Buhari, Ramaphosa launch Youth Dialogue for Peace. By: PM NEWS Editor

Ramaphosa and Buhari in Abuja on Wednesday President Muhammadu Buhari and President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday in Abuja launched the Nigeria-South Africa Youth Dialogue for Peace and Security, Youth Development and Political Participation. Speaking to the youths virtually, President Buhari expressed optimism that the establishment of the Youth Dialogue would promote peace-building and development as well as help both countries jointly combat youth restiveness. The Nigerian leader also noted that the Dialogue would afford both countries to strategically develop ”a vast world of collaboration in areas of science and technology,” including climate change, energy demands, green technology, artificial intelligence, cyber security, telematics, agriculture, technology and much more. ”Nigeria and South Africa have a combined population of about 262 million of which 95 million are youth. ”This represents tremendous potential for both countries if we can truly harness this demographic with more dedicated action. ”This sizable youth population may also represent significant problems if we fail to maximize their potential in a world that globalization and technology are reshaping at breakneck speed. ”These are the rationale for proposing this Youth Dialogue. ”Both countries need more educated youth, more skilled youth, more youth in entrepreneurship, more solution providers and peace-keepers and more patriotic youth. ”It is true that our youth already collaborate especially in the creative arts, sharing our rich cultures. ”We will build upon this especially in the framework of the intra- African trade expansion we intend to promote through the African Continental Free Trade Agreement,” he said. The Nigerian leader expressed confidence that collaborations in science and technology and many other areas in a strategic and committed way would provide both countries with solutions and critical intellectual property to unleash economic outcomes for millions of job creations. ”I must urge our youth to see themselves as brothers and sisters with a lot to share and explore together, not as foes. ”Even when Bafana Bafana and the Super Eagles compete, it must be as friendly rivals,’’ President Buhari declared. The President described the inauguration of the Steering Committee on the Youth Dialogue during the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission as a great leap forward. ”It will aim to jointly combat the restiveness of our youth, exchange ideas/opportunities and reduce friction amongst them,’’ he said. According to the President, the areas of cooperation under the Youth Dialogue would include exchange programmes on notable national, international and historic events; National Youth Service initiatives; sharing of best practices on national youth legislation, policy frameworks and guidelines as well as youth entrepreneurial development and support. Other areas of cooperation, are market development and export marketing for youth; partnership in youth development in the following sectors: mineral resources, environment, forests and woodlands and waste management value chains. From the Agreement establishing the Youth Dialogue, exchange of information on technologies, research and development programmes and experts as well as providing assistance in the areas of accessibility, availability and affordability of mobility aids featured prominently.

FG never put pressure on us to discredit EndSARS panel report - LASG. By: Kazeem Ugbodaga

Lekki Tollgate, scene of alleged massacre of protesters in 2020 The Lagos State Government on Wednesday rubbished insinuations that the Federal Government mounted pressure on it to discredit the report of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry (JPI) on the report of Lekki Tollgate incident. Lagos’ White Paper has denounced claims by the panel that nine people were killed at the Lekki Tollgate by the army and police. However, State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN) on Wednesday in an interview on Arise TV denied the allegations that the state government was put under pressure by the Federal Government to discredit the panel’s report. He added that at no time did the State Government encourage personal attacks against any members of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry. He said: “The Federal Government never put the Lagos State Government under any pressure to discredit the panel or anybody. If you check the records, nobody from Lagos State Government discredited the panel. In fact, they submitted the report on the 15th of November 2021, the Governor praised them and thanked them for the job they did. “Even yesterday, in his speech, which he made before the White Paper was released, he thanked them again. So, nobody from the Lagos State Government directly or indirectly has sought to discredit members of the panel. We appreciate the job they did for almost 13 months. We do not condone such attacks on anybody. “I think we have conducted ourselves in such a manner that we strive to always do what is right. We complied with the law; we set up the panel. So, if we didn’t even want the panel, there are so many ways it could have been stopped. They asked for an extension, we gave them. The initial funding was N200million; they exhausted it and asked for more, we gave them. “We appointed independent-minded people into the panel. And the panel itself said in its report that they give credit to the Lagos State Government for allowing them to be completely independent. Lagos State Government has fulfilled all its promises to the public. We set up an independent panel, we said we will release a White Paper and we did. We have complied with the law all the way.” Onigbanjo also justified the State Government’s White Paper on the Judicial Panel of Inquiry (JPI) on the report of Lekki Tollgate incident. He said the State complied with the laws and the weight of evidence presented in the Judicial Panel of Inquiry to reach a decision on panel’s reports. Onigbanjo said the positions of the Lagos State Government as stated in the White Paper was not contrary to the panel’s findings, especially the evidence of the Pathologist, Prof. John Obafunwa, who said only three of the bodies that he conducted post mortem examination on during the EndSARS protests were from Lekki, and out of them, only one had gunshot injury. Onigbanjo said inconsistencies and contradictions in the leaked reports of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Lekki incidents that nine people died at Lekki Tollgate last year made the panel’s finding in respect to deaths at the tollgate unreliable, saying that for a finding that somebody died at a scene to be acceptable, there must be no doubt. He said: “The position of Lagos State Government is based on the findings of the panel itself. So, it is not that Lagos State Government just conjured things from the air. We went through the report and what we saw particularly in reference to the death of nine persons is that they found the evidence of the Pathologist, Prof. Obafunwa, who conducted an autopsy on all the bodies picked up all over Lagos during the protests, not just at Lekki Tollgate but statewide, credible and there was no evidence to the contrary. “Prof. Obafunwa said that of all the bodies he conducted autopsies on, three came from Lekki and out of the three only one had gunshot injuries. And the panel then said we believe you, we accept your evidence because there is nothing to the contrary. So, in law, if you put that on the imaginary scale, it means what Prof. Obafunwa said outweighs every other evidence before the panel.” Onigbanjo also debunked the allegations that the Judicial Panel of Inquiry made no reference to policemen nor took them into consideration. “They (JPI) issued two reports. The report that leaked only dealt with the issues from the Lekki Toll Gate. There is another report which they issued which was not leaked; that report deals with all the EndSARS petitions that were about 253 in number and of the 253, policemen also brought their own petitions and in that report, the panel awarded a sum of about N36.2million to the policemen who were affected one way or the other by the protests. “So to be fair to them, they did consider the plights of the policemen too. And even if you look at most of their recommendations, they are for better welfare for the police, better equipment, more training, psychological evaluations, so they took them into consideration,” he said. Commenting on a few of the EndSARS activists turning down the requests by Governor Sanwo-Olu for a Peace Walk this month, Onigbanjo said the government will persuade Civil Society members to change their minds. “As regards the issue of some civil society members who have said that they will not participate in the peace walk, of course, the government will seek to persuade them to change their minds, because ultimately we all thrive in peace. There is no government that wants to see a war-torn city, a war-torn State or even a State in which there is so much tension. “So we will continue to talk to members of the civil society. We will continue to demonstrate the government’s good faith. We will continue to demonstrate the government’s sincerity by showing them all the steps that we have taken in the past 13 months before we arrived at where we are now. It is a continuous engagement.”

Omicron lands in US. By: Kazeem Ugbodaga

Anthony Fauci Anthony Fauci confirms Omicron in U.S The first case of Omicron has been identified in California, United States, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fauci, at a White House briefing on Wednesday said the case was detected in an individual who traveled from South Africa on November 22. He said the person tested positive for the Omicron Covid-19 on November 29. According to him, the person is currently under quarantine and is being closely monitored. He said those who had close contact with him had been tested, but that they were negative. Fauci added that the person was fully vaccinated and that he was currently experiencing mild symptom of the virus.

EU reports 59 Omicron cases in 11 countries By: Nimot Sulaimon

At least 11 EU member states have recorded cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant, the bloc’s health agency said on Wednesday. There have been 59 cases reported overall, including 16 in the Netherlands, 14 in Portugal and nine in Germany, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). There were also four each in Denmark and Italy, three each in Austria and Sweden, two each in Belgium and Spain and one in the Czech Republic, as well as one on the Indian Ocean Island of Reunion, which is part of France. However, experts are worried that Omicron has spread further than it is reported. Travellers might have been spreading the variant for weeks, said Oliver Keppler, head of the Max von Pettenkoffer Institute, which focuses on infectious diseases at Munich’s Ludwig Maximilian University. It is not clear whether the ECDC numbers are based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests or genetic sequencing. But it noted that there were other suspected cases across Europe, most connected with travel to southern Africa. So far, none of the cases has involved serious illness or death. NAN

BREAKING: Emirates resumes flight services to Nigeria By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

United Arab Emirates carrier – Emirates – said on Thursday that it will resume its passenger operations between Dubai and Nigeria from December 5, 2021. The airline said it will operate to and from its Nigerian gateways with daily flights, providing travellers from Nigeria convenient access to Dubai – a popular holiday and business destination. The new move, it was learnt, is a sequel to the resolution of its row with Nigeria on suspension of flights. In a statement, the carrier said throughout the pandemic it has been updating passengers with industry-leading health and safety measures at every point of the travel journey as well as helping communities reconnect faster in facilitating economic recovery. The airline said it also been working hard to provide up to date, comprehensive travel information to passengers as well as speeding up processes on the ground through digital verification for Covid-19 via the IATA Travel Pass, as well as touchless check-in and biometrics processing.

Edo receives N2.5bn grant to equip Stella Obasanjo Hospital By : Usman Issa

The Edo State Government have received N2.5 billion grant from the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative for the Tertiary Health System Support Scheme which will be used to equip the Stella Obasanjo Hospital in Benin. After receiving the letter of award from the Managing Director of the initiative, Ubon Udoh, at the Government House in Benin City, the state governor,Godwin Obaseki, reiterated his administration’s commitment to improving the healthcare system in the state. He said, “We are very concerned about healthcare in Nigeria with the post-COVID-19 economy. We are determined to make Edo a healthcare hub in Nigeria. “The healthcare system is really about the people. Infrastructure is important. If you don’t have the people that are properly trained, then the equipment will just be fancy for tourism. “Within the Edo axis, we can muster up to five thousand doctors in different specialisations. “If we have access to people who can provide quality healthcare and have world-class institutions or facilities to provide that training, then we should do it. “Having the right governance means an arrangement where people don’t need to travel to get the kind of care they need. “We are very keen and are anxious to get this started. For us as a state, we just try and execute. “Hopefully, next week, we will establish a joint account and the procurement process has to be accelerated; within the next four to six weeks, let the orders be placed. “I want to thank and appreciate you and the people of Edo will eternally be grateful. “We can now proudly say that you have one of your largest investments in Africa in Edo and this is what they are contributing to the lives of our people.” On his part, Udoh commended the governor for impacting the lives of Edo people through healthcare, noting, “It is a clear indication of your vision for your state and commitment in bettering the lives of your people, through health care. “We want to truly appreciate you for that show of commitment and of course, for that laudable project which you are proposing. “We are here to present to you a letter of award for a N2.5 billion grant for tertiary healthcare support system scheme to support the Stella Obasanjo Hospital. “We are going to start by putting an initial deposit of N1.25billion in a joint account between ASR Africa and Edo State Government; I want to congratulate you and your team. “We want to thank you for the commitment you’ve shown towards bettering the lives of your people and the quality of leadership you’ve shown and which we have seen. “I want to assure you that this is the beginning of a partnership between ASR and the Edo State Government.” Punch

Ekiti govt creates additional LCDA

Ekiti State government, on Wednesday, said it had created an additional local council development area (LCDA), bringing the total number of LCDAs in the state to 20. This is contained in a statement issued by the Chairman, Local Council Development Areas Implementation Committee, Mr Wale Fapounda, in Ado-Ekiti. Fapounda said that the development was sequel to consultations with stakeholders in the various communities, especially in Ikole-West LCDA, regarding the siting of the council headquarters. He recalled that Gov. Kayode Fayemi, had, on Aug 6, assented to the Creation of Additional Local Government Areas in Ekiti State (Second Amendment) Law, 2021. Fapounda clarified that the additional 19 LCDAs created by the law were inchoate and would operate as such until when the National Assembly passed an Act recognising them as local governments areas, as provided for under Section 8(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). He said that further to the extensive consultations, the creation of an autonomous area council for the seven Oreniwa communities, with temporary headquarters at Asin-Ekiti, had been approved by the governor. According to him, the new LCDA will have its permanent headquarters later at Usin-Ekiti, based on the unanimous decision of the affected communities, while a sole administration or head of area council will also be appointed. Fapounda remind all stakeholders that the state government would leave no stone unturned in ensuring the successful take-off and sustenance of the new council. He called for the support, cooperation and ownership of all stakeholders in the various communities within the new LCDA in order to actualise the move. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that traditional rulers of the seven communities had led their subjects to express their dissatisfaction with the location of the council’s headquarters in Ijesa-Isu-Ekiti, describing the development as unjust and unfair. The people of the communities had also converged on Oreniwa market square in Isaba-Ekiti to seek for divine help. Responding on behalf of the seven communities, Dr Lanre Ayejuyo and Elder Bayo Ayeni, appreciated the governor for living up to his promise to address their agitations. “It is a thing of joy to praise the winning team of the seven Oreniwa communities and the LCDA implementation committee for listening to our plea and addressing our fears,” they said. (NAN) Vanguard News Nigeria