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  • After Brexit: Boris Johnson’s Father Seeks French Citizenship

    After Brexit: Boris Johnson’s Father Seeks French Citizenship

    British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s father Stanley confirmed plans on Thursday to seek French citizenship as the free movement of Britons in the EU comes to an end under the Brexit pact delivered by his son.

    Speaking to France’s RTL radio in French, Stanley Johnson said: “It’s not a question of becoming French. If I understand correctly I am French! My mother was born in France, her mother was completely French as was her grandfather.

    “For me it’s a question of obtaining what I already have and I am very happy about that,” the 80-year-old added.

    The father of the politician who ended Britain’s 47-year-old membership of the EU was among the first civil servants appointed to Brussels after Britain joined the EU in 1973.

    He worked for the European Commission and served as a member of the European Parliament.

    He initially campaigned against leaving the EU before changing his mind a year after Britain voted to leave the union in 2016.

    “I will always be European, that’s for sure,” he told RTL.

    “You can’t tell the English: you’re not European. Europe is more than the single market, it’s more than the European Union.”

    “That said, to have a link like that with the EU is important,” he said, apparently referring to an EU passport.

    His plans to seek a French passport had already been revealed by his daughter Rachel in a book published in March.

    She wrote that her grandmother was born in Versailles and said that if her father received French citizenship she too would like to become French.

    The UK’s tortuous departure from the European Union takes full effect at 2300 GMT when an 11-month transition post-Brexit transition period comes to an end.

  • Umahi Approves Promotion Of Civil Servants In Ebonyi

    Umahi Approves Promotion Of Civil Servants In Ebonyi

    The Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi has approved the promotion of civil servants in Ebonyi State.

    This was contained in a statement by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Francis Nwaze.

    He said the promotion was based on the vacancy created by those retired or other occurrences in the service.

    The governor also directed heads of different MDAs’ to immediately commence a compilation of all vacancies in their MDAs and schedule for a written promotion examination which will be the determining factor for those that will be promoted.

    Read Full Statement Below:

    PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

    December 31, 2020

    The Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. Chief David Nweze Umahi, FNSE, FNATE has again, graciously approved the promotion of civil servants in Ebonyi State based on available vacancy and this is to commence from 2021.

    The Governor explained that promotion is based on vacancy created by those retired or other occurrences which may have caused a vacancy in the service.

    Furthermore, Governor Umahi directs heads of different MDAs’ to immediately commence a compilation of all vacancies in their MDAs and schedule for a written promotion examination which will be the determinant of those to be promoted.

    Francis Nwaze
    Special Assistant to the Governor
    (Media and Publicity)

  • Gov Dapo Abiodun Signs N339bn 2021 Budget Into Law

    Gov Dapo Abiodun Signs N339bn 2021 Budget Into Law

    The Ogun state governor, Dapo Abiodun has signed the proposed budget of N339bn for the 2021 fiscal year into law.

    The budget tagged; budget of recovery and sustainability was signed before members of the State House of Assembly led by its Speaker, Taiwo Oluomo and members of the State Executive Council.

    Governor Abiodun promised the Ogun citizens of improved infrastructure development, education, health care delivery, housing, and security.

    While commending the House leadership for its commitment and dedication, the governor expressed optimism of a better 2021.

    He also called for an understanding from the residents of the state to ensure that the successful implementation of the budget is for the good of all.

  • Lagos CP orders policemen to enforce 12am to 4am curfew

    Lagos CP orders policemen to enforce 12am to 4am curfew

    Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, has instructed all men of the force in the state to ensure full enforcement of the 12am to 4am curfew imposed by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.

    He also ordered them to ensure the total closure of night clubs, bars, lounges, event centres, amongst others.

    This directive was contained in a statement titled, ‘Enforce All Covid-19 Protocols, Supervise Your Men For Effectiveness — CP Lagos Orders Area Commanders, DPOs’.

    The statement signed by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, on Thursday, comes as churches plan to hold crossover services on the night of December 31, 2020.

    Adejobi said the police boss gave the order while addressing Area Commanders and DPOs at the POWA Hall, Oduduwa, Ikeja.

    “The Commissioner of Police reiterated that they must enforce the use of face mask regularly at public places (markets/malls), social distancing, total closure of night clubs, bars, lounges, event centres, no social party, street carnivals, use of infra-red thermometer to check body temperature, sanitisers and enforcement of the imposed curfew between 12 midnight and 4am.

    “He further ordered that all Area Commanders and DPOs must ensure such due enforcement in their various offices across the command; noting that COVID-19 is real and we must do everything possible within our reach to halt its spread,” the statement partly read.

    Odumosu warned police officers in the state against “incivility, drunkenness, excessive or misuse of power, accidental discharge, extortion and other inappropriate behaviours” in the New Year, noting that “anyone found wanting will be heavily sanctioned within the ambit of the law”.

    CP Odumosu also urged the general public to be law-abiding, support security agencies for effective policing of the state and stay safe at all times.

  • New Year: Let’s keep hope alive, remain positive, Gbajabiamila urges Nigerians

    New Year: Let’s keep hope alive, remain positive, Gbajabiamila urges Nigerians

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, has congratulated Nigerians for witnessing the New Year 2021 despite the challenges of the past year. 

    In a New Year message by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, the Speaker urged Nigerians to keep hope alive in the year 2021.
    He said Nigerians should use the experiences of the preceding year, 2020, which he described as very challenging, to work towards a better 2021.

    The Speaker said he was optimistic that the year 2021 holds a lot of positives for Nigeria and Nigerians, hence the need for the citizens to remain positive.

    Gbajabiamila also called for continuous unity and peaceful coexistence among Nigerians, saying “we have no other country than Nigeria; this is the only country we can call ours.”
    “It is my hope and prayer that the year 2021 will be better than all the preceding years of our nation’s history.

    “In this New Year, let’s remain resolute and determined in our nationhood. Yes, we may be going through challenges as a nation, but with our collective determination, we shall overcome,” Gbajabiamila said.
    The Speaker also wished Nigerians a year full of prosperity.

  • Chinese  President Xi Jinping New Year Speech

    Chinese President Xi Jinping New Year Speech

    :

    Comrades, friends, ladies and gentlemen, greetings to you all!

    The year 2021 is arriving. From China’s capital Beijing, I extend my New Year wishes to you all!

    2020 was an extraordinary year. Facing the sudden coronavirus pandemic, we put people and their lives first to interpret the great love among humans. With solidarity and resilience, we wrote the epic of our fight against the pandemic.

    During the days when we addressed the hardships together, we saw the heroic spirit of marching straight to the frontlines, holding posts with tenacity, taking responsibility to get through thick and thin, sacrifices with bravery, and touching moments of helping each other.

    From medical workers to the people’s army, from scientific researchers to community workers, from volunteers to those who built the projects, from seniors to youths born after the 1990s and 2000s, numerous people fulfilled their missions at the cost of their lives and protected humanity with sincere love.

    They pooled their drops of strength into tremendous power and built an iron wall to safeguard lives. Many figures marched ahead without hesitation, many relays were accomplished hand in hand, many scenes showed touching moments, all these vividly illustrate the great spirit of fighting against the pandemic.

    Greatness is forged in the ordinary. Heroes come from the people. Every person is remarkable!

    Our sympathy goes to all the unfortunate ones infected with the coronavirus! We salute all the ordinary heroes!

    I am proud of our great motherland and people, as well as the unyielding national spirit. Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only after polishing can a piece of jade be finer. We overcame the impact of the pandemic, and made great achievements in coordinating prevention and control and in economic and social development.

    The 13th Five-Year Plan has been accomplished in full. The 14th Five-Year Plan is being comprehensively formulated. We are accelerating the pace to set up a new pattern for development, and are deeply implementing high-quality development.

    China is the first major economy worldwide to achieve positive growth, and its GDP in 2020 is expected to step up to a new level of 100 trillion yuan. China has seen a good harvest in grain production for 17 years in a row. China has seen breakthroughs in scientific explorations like the Tianwen-1 (Mars mission), Chang’e-5 (lunar probe), and Fendouzhe (deep-sea manned submersible). Construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port is proceeding with vigor.

    We also defeated severe flooding. With the military and civilians heedless of danger and difficulty, and standing in unity, we managed to minimize the damage of the floods.

    I inspected 13 provincial-level regions and was glad to see people carefully implementing coronavirus prevention and control measures, racing against time to resume work and production, and sparing no efforts to advance innovation.

    Everywhere were vibrant scenes of confident, resilient people making the most of every minute. In 2020, China made the historic achievement of establishing a moderately prosperous society in all respects and achieved decisive success in eradicating extreme poverty.

    We launched the final assault on the fortress of entrenched rural poverty, and cracked this “hardest nut.”

    Through 8 years, under the current standard, China has eradicated extreme poverty for the nearly 100 million rural people affected, and all the 832 impoverished counties have shaken off poverty.

    These years, I have visited 14 contiguous areas of dire poverty. The unremitting efforts of the folks and the wholehearted contribution of the poverty-eradication cadres often come to my mind.

    We still need to stay tenacious like a bamboo deeply rooted in the rocks, keep our feet on the ground, and work hard to paint a magnificent picture of rural vitalization, and steadily march ahead towards the goal of common prosperity.

    This year, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, among others, and 30 years of the development and opening-up of Pudong in Shanghai. As I stood on the southern coast as the spring tide surged and on the colorful bank of the Huangpu River, my mind was filled with a myriad of thoughts.

    Pilot trials have become models and leading forces, and explorations to innovate have become leading forces of innovation. The opening-up and reform has created miracles of development. In the future, we should further deepen reform and expand opening-up with greater courage, and create more “Stories of Spring.”

    We are not alone on the Great Way and the whole world is one family. After a year of hardship, we can understand more than ever the significance of a community with a shared future for mankind.

    I had many phone calls with friends from the international community, both old and new, and attended many “cloud conferences.” What we discussed most was staying united to combat the pandemic.

    We still have a long way to go in pandemic prevention and control. People from all over the world should join hands and support each other to early dispel the gloom of the pandemic and strive for a better “Earth home.”

    2021 will see the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China. Its 100-year journey surges forward with great momentum. Its original aspiration remains even firmer one hundred years later.

    From Shikumen in Shanghai to the South Lake in Jiaxing City, the small red boat (where the first CPC congress concluded) bore the great trust of the people and the hope of the nation. The boat has sailed through turbulent rivers and treacherous shoals, and has voyaged across violent tidal waves, becoming a great ship that navigates China’s stable and long-term development.

    The CPC bears its eternal great cause in mind, and the centenary only ushers in the prime of life. We adhere to putting people at the center, stay true to our original aspiration, keep our mission well in mind, break the waves and sail out for our journey ahead, and we will certainly realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

    At the historic crossroad of the “Two Centenary Goals,” the new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country is about to start. The road ahead is long; striving is the only way forward. We have strived, broken through brambles and thorns, and crossed ten thousand rivers and thousands of mountains.

    We will continue to strive, march ahead with courage, and create brighter glory! At just this moment, the festive lanterns have been lit, and family members gather for reunion. The New Year is coming. I wish our land to be splendid, our country to be prosperous, and our people to live in peace. I wish you all a harmonious, smooth and auspicious year, full of happiness!

    Thank you!

  • Buhari signs 2021 appropriation bill into law

    Buhari signs 2021 appropriation bill into law

    President Muhammadu Buhari , on Thursday, signed the 2021 Appropriation Bill into law.

    The brief signing ceremony was done inside the President’s office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The National Assembly had last Monday passed N13.58trn budget for the next fiscal year.

    It has been the desire of the present regime to restore the country’s budget to January to December cycle.

    This was achieved with the 2020 budget with Buhari signing the document into law on December 17, 2019.

    This has been sustained with today’s signing.

    The National Assembly last Monday passed the 2021 Appropriation Bill, raising the total estimates from the proposed N13.08trn to N13,588,027,886,175, an increase of over N500bn.

    The President had on October 8, 2020, laid the money bill before a joint session of the National Assembly.

    Both the Senate and the House of Representatives Committees on Appropriations had laid a harmonised report in the respective chambers as the National Assembly held special sessions mainly to pass the national budget ahead of the Christmas and New Year break.

    Out of the total sum of N13.59tn for 2021, N496.53bn is for statutory transfers; N3.32tn is for debt service; N5.64tn is for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure; while the sum of N4.13trn is for capital expenditure.

    While statutory transfers totalling N496.53bn were approved, it was observed that the N125bn proposed for the National Assembly and its affiliates had been raised by N8.99bn, putting the new total estimates at N133.99bn.

  • Algeria signs contract for supply of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, says Minister

    Algeria signs contract for supply of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, says Minister

    Algeria has signed a contract for the supply of Russia’s Sputnik ‘V’ vaccine against the COVID-19, government spokesman Ammar Belhimer said.

    “Algeria’s health minister has confirmed that a contract was signed… for the purchase of a vaccine against coronavirus with a Russian laboratory.

    “Algeria’s Pasteur Institute held a series of talks with the Russian company that produces the Sputnik V vaccine, negotiations are continuing with other parties,” Belhimer said.

    READ ALSO: Troops rescue 23 victims, arrest bandits’ collaborator in Katsina

    On Dec. 20, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune instructed the government to decide which coronavirus vaccine from those available on the market would be used in the country in order to start vaccination of the population as early as January 2021.

    Earlier in December, Algerian Health Minister Abderrahmane Benbouzid said the final decision on the choice of vaccine had not yet been made, but vaccination would be free for all population groups anyway.

    According to him, the choice in favour of this or that drug will be made on the basis of data to be provided by a special committee on science after analysing the world’s advanced developments in the area.

    According to the health ministry, the overall number of coronavirus cases in Algeria had exceeded 99,000, including about 67,000 recoveries and 2,751 deaths.

  • Alarming rise of Avian flu breaks out in India

    Alarming rise of Avian flu breaks out in India

    Authorities in India have confirmed the outbreak of Avian influenza disease and said the case was being handled by a joint team from the forest and animal husbandry departments.

    After several crows died in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar district on Thursday due to the Avian flu, the district administration imposed emergency measures in the area.

    ”Avian influenza disease has been confirmed. Samples are being sent to National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal for examination.” reports quoted Ngikya Gohain, Jhalawar’s Collector as saying.

    READ ALSO: Troops rescue 23 victims, arrest bandits’ collaborator in Katsina

    “Section 144 has been imposed in the affected area in the Radi area.

    ”A Rapid Response Team has been constituted to collect samples from poultry farms and shops,” Gohain said.

    He further said if the flu was found to have infected poultry in chicken farms, all the chickens will have to be culled and suitable compensation would be given to the owners.

  • Brexit: UK finally Exits from EU

    Brexit: UK finally Exits from EU

    After four years of wrangling, Brexit is finally DONE.

    UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday signed Britain’s historic Brexit trade deal from the EU as MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of the accord despite threats of a Labour Remainer rebellion.

    The official copy of the hard-fought 1,200 page trade pact was signed by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.

    Boris Johnson was then presented with the document in Number 10 as he did the honours and finally brought the curtain down on the Brexit saga which has dominated UK politics since the EU referendum in 2016.

    “It has been a long road. It’s time now to put Brexit behind us. Our future is made in Europe,” von der Leyen said.

    Mr. Johnson gave a thumbs up after inking what he described as “the beginning of what will be a wonderful relationship between the UK and our friends and partners in the EU”.

    Britain will leave the European single market and customs union at 11:00 pm (2300 GMT) on Thursday, the end of a post-Brexit transition period marked by tortuous trade negotiations which culminated in the Christmas Eve deal.

    London and Brussels would work “hand in glove whenever our values and interests coincide, while fulfilling the sovereign wish of the British people to live under their own sovereign laws made by their own sovereign parliament” Boris Johnson added.

    Despite warnings that there will be more friction in trade due to breaking free from EU rules, the UK PM said the deal ‘if anything should allow companies to do even more business with our European friends, safeguarding millions of jobs and livelihoods in UK and across the continent’.

    Mr. Johnson said for the first time since 1973 the UK would be an independent coastal nation, stressing that in five and a half years’ time after another transition Britain will have full control of its waters. ‘