Yul Edochie, a popular Nigerian Nollywood actor took to his Instagram page that he is now born again after surviving a ghastly motor accident.
The actor further said on his Instagram page that he shall live to testify to the goodness of God.
He said, someone said to him that the accident must have really shocked him but in his response to that,he said shocking was an understatement that the accident rather reset his brain to factory settings.
Actor Yul Edochie said “God gave me a second chance. I am a new man in Christ now, I am born again.
”Don’t wait till it happens to you. follow Christ today”.
President Muhammmadu Buhari on Tuesday signed the Polytechnic amendment and another bill into law
Buhari assented the Polytechnic Act Amendment Bill as well as the National Institute for Security Bill.
Concourse News recalls that the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) on Wednesday appealed to Buhari to sign the Polytechnic Act (Amendment) Bill to address many challenges confronting the sub-sector.
ASUP stated that all observations cited by the President during the Eight Assembly had been rectified, corrected and transmitted, adding that the bill had passed through all legislative processes as all observations initially made by the President had been addressed.
• Years of unhealthy eating habits caused David Myers’ weight to top out at more than 350 pounds.
• After experimenting with the keto diet and taking up running, in addition to other healthy habits, he’s now lost more than 130 pounds to date.
• Myers says his next goal is to run a 10K and eventually work his way under 200 pounds.
David Myers was tired of being tired all the time. He’d always been a bigger guy, though people told him he carried the weight well. “I would say I was fat and they would reassure me-I never thought I needed to change my ways at all,” he says. Myers, 27, who works as a high school math teacher in Turlock, California, says the low point-as is so often the case-arrived when Myers saw pictures of himself, and realized the truth about how much he’d let himself go. At the time, he weighed nearly 360 pounds, and it suddenly became clear that the time to start eating better and exercising was long overdue. “That was heartbreaking,” he says. “It was then that I decided to make changes.” Here’s how Myers got healthy.
You mentioned that you’d always been a bigger guy. What was the biggest contributor to your weight gain growing up?
When I was younger, my dad would be working all day and my mom would be doing things with her friends. Naturally, I would be playing games and eating. When I was about eight or nine I was placed into foster care, jumping around a bit before settling with a family. I’m Caucasian male who was placed with a Mexican family. The food was incredible and there were no restrictions for eating. Once I know something tastes good, I will not stop eating until it’s gone. That package of cookies? That bag of chips? I will continue to eat until there is no more, and that did not help with the weight gain.
Around age 15, my mom got a divorce and I just kept eating, and became even less active. Eventually, at age 16 and weighing around 270 pounds, I got a job at Taco Bell. From there, over the next few years I ballooned into the mid-300s. After a few years working there, I lost my job and my home. I went to live in the back of a thrift store that a friend owned. I would work in the store to cover rent, and was constantly eating liquor store frozen burritos, so that was not helping my nutrition at all.
Eventually, when I was on the cusp of 21, a friend of mine, Chester Moon, allowed me to live with him rent-free as long as I went back to school. I would say he’s the reason I am successful to this day career-wise. However, my diet was poor. I’d eat massive amounts of pasta and fried chicken. My later college years were my highest weight. Eventually, in my last two years of school, I began working on my weight.
What were some of the biggest challenges that your weight posed once you eclipsed 300 pounds?
I felt awful. Getting up stairs was a struggle, getting through day-to-day tasks was miserable. I wouldn’t want to move or get up. I’d just sit around. I was at my heaviest at 360 pounds-I was about 21-22, and I stayed at that weight for years. I always remember being tired. I couldn’t keep my eyes open when playing games anymore and I was constantly taking naps.
Take us through some of the changes that you made to get healthier. How’d you go from frozen burritos to a diet and exercise plan that you could stick with consistently?
Like most people, I believed weight loss started in the gym, so I began to incorporate walking a mile or so a day. I also tried taking advantage of the gym at my college. The biggest change was cutting out soda entirely: I haven’t had a soda in about six years-except for the one day a year I’m allowed to. It’s an agreement my wife and I have where the only time we can drink soda is easter weekend.) I would say that I tried and failed many different diets in my early twenties. I did manage to drop down to the 290s with small changes, but working out and eating right would always falter.
So what changed? What was your turning point?
The bulk of my weight loss happened in the last few years, after meeting my wife. It wasn’t anything she did or said, but until then I never really thought of a future and why it mattered. When we got together I was 290 pounds, and she was this gorgeous Latina woman who I couldn’t believe was interested in me. As we got to know each other, I realized more and more that life is worth living. Having had a troubled past, I was just coasting through it.
So I started watching a bit more what I ate. I cooked more at home to impress her. After we both moved in together about two years ago, we started really taking food seriously and counting all our calories. I started out eating 2000 calories a day, and as of today I’m down to about 1685. I track everything that goes into my body, and I measure and weigh it all.
While we were getting wedding ready in January 2017, I decided I wanted to run a 5k. She was a cross country girl and was used to long distances, so she helped keep me going. I signed up for a the Modesto Marathon 5k and began training using Aaptiv, which is like a personal trainer in your ear. I was mainly just running four or five times a week. I would incorporate weightlifting here and there, but mainly was just running.
Most people can’t stand the thought of running every day when they first start out on a new workout plan. How’d you manage to stay motivated?
Prior to the last year, I stayed away from running like it was the plague. I would lift weights at the gym and get routines from friends of mine. The thought of not being able to be active with my wife and future kids is what keeps me motivated. I want to be able to run around and play with them without being tired all the time. I see the progress my wife and I have made and I don’t want it to go to waste.
Did you experiment with any diets during the process?
In June of 2018, we decided to give keto a shot, and since then, I think my weight loss is primarily a result of the ketogenic diet. I’ve been doing keto for about a year now, and for the first time in my life, I hit my long term goal of weighing 220 pounds. Keto has been helpful to follow, but at the end of the day, it really comes down to a caloric restriction. I’ve now lost more than 140 pounds. It feels unreal to have lost so much weight.
I won’t lie: It’s only until recently that I started to notice my body and the changes I’ve made. I still have a ways to go, but I’m making a ton of progress. I feel incredibly proud of my accomplishments, and I never want to bounce back to what I was before.
What are some of the other positive side effects you’ve felt as a result of losing the weight?
I gained a massive amount of confidence.Thankfully, my wife loved me when I was a big ol’ tubby bear, and so now with the weight loss I know she’s in it for who I am, which is an amazing feeling. I do notice that people are more willing to take me seriously when I speak, too. Getting in and out of seats and going up stairs is a lot more comfortable. Just being able to move in general. My sleep quality has gone up, although I still wear a CPAP machine to bed.
What’s your end goal? Do you have a specific weight you’d like to hit?
The next goal is to get under 200 pounds. I’d love to try and get into the 180s-I want to see if I can push myself that far. I’m also scared of being in maintenance mode. Since so much of my life has now been about losing weight, I’m not sure how to just maintain. I also want to run a 10k-I fell in love with running and it’s such an incredible sport. I was just able to go out and do a 4 mile run without stopping, so I’m making progress.
What advice do you give to people who are just getting started and have a challenging road ahead?
First, buy a food scale-it’s what I tell everyone. Download MyFitnessPal, find out how many calories you can eat, and create a deficit. The process of losing weight is simple: Eat less than you burn and you will lose weight. It’s incredibly difficult in practice, but the process is simple.
Next, stop focusing so much on exercise: Yes, it will help, but it probably shouldn’t be your first step. Weight loss truly begins in the kitchen and it is the hardest part. It helps when you realize that 30-minute run equates to just one or two donuts, and you decide it’s not worth it.
Lastly, I would say, enjoy life. Do not be too hard on yourself, or you’ll fail. You will mess up. You will have bad days. But mistakes and failures make you grow. If you are staying consistent overall, you will lose the weight and keep it off. Focus on building a better lifestyle for yourself rather than lowering the scale.
Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has dissolved the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and other transport unions in the state.
This was contained in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin.
It named a 13-man committee to coordinate the activities of road transport trade unions.
The committee chaired by Barrister Sunday Olufemi Adeniyi, has Hon. Kunle Adeyemi, Hon. Afolabi Afuape, Mr. Aremu Babatunde, Hon. Olaitan Asekun, Mr Jokotade Taofeek Kashimawo and Hon. Kunle Mudashiru as members.
Others are Hon. Sule Abbas, Hon Razaq Adetokunbo (Legelege), Mr Lekan Oguntayo. Hon Yaya Fadipe and Hon. Kayode Fabiyi; Engr. Tunji Akinosi is to serve as the Secretary.
“The mandate of the Road Transport Associations’ Interim committee is basically to review the operations of the unions and make recommendations on how the unions could be better organised to support the developmental agenda of the state.
“The interim Committee is expected to educate and create awareness amongst the stakeholders in the sector on the need to ensure peaceful conduct at all times and avoid any activities that could undermine peace, security and safety of life and property in the state.
“The other terms of reference for the transport committee are to institute disciplinary procedures/actions against any conduct or behaviour that could undermine public peace and harness the revenue potential of the road transport for enhanced internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and identification and addressing of any issue(s) that may improve the overall performance of the transport sector in the State,” it added.
Also on Monday, the Governor constituted an ad-hoc Committee to coordinate the 2019 Hajj Operations for Muslim faithful performing this year’s pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina in the absence of a substantive Muslim Welfare Board.
The committee chaired by Imam Mufutau Majekodunmi, has Alhaji Abdul Gafar Orunsolu, Imam Rufai Sile, Alhaji Misbau Salako, Alhaji Tijani Hassan Ishola as members.
Others are Alhaji Tunde Oladunjoye, Dr (Mrs) Raheemat Oloyede Hon. Kamaru Oduntan and Alhaja Bisola Aliu.
Governor Abiodun also appointed Alhaji Abdul Yekin Arimyau Parakoyi as the Amirul Hajj for this year’s pilgrimage.
A Container has fallen on multiple vehicles at the Tin Can Island, Apapa Lagos.
It is not yet ascertained if there were any causalities, but at the time of filing this report, rescue operations are yet to kick off at the scene of the accident.
Slovak environmental lawyer, Zuzana Caputova was on Saturday sworn in as the EU member’s first female president, surprising observers with a speech that lacked the government criticism she was known for on the campaign trail.
The community activist, who ran on the slogan “Stand up to evil,” was largely unknown before she launched her presidential bid in the eurozone member nation of 5.4 million people.
The 45-year-old environmental lawyer won the March ballot with 58 per cent of the vote thanks in part to voter disillusionment with the governing coalition a year after the murder of an investigative journalist plunged the country into crisis.
“I did not come to rule, I came to serve citizens, and residents of Slovakia,” the liberal politician, who is pro-choice and promotes greater rights for same-sex couples, said in her inaugural speech in Bratislava.
“I offer expertise, I offer emotion and I offer a healthy activist approach. So I offer my mind, my heart and my hands,” she added alongside family, former presidents, politicians and members of her presidential campaign.
After the ceremony, Caputova walked to a nearby cathedral for an ecumenical service, shaking hands with people along the way, before hosting a lunch for seniors from across Slovakia.
Analysts called her inaugural speech surprisingly mild, given her past criticism of the government.
“The new president’s speech was non-confrontational. It was formulated positively, not attacking political opponents,” political analyst Juraj Marusiak told AFP.
Caputova “does not want to divide, she wants to unite. She talks about the common good, a common path, often using the word ‘we’.”
Caputova was among the tens of thousands of protesters who took to the streets after journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee were gunned down at home in February 2018.
Kuciak was about to publish a report on alleged ties between Slovak politicians and the Italian mafia.
The premier at the time, Robert Fico, was forced to resign but he remains the leader of the ruling Smer-SD party and is a close ally of current Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini.
In her speech, Caputova declared unequivocal support for Slovakia’s membership in the EU and NATO and also spoke out in favour of protecting the environment.
“The process of global climate change must be slowed down and reversed, otherwise it can have major consequences,” she said.
Top-ranking lawmakers in Nigeria’s National Assembly said they were expecting President Muhammadu Buhari to submit a list of ministers that will form his federal executive council before or by July 2.
The Ahmad Lawan-led 9th Senate would upon resumption from its two weeks recess in July begin a speedy screening and confirmation of persons whose names are expected to have been submitted by the Presidency before the July 2 resumption of the upper legislative chamber.
A ranking senator told The Guardian, however, that at the moment, nothing is on the ground regarding the list of persons to be confirmed as ministers but was optimistic that within the two weeks of the Senate recess, the President would have submitted the list.
Another lawmaker who just got elevated from the House of Representatives to the Senate in the February 23, 2019 election said that although the President is still within a reasonable time if he submits the list before July, expectations are that President Muhammadu Buhari would make up for the time lost during his first term when he delayed the ministerial list for six months.
The lawmaker further noted that it is particularly very strategic and helpful for the President to meet the July timeline because the Senate might proceed on its annual end of session holiday at the end of that month to reconvene in September.
He was however optimistic that within the two weeks of the Senate recess, the President would have submitted the list.
The lawmaker further noted that it is particularly very strategic and helpful for the President to meet the July timeline because the Senate might proceed on its annual end of session holiday at the end of that month to reconvene in September.
“I believe that the President should take advantage of the three weeks the Senate would spend in session between July 2 and the end of that month by ensuring that before we come back from this two weeks recess, the ministerial list is ready so that we simply screen and confirm them within the three weeks that we are going to sit before we go on end of session recess,” the lawmaker said.
“Anything short of that would amount to dragging Nigeria back to the delay experienced four years ago because the Senate won’t resume until around the third week of September.”
Mexico publishes Donald Trump’s alleged secret deal to curb migration while denying relenting to America’s terms.
Mexico published the document Friday that Donald Trump earlier flaunted as a secret deal to curb migration, but denied it had capitulated to the US president’s demands for a so-called “safe third country” agreement.
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard underwent a grilling in Mexico’s Congress, where some lawmakers insisted otherwise and demanded more details on what exactly he agreed to in the last-minute deal brokered a week ago to dodge Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Mexican goods.
Angry over a surge of Central Americans seeking US asylum, Trump is pushing Mexico to agree to a deal in which migrants entering Mexican territory would have to apply for refugee status there, not in the United States.
The language in the “supplementary agreement” released by Mexico appears to resemble that. However, Mexico’s foreign ministry insisted the document — signed by a deputy legal advisor to the ministry and his State Department counterpart — was “not a binding bilateral agreement.”
Rather, it says the two sides agree to immediately open talks to arrive at just that — a “binding bilateral agreement” — in which Mexico “would accept the return, and process refugee status claims, of third-party nationals” who cross its territory to reach the United States.
If in 45 days Washington decides that Mexico City’s efforts to curb migration are not enough, then the Mexican government “will take all necessary steps under domestic law” to bring that agreement into force in another 45 days, the text concludes.
Trump had waved the one-page document in front of reporters Tuesday to fend off critics who said he had in fact extracted little in the way of new commitments from Mexico with his tariff threats.
Photojournalists managed to capture a few sentences that day, but the full contents had not previously been revealed.
They will now almost certainly add fuel to the raging debate over who got the best of whom in the Mexican tariff row.
– Trump happy, for now –
Mexico’s leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has celebrated the reprieve from Trump’s tariffs as a diplomatic victory, and his government is racing to show that it is taking decisive action during the 45-day grace period.
Under the countries’ main deal, Mexico agreed to deploy 6,000 National Guardsmen to reinforce its southern border, and to expand its policy of taking back migrants as the United States processes their asylum claims.
Ebrard said the National Guard deployment will be complete by Tuesday, and that 825 additional immigration officers will start work this weekend.
In Washington, Trump appeared content to play nice with Mexico — for now.
“Big difference in the border between now and this time last week. Mexico has been doing a terrific job. Hey, 6,000 soldiers, and if it doesn’t work out, then we go back to very strong measures,” he said on Fox News.
He added that if Mexico did not address the issue to his satisfaction, he would make it implement a safe third country agreement.
– Angry lawmakers –
Any such deal would have to go through Mexico’s Senate — and lawmakers there look ready for a fight.
Speaking during Ebrard’s testimony before Congress, Senator Dulce Maria Sauri of opposition party PRI rejected the foreign minister’s claim that Mexico had not signed a binding agreement.
After reading the document Trump so dramatically pulled from his pocket, she said: “Mr Foreign Minister, to put it plainly, this is binding.”
Her colleague Damian Zepeda of conservative opposition party PAN accused the executive branch of getting run over by the Trump administration.
“We still have the (tariff) ultimatum hanging over us, and on top of that we gave up the most precious jewel: we agreed to safe third country,” he said.
There was even criticism from some in the president’s party, Morena, which holds strong majorities in both houses.
They included the speaker of Congress, Porfirio Munoz Ledo, who says the Mexican government and Trump administration “want to turn our country into a cage” for migrants.
In a warning signal for Lopez Obrador, senators froze committee proceedings Wednesday on ratifying the USMCA, the country’s new and important trade agreement with the United States and Canada, saying they wanted to question Ebrard on the migration deal first.
In another sign of turbulence, the head of the National Migration Institute, Tonatiuh Guillen, abruptly resigned Friday. He will be replaced by prisons commissioner Francisco Garduno, the government said.
Pan-African collaborations have, thankfully, become a lot more commonplace in the past couple of years. For the latest addition to the ever-growing list, Nigeria’s Chidinma teams up with Senegalese pop star, Queen Biz on her new song, “Pan African Lover”.
On the catchy song, both stars sing sweet and sultry lyrics about their ideal man, affirming that they will not settle for less than what they want. They sing about how their man makes them feel, using catchy puns and rhymes about typically West African things like jollof rice.
This song is doubly special, as not only does it allow for each artist to break into a new market, it’s also a collaboration between two women. For the accompanying video, Queen Biz holds a pageant full of hunky black men, as she and Chidinma judge which is fit to be their lover.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Friday told officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) not to spare anyone, including his relations and cabinet members.
He also promised any traffic official who falls sick in the course of duty should be treated free of charge.
The governor gave the orders during a visit to the headquarters of the agency at Oshodi.
Stressing the importance of traffic enforcement, the governor said: “I am going to tell members of my cabinet if you are caught violating traffic rules, they must pay fines for offence committed.
“There is nobody to call, nobody is going to be above the law,” the governor said.
According to him, there would be no sacred cow in the enforcement of the law.
He declared if anyone broke traffic law and was arrested, claiming to know the governor, “tell him to call the governor to pay the money for the offence.”
He told them not to listen to anyone from his cabinet who might want to use his position to get someone arrested by the officers off the hook.
Sanwo-Olu promised the officers that he was going to provide all the necessary materials and equipment for them to do their work effectively and efficiently and that he was also going to look at issues concerning their welfare, promising that their allowance was going to be doubled from the end of July.
He, however, told them that to whom much is given much is expected and that since he was going to be using the taxpayers money to better their lot, Lagosians also expect to see a new reformed, ready-to-go, better equipped LASTMA officials going forward.
“Lagosians have told me that they want corrupt-free LASTMA officials.
“Officials that are humble, courteous, respectful, decent, near, officials that are not lazy or lackadaisical, so stop collecting bribes”.
He told the officials that the agency and its officials are very important for the realisation of one of the major pillars of his administration which is traffic control and management.
He stated it was because of its importance to the economy of the state that he made it the first agency to pay official visit to, promising that issues relating to portholes and bad road would be taken care off to make the officials’ job easier.
General Manager of LASTMA, Musa Olawale thanked the governor for making the agency the first point of call.
He stated it was a demonstration of the governor’s commitment to actualising his traffic control and management when he signed the first Executive Order.
He lamented what his officers go through on a daily basis, stating it is not easy.
According to him: “They have become the number one whipping boys, yet they control the state economy by controlling traffic.”
He promised they were ready to work but that they have issues, which he was sure the governor will tackle.
Among the issues highlighted by some officials who spoke border on staff welfare, rehabilitation of roads, unconducive offices, adequate working tools which includes vehicles, motorcycles etc, good motivation and incentive packages, training for officers, synergy between ministry of health, physical planning and LASTMA, periodic medical check-up for officers, advocacy and public enlightenment, the okada nuisance etc.
The governor promised to look into the issues and address them one after the other.
