These are the biggest stories we discussed in our newsroom, last week( August 24th to August 28th).
Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina has been re-elected to serve a second five-year term as President of the African Development Bank Group on Thursday, August 27, 2020 by the Board of Governors of the Bank.
Adesina, a globally renowned development economist and a World Food Prize Laureate and Sunhak Peace Prize Laureate, has distinguished himself in driving a bold agenda to reform the Bank and accelerate Africa’s development. He was first elected as President of the Bank on May 28, 2015.
As newly re-elected President, Dr Adesina, a former Nigerian Minister of Agriculture, will begin his new term on September 1, 2020.
The election result, which gave him a hundred percent of votes of all regional and non-regional members of the Bank, was announced by the Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Bank, Mrs. Niale Kaba, Minister of National Planning of Côte d’Ivoire.
The election took place on the final day of the 2020 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group, which was held virtually for the first time in the Bank’s history.
Adesina’s first term focused on the bold new agenda for the Bank Group based on five development priorities known as the High 5s: Light up and Power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialize Africa; Integrate Africa; and Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa.
During Adesina’s first term, the Bank achieved impactful results on the lives of 335 million Africans, including: 18 million people with access to electricity; 141 million people benefiting from improved agricultural technologies for food security; 15 million people benefiting from access to finance from private investments; 101 million people provided with access to improved transport; and 60 million people gaining access to water and sanitation.
The Bank has maintained its AAA-ratings by all major global credit rating agencies for five years in a row. The Board of Governors of the Bank Group approved a 125% increase in the General Capital of the Bank, raising its capital from $93 billion to $208 billion, the largest in the history of the Bank.
There has been nationwide condemnation following a viral video, which showed a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani- Kayode threatening to deal with Eyo Charles, a Daily Trust correspondent in Cross River State. Eyo Charles had on Thursday, August 20, 2020, during a roundtable with invited journalists in Calabar, asked Fani-Kayode to explain who is sponsoring his trips from one state to another “to supervise projects.” The question stemmed from the fact that Fani-Kayode is not holding any public office either at the state or national level, but had recently embarked on “official visits” to states to assess the performance of governors.
In the viral video which lasted for some minutes, Fani-Kayode called Eyo Charles “stupid” saying “Don’t ever try that with me. I have a short fuse, I will hit you hard.”
In the meantime, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Nigerian Press Council (NPC), SERAP and prominent personalities have expressed disgust over the former minister’s verbal attack on Charles.
“The Nigeria Union of Journalists- NUJ condemns the gangster-like outburst by Chief Femi Fani- Kayode against the Cross-River State Correspondent of the Daily Trust Newspaper, Eyo Charles who asked him a simple question, which he felt was embarrassing,” Chris Isiguzo, the union’s national president said in a statement yesterday.
“In his reaction, Kayode assaulted the journalist and threatened him for daring to ask such a question. By denigrating the journalist, Fani- Kayode has exposed himself the more as an intolerant and unstable person who will not want his activities closely scrutinised by the media
Nigeria has postponed the resumption of international flights earlier scheduled to commence August 29th to September 5th. Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Musa Shuaibu Nuhu, disclosed this at the Presidential Task Force COVID-19 briefing in Abuja.
Nuhu said airlines and airports were ready to operate, other non-aviation logistics prompted the one-week extension.
“We have other non-aviation logistics we are still working on, mostly the COVID-19 protocol tests and online platform,” he said. “We need to get these ready.”
Nuhu described September 5 as a “sacrosanct date”, noting that “the initial announcement was anytime from the 29th.”
“In due course, we will be announcing the protocols for the resumptions and we will be giving further details,” he said. “Hopefully early next week, we will release these.”
The country ordered a restriction on international flights in March as part of efforts to restrict the spread of the coronavirus.
Edo-State Police command on Wednesday paraded six persons believed to have been involved in the killing of 100 level University of Benin Student, Vera Uwaila Omozuwa. She was attacked in a church in May where she had gone to read. She later died in the hospital.
Johnson Kokumo, commissioner of police, Identified the suspects as Nelson Ogbebor, Akato Valentine, Tina Samuel, Mary Ade, Nosa Osabohien and Collins Ulegbe.
He said “The matter was a great concern to the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Muhammed Adamu who sent us here in Benin, Homicide experts to work with our policemen at the state criminal investigation department.
“What we are seeing today, is a result of the uniting efforts of the police to get at the root of the crime and today, I announce to you and making public through this medium that the perpetrators have been arrested. “The postmortem results had actually confirmed that she was raped”, he said.
Lagos State government during the week announced that the state’s commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi has tested positive to the coronavirus disease. Abayomi who is the Deputy Incident Commander of the Incident Command System for COVID-19 contracted the disease after close contact with persons feeling unwell and testing positive to the coronavirus disease.
The statement from the Lagos State Government reads, “Subsequent to close contact with persons feeling unwell and testing positive for the Covid-19 infection, the Honorable Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, has tested positive for the virus.’’
Abayomi is expected to continue to discharge his duties both as the Deputy Incident Commander of the Incident Command System for Covid-19 and as the Honorable Commissioner for Health
Dr Snowy Khoza has made the list of 100 influential African women. Khoza, a dynamic trailblazer and CEO, Bigen Group, shares this honour with 11 other South African women achievers, with the balance of the entries coming from 33 other African countries. The women were selected by Avance Media, a leading African public relations and rating firm. Nominees are exceptional candidates in the fields of diplomacy, politics, activism, entrepreneurship, business leadership and entertainment.
Dr Khoza’s passion for uplifting the disadvantaged is also expressed in her private life, where she has worked tirelessly to create sustainable support systems for children and families in need of care, poor and disabled people, youth at risk as well as women living in marginalised black communities.
Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old African American man who was shot by police in August 2020. He was hit by four of seven shots fired at his back during an arrest by police officer Rusten Sheskey. The incident occurred in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Jacob Blake, who remains hospitalized after sustaining multiple injuries, is now handcuffed to his bed, his family said.
Blake’s uncle told CNN that Blake’s father visited the Wauwatosa, Wisconsin hospital where his son is recovering from at least one surgery. He was “heartbroken” to see that his son was handcuffed.
“This is an insult to injury,” Justin Blake, the uncle of the victim, said. “He is paralyzed and can’t walk and they have him cuffed to the bed. Why?”
Kenosha police and sheriff’s department, as well as the district attorney’s office, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. CNN has reached out to the Blake family’s attorneys.
A spokesperson with the Froedtert Hospital, where Blake is being treated, deferred CNN’s questions to the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
