US Speaker Pelosi joins impeachment calls, Transport Secretary resigns

 

United States House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, says she’s in support of the calls to impeach President Donald Trump.

Her comments followed the demand by Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader, for Trump’s immediate impeachment.

“I join the Senate Democratic leader in calling on the vice president to remove this president by immediately invoking the 25th amendment.

“If the VP and cabinet do not act the Congress may be prepared to move forward with impeachment”, Pelosi said on Thursday.

Their calls were in protest of Trump supporters’ invasion of the Capitol Building on Wednesday.

Four people have been confirmed dead; an investigation has commenced.

Also on Thursday, Transportation Secretary, Elaine Chao, announced her resignation.

Chao, wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, is the first cabinet member to quit.

In a statement, she noted that America experienced a traumatic and avoidable event.

“As I am sure is the awe with many of you, it has deeply troubled me in a way that I simply cannot set aside.

“Today, I am announcing my resignation as U.S. Secretary of Transportation, to take effect on January 11, 2021,” Chao, said.

At least three White House officials have tendered their resignation.

NEWS : NIMC, staff stage protest over poor working condition

 

 staff of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Bayelsa State chapter, have embarked on an indefinite strike over poor allowance and poor working conditions in this COVID-19 regime.

Mr. Paul Soroh, who led the angry workers in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Thursday said that while they work under pressure to enable Nigerians get their NIN for onward connection to their SIM cards, the Federal Government have failed to provide necessary tools for them to function effectively.

Explaining further, he said, “The protest that is ongoing nationwide is also as a result of the fact that they have also not been giving us Personal Protective Equipment, even though they were listed as essential workers during in the COVID-19 lockdown.

“As you know, workers on level 12 downwards are not supposed to be at work, but we came out to do this work voluntarily but because of the attitude of government, we are withdrawing our voluntary services until something is done about it.”

Meanwhile, the large crowd who besieged the office in order to carry out their registration after the Federal Government ordered telecom operators to link subscribers registered sim cards engaged the workers during the protest.

The visibly frustrated subscribers complained bitterly about the deadline given by the government, adding that they can’t afford to lose their network due to the strike.

HEALTH : Medical expert urges Nigerians to accept COVID-19 vaccine

 

The Chief Medical Director, Federal Teaching Hospital( FETHI), Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State,

 Professor Adekunle Ajayi has advised Nigerians to accept the COVID-19 vaccine

Whenever it is available.

The health expert also cautioned Nigerians not to allow the discovery of the vaccine outshine the safety protocols.

Ajayi gave this admonition during a “Long Service Award” ceremony held for some health workers who have served for 20 years unblemished.

The CMD said the award was a call on the recipients to continue to contribute to the development of the teaching hospital.

Expressing concern over the attitudes of some Nigerians to safety procedures, Ajayi said apathy was the major challenge at the moment.

“There is apathy on the part of people to do the right thing. When you get to that point, you need to keep talking. The truth is that we moved from an era when fear was the motivating factor to one where apathy is the major challenge. That is expected for anything that is longer than expected or that will also affect the comfort of people. We are on top of the game”.

The medical expert, however, advised Nigerians to accept the vaccine as it would go a long way in combating the dreaded virus.

“As I have always said, the best form of prevention in infectious diseases is hygiene, that is an issue that we must not let down. We must continue to talk about hygiene – personal hygiene, community hygiene and basic things – use mask, wash your hands, use hand sanitisers, maintain the appropriate distance and avoid crowded areas. Take responsibility to ensure that you are not infected. When you take responsibility to protect yourself, you are indirectly protecting the several people around you.

“Health professionals have used vaccines over the years to tackle infectious diseases. This one is not going to be an exception. We are lucky that we have been able to get the vaccine even ahead of the expected time. there is the need to sensitise the populace on the benefits of taking the vaccine.

“Because no matter how well-intended a scheme is if the people do not accept it, it is going to end up as a failure. We have to sensitize the public to accept that these vaccines are meant to help them as part of measures.

NEWS : NIN linkage, NCC clears air on mass disconnection of telephone subscribers

 

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has clarified what it described as the unfounded fears of mass disconnection of telephone subscribers.

In a statement t on Wednesday signed by its Director, Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, the commission said that its attention has been drawn to numerous publications in the media space regarding the matter of mass disconnection as a result of the ongoing linkage of SIM Registration Records with the National Identity Number (NIN).

NCC said it is, therefore, necessary for it to issue this clarification in order to allay the fears of subscribers and the general public.

“Most of these publications are based on the erroneous assumption that for every network or SIM connection, there is one unique human subscriber.

“However, with the advent of social media and App-driven digital environment, network subscription went beyond human subscribers to include machines like PoS, Routers, Wi-Fi devices, electricity meters, CCTV, tracking devices etc.

“A recent survey conducted in Nigeria has shown that on average, there are now approximately 4 to 5 SIMs to every human subscriber. This explains the basis of allowing the linkage of up to 7 SIMs to 1 unique NIN in the recently launched Federal Government Portal.

“Thus, if there are 43 million Nigerians with NINs, this could account for about 172 million SIMs already linked to NINs. It is very important to emphasize that the current exercise of linking NIN to SIM(s) is for the common good of all Nigerians, as it has far reaching benefits.

“Apart from enhancing our general safety, this will help in such vital exercises like National Budgeting, Policy Planning, Social Intervention programs and many more.

“The Honourable Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, has assured that the Government will continue to review the exercise in the light of experiences to ensure its smooth implementation.

“We call on all our media partners, publishers and reporters to always endeavour to seek clarification from the Commission before going to the press, especially on sensitive issues.”

SPORT : Man United vs Man City, What Solskjaer said about Donny van de Beek

 Manchester United boss, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, has insisted that midfielder, Donny van de Beek, is not a failure at Old Trafford.

He also said that Van de Beek would make differences in many games for Man United this season.

Solskjaer said this after the Holland international was told to pack his bags and leave the club if the Red Devils manager fails to field him in Man United’s Carabao Cup semi-final tie against Manchester City on Wednesday.

“Donny has played well when he’s had the chance,” said Solskjaer as quoted by Mirror UK. “I think we are too quick sometimes to jump on, ‘Oh he’s not playing, it’s a failure’.

“But with Victor and Fred as examples, it takes a little bit of time, and now they are massively important players in our squad, in our team, which will be the same with Donny.

“He has come in, and he is in a midfield group there with quality, challenging with Bruno [Fernandes], Juan [Mata] and Jesse [Lingard]. I have loads of No 10s, loads of central midfielders with Paul [Pogba], Nemanja [Vidic], Scott [McTominay] and Fred, and Donny has done well when he has come in.

“He is always ready, he always works hard in training, he’s positive, and he will make differences in many games for us this season. He will grow more and more for next year.”

Van de Beek has not featured regularly for Solskjaer’s side since he joined Man United from Ajax for £35million in the 2020 summer transfer window.

His last minutes in a Man United shirt were on December 23 in their 2-0 win over Everton in the Carabao Cup.

SPORT : EPL, Man United recalls Kovar from loan

English Premier League (EPL) giants, Manchester United, have recalled their goalkeeper, Matej Kovar, from his loan spell at Swindon Town, MEN reports.

Man United had loaned Kovar to the League One side on a one-year deal back in the 2020 summer transfer window.

But Kovar has now returned to his parent club, Man United this January transfer window after seeing his deal cut short at Swindon Town.

Kovar, 20, only kept one clean sheet in 20 appearances for Swindon this season.

The Czech youngster has been a familiar face in first-team training sessions under Man United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but he is yet to make his senior debut for the Red Devils.

He was outstanding for Man United at the youth level, especially for the Under-23s during their promotion last season.

Man United may now have to consider possibly sending Kovar out on another loan this month for the remainder of this season.

EDUCATION : JAMB opens portal for 2020/2021 admissions

 

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has opened its portal for the 2020/2021 admissions.

 visited the board’s website and confirmed this.

The portal gives institutions access to upload names of shortlisted applicants for the 2020/2021 admissions.

The admission processes must go through the Central Admission Processing System (CAPS) for approval.

Earlier this week, JAMB warned the public not to fall prey to fraudsters and rumour mongers.

The board stated this in a weekly bulletin of the Office of the Registrar and confirmed it has yet to begin the sale of the 2021 Unified Tertiary and Matriculation Examination (UTME) forms.