was a morally bad decision, to be clear, and foolish in the extreme”, he said.
Trump’s account was ‘permanently suspended’ from the microblogging app since January 2021, after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the United States’ Capitol building on January 6th, due to the ‘risk of inciting further violence’.
THE WHISTLER reported that Twitter agreed to Musk’s offer to acquire the company for $44 billion last month. Musk was excited about the development, saying that he wanted to make Twitter better than ever before by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spambots, and authenticating all humans.
The recent and unending crisis that has rocked the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, has prompted the President of Nigeria to approve the withdrawal of the country’s basketball team in all international competitions for two years.
Mr Sunday Dare, the Minister of youth and sports, disclosed Buhari’s decision.
This withdrawal gives the Government a big opportunity to address the internal crisis and power tussle within the federation and to revive the domestic league which has been put on hold.
The government will also use this time to set up an Interim Management Committee who will supervise and manage the domestic league and address other internal issues involving the Basketball Federation.
Most of the comments were from fundamentalists who warned the politician to stay away from condemning the murder of the Christian student.
Atiku Abubakar has deleted a post he made syndicated on his Facebook and Twitter pages about slain Deboral Samuel after coming under a barrage of threats from fanatics of northern origin who asked him to forget his presidential ambition.
Mr Atiku’s posts around 10:20 p.m. Thursday were deleted less than an hour later. Both had garnered thousands of reactions within minutes, according to a screenshot taken by Peoples Gazette.
Most of the comments were from fundamentalists who warned the politician to stay away from condemning the murder of the Christian student.
“There can not be a justification for such gruesome murder. Deborah Yakubu was murdered, and all those behind her death must be brought to justice,” Mr Atiku said. “My condolences to her family and friends.”
A spokesman for Mr Abubkar did not return a request seeking comments about why he took down the post on Facebook.
The former vice-president didn’t delete a similar message that he posted on Twitter until much later, indicating that he might have seen a difference between Facebook and Twitter users on the sensitive development.
Ms Samuel was murdered at Shehu Shagari College of Education on Thursday morning for allegedly posting comments that blasphemed Prophet Mohammed. The violence has elicited widespread uproar and condemnation, with Catholic priest Matthew Kukah and Sultan of Sokoto calling on authorities to immediately bring the killers to book.
Mr Abubakar is from northern Adamawa state, but continues to receive support across the country, especially amongst southern Christians who see him as a moderate statesman.
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A video of a man openly boasting of being responsible for the murder of Deborah Samuel has gone viral online.
Recall that it was earlier reported that the internet went agog yesterday after a disturbing video surfaced showing moments a mob lynched and set ablaze a lady identified as Deborah over alleged blasphemous statement against the Islam Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W).
The fellows are said to have called out Deborah from her hostel and descended on her with sticks and stones until she could no longer breathe, thereafter set her on fire.
The latest video shows an unidentified man stating that he is part of those who set her ablaze.
He said: “I killed her. I burnt her. You can see the matchbox I used in setting her ablaze.”
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has openly endorsed the Presidential ambition of the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu.
The Kaduna governor openly backed Tinubu’s ambition at the Murtala Square in Kaduna on Thursday.
It was gathered that Tinubu alongside the former Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, former EFCC boss, Nuhu Ribadu and other dignitaries were in the state to seek the support delegates ahead of the ruling party’s primaries.
Shetimma had earlier assured the delegates that the Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai was “solidly by their side,” according to Daily Trust.
However, while speaking, El-Rufai said he would need the support of delegates from Kaduna State before taking a decision.
“I want to correct Kashim Shettima because he said the governor is fully with them,” El-Rufai said.
The governor added that he cannot fully back Tinubu unless the delegates from the state agree.
“Before we confirm what Kashim Shetima said here, I want to confirm from our statutory delegates are you with Asiwaju?” El-Rufai asked, to which the delegates stood in unison, shouting yes.
“Your Excellency, I do what they tell me, they are my bosses. This is how APC in Kaduna works,” he said while addressing Tinubu.
The Presidency has said ministers and political appointees who are seeking elective office but refused to resign would be sacked.
Naija News reports that Presidential Spokesman, Garba Shehu, made this known in an interview on Channels Television on Thursday.
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had directed members of his cabinet and other government appointees nursing political ambitions to resign before May 16.
According to Shehu, any political appointee who has political ambition but continues to stay in office “would have someone decide for him or her”.
The presidential spokesman noted that the presidential directive is clear and straightforward, stressing that the appointees have to obey the order.
He added that the circular of the government to the effect was issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and duly approved by the President.
“We are dealing with a government policy, a government directive, a circular of the government issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation duly approved by the President [which] clearly states who is to go.
“So, I think that in a few occupied offices like that, you make the decision by yourself otherwise, someone would decide for you. So, that’s the point,” he said.
Speaking further, Shehu said the furore about the cost of the presidential nomination and expression of interest forms for the All Progressives Congress (APC) was unnecessary.
The presidential aide stated that aspirants can source money by various means such as donations from their supporters, associates and well wishers.
Shehu, however, said it is not the place of the presidency to direct the various anti-corruption agencies in the country to investigate the sources of funding of the aspirants.
He also suggested that the APC should not refund monies used in the purchase of the forms even if an aspirant makes a U-turn in their pursuit.
A yet-to-be-identified female student of Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto was on Thursday beaten and burnt to death for alleged blasphemy.
The school has announced its shutdown over the crisis.
The treatment of those deemed to have insulted the prophet of Islam (Muhammad), or the religion itself in Nigeria’s northern region is a source of concern.
In 2020, a Shariah court in that axis condemned Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a 22-year-old Muslim gospel musician, to death for committing blasphemy in a series of private WhatsApp messages. The same court found a 16-year-old boy, Umar Farouk, guilty of blasphemy for reportedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad while arguing with a friend and sentenced him to 10 years in prison with manual labour.
Farouk’s sentence has been overturned, and Sharif-Aminu’s case has been sent for retrial. But these sentences critics consider harsh, are only examples of the problematic application of Shariah law in some states in northern Nigeria.
More worrisome is the latest mob action against the tertiary institution student.
Gobet247: New Betting Platform Launches in Nigeria, Promises Exciting Rewards
…sign up and get a N250 bonus
The burgeoning betting industry will inevitably experience an intense revolution when Gobet247 makes its grand entry into the Nigerian market on May 14, 2022, the new betting firm has said.
Gobet247, a Nigerian company, said it is committed to rewarding the passion of Nigerians by creating a world-class and hassle-free experience for the betting populace.
With more bonuses, great odds and instant payouts, the firm said Gobet247 is raising the bar in the Nigerian betting industry, with offerings that are mouth-watering and the delivery that is stimulating.
The company noted that fans would get a N250 welcome bonus once they sign up via the user-friendly platform; https://gobet247.com with no deposit required. Upon first deposit, punters would also get a 100% bonus.
According to the General Manager of the betting firm, Damian Okosun, “Gobet247 online platform is an easy-to-use on desktop and mobile phones as bookmakers can seamlessly register, deposit, place their bets and withdraw their winnings without hassles.
“We are committed to providing the fastest payout in the industry and that is an experience our customers will find out by the time we roll out nationwide on May 14.”
“We are creating a brand that the gaming populace will trust; a platform that offers the pundits the opportunity to access their winnings in a twinkle of an eye. More so, punters can earn more using our platform for their gaming activities because our odds are highly competitive.”
He said the customers can’t be worried about the security of their identities and funds, insisting that the top-class technology deployed by the firm makes the platform among the most-secured betting websites in the country.
“Choosing Gobet247.com, one of the most secured online betting sites in Nigeria, you can be sure of getting 250% accumulation bonus and sign up bonus with no deposit required,” the online gambling platform manager noted.
Okosun added that although Nigerians are more passionate about football, the platform covers many sports including volleyball, tennis, basketball, ice hockey, boxing, MMA, and table tennis among others.
“Our offerings also capture those who like to play casino; there is an opportunity for those that play lotto. They can play these games live. We certainly have more markets and our customers are going to enjoy more matches and leagues compared to our competitors,” he added.
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