A former Big Brother Naija contestant, Natacha Akide, popularly known as Tacha, told her fans during the week that she had a breakdown during the lockdown declared at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The reality TV star made this known in a video shared on her YouTube channel during the week. She said, “I had a breakdown and I had to ask myself― ‘what is the world turning to? What have I learnt’? Back in school, we were taught to always learn moral lessons from stories. The moral lesson I learnt from the COVID-19 lockdown was to (always) spread love. I had to speak to a life coach who told me I needed to take a break, even if it was for three days. It was so bad that I would just lay on my bed, cover myself with clothes and be shaking because I was sad. I did not enjoy that period. I did not enjoy seeing the bad news (all around). I kept taking ginger and garlic every day.”
She also stated that she thought the world was about to come to an end. “I was one of the people that thought the world was coming to an end during the COVID-19 lockdown. I also asked, ‘Is God angry with us’? The lockdown really messed me up financially, emotionally and psychologically. It had a very bad effect on me. There were a lot of rape cases during the lockdown and hearing of so many bad happenings affected my head. Whenever I am not online, it means I am taking a break from the negative happenings for the sake of my mental health.”
Advising her fans whom she calls ‘Titans’ to always show love, Tacha said, “2020 has taught me how to spread love. One minute you are seeing someone, the next minute, the person is no more. Even with all these, there are still people who like to put negative comments on one’s posts on social media. At this point, I don’t have words for anybody that spreads hate. This is the time we must spread love. We must make deliberate efforts to spread love.”
Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, has tested positive for COVID-19 less than five weeks to the 2020 presidential election.
Although Trump is said to be experiencing “mild symptoms”, he has been flown to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washinting DC where he is receiving an experimental treatment and staying under close observation.
Due to the novel nature of COVID-19 and Trump’s age, weight and sex, he is could be in grave danger before the US elections.
Election date
In the event that he is incapacitated or dies, the US constitution gives the US Congress the power to determine if the November 3 election date can be changed although political analysts in Washington say this is unlikely to happen.
The presidential election has never been postponed.
US law allows the presidential election to take place on the first Tuesday in November every four years.
The House of Representatives would likely reject moves to delay the election even if the Senate voted to do so.
If a candidate dies
The Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee have rules that call for their members to vote on a replacement nominee.
Considering how close the elections are and that voting has already commenced with over 2.2 million votes already cast, it may be too late to replace a candidate in time for the election.
The deadline to change ballots in many states has also passed; mail ballots, which are expected to be widely used due to the Coronavirus pandemic, have been sent to voters in two dozen states.
Voters will still go ahead and chose between Democratic andidate, Joe Biden, and Republican candidate, Trump even if one of them dies before the election.
Electoral College votes
The Electoral College system determines the election by securing the majority of electoral votes allowed to 50 states and the District of Columbia in proportion to their population.
The Electoral College’s electors will meet on December 14 to vote for President.
The winner must receive at least 270 of the 538 total Electoral College votes.
Each state’s electoral votes typically go to the winner of the state’s popular vote. Some states allow electors to vote for anyone they choose, but more than half of the states bind electors to cast their votes for the winner.
Most state laws that bind electors do not make provisions for what to do if a candidate dies.
Michigan’s law, for example, requires electors to vote for the winning candidates who appeared on the ballot. Indiana law, however, states that electors should switch to a party’s replacement if the candidate has died.
In the event of a candidate’s death, the opposing party might challenge in court whether bound electors should be allowed to vote for a replacement.
If winner dies after Electoral College has voted without Congress certification.
Even after the Electoral College votes have been cast, the US Congress must convene on January 6 to certify the results.
It is unclear how Congress would resolve a scenario if a presidential candidate won a majority of electoral votes dies.
The US constitution’s 20th amendment says the vice President-elect becomes President if the President-elect dies before Inauguration Day.
If Congress rejects votes for a deceased candidate and therefore found no one had won a majority, it is up to the House of Representatives to pick the next President, choosing from among the top three electoral vote-getters.
If President-elect dies or becomes incapacitated after Congress certifies result.
If a president-elect is incapacitated or dies, the vice president-elect would be sworn in on January 20.
Simon Karu, a member of the house of representatives from Gombe state, says he and his colleagues receive a sum of about N9.3 million monthly.
Karu said although the salary of a legislator in the lower legislative chamber is N800,000, they receive N8.5 million as “running cost”.
The total take-home pay of members of the national assembly has been shrouded in secrecy.
In 2018, Shehu Sani, then senator representing Kaduna central, disclosed that senators get N13.5 million monthly — aside from salaries.
Speaking at an event to mark the country’s 60th Independence Day anniversary on Thursday in Abuja, the Gombe lawmaker said most of the money is channelled to his constituents who ask for assistance.
The theme of the event was ‘FixingNigeria at 60 – Sustainable and efficient democracy: Issues on accountability and transparency in governance’.
“The official salary of a member, house of representatives, which I also receive monthly is N800,000. I told you I was going to say it; why don’t you wait for me to say it? The office running cost of a member of the house of representatives is N8.5 million,” Karu said.
“Those of you who know, know that I said exactly what it is. The problem is what the constituents demand, and when you don’t meet [up], they begin to call you names.
“Just before I walked to the stage I received three emails from my constituents demanding money and jobs. When you don’t, it becomes an issue.”
On his part, Dino Melaye, former senator representing Kogi west, said a lot of the country’s problems would be addressed if corruption becomes a thing of the past.
“If you get the fight against corruption right, every other thing will be fixed,” Melaye said.
Melaye also called for the establishment of a national office to address the problem of budget padding.
“We need a national budget office. Nigeria is the only country without such an office and until we have it, budget padding will not stop,” he said.
Also speaking, Senator Iroegbu, editor-in-chief, Global Sentinel, said solutions must be provided to the security challenges confronting the country.
Iroegbu said the security challenges have continued unabated owing to structural defects in the country’s security architecture.
“No matter the kind of budget we throw, if the political culture is corrupt, we can do nothing,” he said.
Lagos State on Thursday celebrated the 60th Independence Anniversary of Nigeria with 60,000 cupcakes to produce the largest anniversary logo in the world.
The initiative puts Nigeria in the Guinness Book of World Record as holder of the world’s largest anniversary logo made with cupcakes.
The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, while speaking at Teslim Balogun, Surulere, venue of the event, said the state through the laying of the largest cupcake mosaic, sent a message to the world that Lagos is a land of creativity and innovations.
Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the wife of the state Deputy Governor, Mrs Oluremi Hamzat, at the event monitored by officials of the Guinness World Records, disclosed that the last largest cupcake logo in the world had 30,400 cupcakes and was made in Singapore in 2015.
“It is my belief that Lagos State and indeed Nigeria will continue to strive and record greater achievements,” the governor added.
The Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, said through the event, Lagos was putting itself before the international community, especially tourists, to see what the state could offer in terms of creativity.
The Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, in his presidential speech to mark the 60th independence of the nation shaded his predecessors, claiming they presided over the near destruction of the country.
Buhari in his speech also boasted that “no government in the past did what we are doing with such scarce resources” and that “we have managed to keep things going despite the disproportionate spending on security.”
In his attack on previous governments, Buhari said; “Those in the previous governments, from 1999 – 2015, who presided over the near destruction of the country, have now the impudence to attempt to criticise our efforts”.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo served as the Nigerian president between 1999 and 2007 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Umaru Musa Yar’Adua succeeded Obasanjo in 2007 but was unable to complete his first term tenure. He died in office 5th May 2010.
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who was the vice to Yar’Adua, was sworn in as the president 6th May 2010 following the demise of Yar’Adua. He also won the 2011 presidential election and served till 2015. President Muhammadu Buhari defeated Jonathan in the 2015 election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He will later win the 2019 election to serve the second term. Obasanjo is known to be a strong critic of governments that succeeded him, Vanguard newspaper reports.
The ex-president in 2013 wrote an 18-page letter titled: “Before It is Too Late” to criticise the government of Goodluck Jonathan. He also wrote a letter to Buhari in July 2019 criticising his government.
The opening paragraph of the letter reads; “I am constrained to write you this open letter. I decided to make it an open letter because the issue is very weighty and must be greatly worrisome to all concerned Nigerians, and that means all right-thinking Nigerians and those residing in Nigeria.”
Buhari’s administration is known for always blaming the past administration for the governmental issues it is facing.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for coronavirus Thursday evening. The president tweeted to confirm the news shortly before 1am EST Friday, writing: ‘Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!’
It comes following news that the president’s top aide Hope Hicks contracted the virus after traveling with Trump on Air Force One multiple times over the last week.
Hicks is said to have first felt unwell returning from a rally in Minnesota on the president’s plane Wednesday evening. She was quarantined away from others on the plane and her diagnosis was confirmed Thursday, according to an administration official, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Trump then continued with his schedule Thursday and traveled to and from his Bedminster, New Jersey golf resort to take part in two campaign events. He flew back to the White House this evening, when it was publicly confirmed Hicks had the virus.
His social media director Dan Scavino and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who were originally set to join him on the Thursday trip, were replaced at the last minute by other aides.
Trump is 74 years old, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from the virus. A statement from the White House doctor said both the president and first lady are ‘well at this time’ but did not say if either have symptoms.
The White House had earlier distributed a schedule for Friday that showed he planned to go forward with a fundraiser at his Washington, D.C., hotel and a political rally in Sanford, Florida. That has since been canceled.
Fears that the president may have contracted the virus were raised after it was revealed Hicks had traveled on both Marine One, the presidential helicopter, and on Air Force One in the past week.
Along with the trip to Wednesday night’s rally, Hicks had been aboard Air Force One to fly to Tuesday night’s first presidential debate in Cleveland.
She was spotted by DailyMail.com getting off Air Force One in the city without her mask.
Hicks also traveled with the president to a rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday where she was seen maskless and clapping to the Village People’s YMCA.
Tuesday, September 29: Hicks was aboard Air Force One with the president to travel to night’s first presidential debate in Cleveland. She is seen leaving the jet without a mask
Wednesday, September 30: Hicks travels on Marine One and on Air Force One to a rally in Minnesota Wednesday.
She is understood to have felt poorly on the way back, quarantining on the presidential plane to get home.
Thursday, October 1: Hicks tests positive; Trump traveled to New Jersey for a fundraiser and says he is awaiting test results
Friday, October 2: It can take days for an infection to be detectable by a test, and it was unclear what Trump’s quarantine entailed. Minutes before his tweet, the White House distributed a schedule for Friday that showed he planned to go forward with a fundraiser at his Washington, D.C., hotel and a political rally in Sanford, Florida.
Following the news White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tweeted: The strength of the entire country is with President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS. America stands united. Our country stands strong. Your President will continue to put the People first!’
Confirming the news of Hicks’ positive test earlier in the evening Trump had told Fox News: ‘Whether we quarantine or whether we have it, I don’t know.
‘I just went for a test and we’ll see what happens.’
He later tweeted to confirm he and Melania were in quarantine, writing: ‘Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process!’
Speaking to Fox News the president described the 31-year-old Hicks as a ‘very warm person’ and suggested she got close to supporters and contracted the virus.
‘She’s fantastic and she’s done a great job,’ Trump said.
‘But it’s very, very hard when you are with people from the military and from law enforcement and they come over to you and they, they want to hug you and they want to kiss you, because we really have done a good job for them.’
‘And you get close and things happen,’ the president added.
Trump also said he was ‘surprised’ to hear that Hicks, who previously served as White House communications director and re-joined the administration this year ahead of the election, tested positive.
‘She wears a mask a lot, but she tested positive,’ the president said.
Typically, according to the CDC, a person develops symptoms five days after being infected, but symptoms can appear as early as two days after infection or as late as 14 days after infection, and the time range can vary.
Hicks becomes the latest in Trump’s circle to contract the virus after National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and White House coronavirus task force spokeswoman Katie Miller.
White House spokesman Judd Deere had earlier said: ‘The president takes the health and safety of himself and everyone who works in support of him and the American people very seriously.
‘White House Operations collaborates with the physician to the President and the White House Military Office to ensure all plans and procedures incorporate current CDC guidance and best practices for limiting Covid-19 exposure to the greatest extent possible, both on complex and when the president is traveling.’
Deere did not mention Hicks by name.
Hicks was also seen Tuesday in a car without her mask with White House senior adviser Stephen Miller and campaign adviser Jason Miller. She is said to have worn a mask when on Marine One with Trump.
She joined 20 to 30 aides and family members, including the president’s son Don. Jr, on board Air Force One Tuesday.
Her positive test was first reported by Bloomberg News.
Robert Lewandowski was named UEFA men’s player of the year on Thursday following a superb season in which he won the treble with Bayern Munich.
Lewandowski was at the Champions League group-stage draw in Geneva to receive the award, just weeks after Bayern won the 2019/20 edition of the competition.
The Poland striker, who scored 55 goals in 47 games as Bayern also won the Bundesliga and German Cup, saw off Bayern team-mate Manuel Neuer and Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne to win the award.
“It’s an amazing feeling, because you work so hard, so this trophy is something special,” said Lewandowski after receiving the award.
“I have to say thank you to my team-mates and coaches who helped me get where I am. Also my family have given me so much support and are so important.”
Lewandowski also picked up the award for best forward in last season’s Champions League after amassing 15 goals in 10 games. In one match against Red Star Belgrade he needed just 14 minutes to score four times.
The 32-year-old was also top scorer in the Bundesliga last season with 34 goals, equal to a goal a game in the 18-team league.
It was the fifth time he claimed the award for the highest number of goals in the German top flight since arriving at Bayern from Borussia Dortmund in 2014.
Lewandowski would have been the strong favourite to win this year’s Ballon d’Or had it not been cancelled by France Football magazine due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It was a good evening overall for Bayern, with Neuer winning the 2019/20 Champions League goalkeeper of the season, Joshua Kimmich winning defender of the campaign and Hansi Flick being named men’s coach of the year.
Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne was named midfielder of the year.
Bayern Munich will be favourites to qualify for this season’s Champions League knockout stages after being drawn in Group A alongside Atletico Madrid, Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow.
The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Hakeem Odumosu, has ordered immediate detention and orderly room trial of one Inspector Adadu Innocent attached to PMF 22 Ikeja, for hitting and injuring Kayode Jaiyeola, a photojournalist with Punch Newspaper at Maryland, Lagos on Thursday, October 1, 2020 around 11.10am.
The police chief, who was monitoring the deployment and operational activities of officers and men of the command for the enforcement of the order against gatherings and protests by individuals, raced to the scene and personally moved the injured journalist to a police hospital at Area F, GRA, Ikeja, where the injured journalist was given immediate treatment.
The preliminary findings carried out by the Commissioner of Police and eye witness accounts from senior officers on ground, revealed that the cop suddenly attacked the journalist, without any previous altercation or confrontation.
This propelled the Commissioner of Police to order for his trial in order to serve as deterrent to others who are fond of engaging in unprofessional and unethical conducts.
Odumosu urged the general public to believe in the command’s commitment to sanitizing and reforming the policing system in Lagos State in conformity with the international standards.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has expressed disagreement on comments reflective of a bleak view of Nigeria’s history. He said that despite the onerous challenges Nigerians faced and endured as a people, over the past 60 years, there was still reason to face the future with hope.
Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement in Abuja, said the Vice President spoke on Thursday at the virtual edition of the Nasrul-lahi-li Fathi Society of Nigeria (NASFAT) Global Youth Seminar with the theme, “A Unified, Peaceful and Prosperous Nigeria”.
“I urge you to guard your hearts and protect your capacity for idealism and creative optimism.
“These are the tools with which you will build the Nigeria of our dreams; we have a future worth fighting for.
“Your generation has what it takes to move us away from the destructive and unproductive rent-seeking attitudes that engender conflict and on to the terrain of enhanced productivity.
“Your generation has the tools to usher in a new age of abundance and wealth creation that will lift our society beyond the hunger-induced and poverty-inducing squabbles over a national cake that has ceased to exist.
“As Nigeria seeks to find her proper place in the world in the 21st century, you are our nation’s most important resource.
“It is because of you that a united, peaceful and prosperous Nigeria is very possible,’’ Osinbajo said.
On overcoming the challenges confronting the nation, the vice president said the youth’s capacity for innovation would come handy in an era of scarcity and unequal distribution of resources.
According to him, much of the discontent and tensions that Nigeria has, are distributional conflicts ignited by the struggle for access to tangible and intangible resources.
“As resources become scarcer, identity-based claims to a share of the national patrimony become more aggressive and lead increasingly to conflict.
“Under these circumstances, we are liable to see each other as competitors and rivals instead of compatriots and eventually we begin to demonise each other as enemies.
“With a population of about 200 million, and with our country on track to be the third most populous nation on earth in a few decades, the challenge for us is creating opportunity for the huge number of people that increasingly need education, food, healthcare and employment.
“This is where your capacity to innovate comes in.’’
Recalling efforts made in the past to promote unity among Nigerians and progress across different sectors of the economy, Osinbajo said Nigerians must not relent in striving for a progressive and united country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event featured presentations by Islamic scholars including Sheik Nurudeen Lemu, Mufti Ismail and Imam AbdulAzeez Onike among others.
President of National Council of Women Societies, Dr. Laraba Gloria Shoda
The National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) has called on the Federal Government to sign into law the 35 per cent affirmative action, where women representation in power and decision making will be enhanced as Nigeria marks 60 years of independence.
The President of NCWS, Mrs Laraba Shoda, made the call in her independence message to Nigerians to commemorate the country’s diamond jubilee celebrations.
Shoda said the signing of the affirmative action into law would be the best gift from the government to Nigerian women.
She recalled that 25 years after the 1995 Beijing women conference, Nigerian women have continued to struggle for space in all spheres of life.
According to her, women are educated, trained and knowledgeable as the men, and can do well in governance if given the opportunity.
She added that “as the country marks its 60th independence, the way forward is for government to make sure that the 35 per cent affirmative action that women have been asking for is passed into law.
“Lets sign the affirmative action into law to reduce the struggle between the genders. We are not saying that women should just be picked from the streets, women who are well qualified should be allowed to seek offices or contest for the 35 per cent slot.
“If government wants to appoint 100 ministers, we are saying that 35 per cent should be set aside for women, so that the men will know that this is no go area for them.
“In some African counties, there are ministries and offices that are specifically set aside for women and I think we can also achieve this in Nigeria.
“We appeal to the men not to feel that equal rights means taking over their rightful roles as heads of the homes. We just want to have equal opportunities; we want equity. If women are given the chance, they will do well.”
Shoda noted that since independence, Nigerian women had continued to struggle, adding that Nigeria was nowhere near half of the Beijing resolution.
She said that doors have been locked against women in Nigeria, hence the need for the signing of the affirmative action into law to ease the struggle for the women.
Shoda, however, urged Nigerian women to continue the struggle while urging them to come together in unity to ensure that the aims of the struggle were achieved.
She commended the governors of Kwara and Lagos and others who gave space to the women in their respective governments and urged others to do same.
