Obire Efe Blog

US Embassy Responds to Bishop Oyedepo Visa denial The United State Embassy in Nigeria has described a report that it denied Bishop David Oyedepo, founder of Faith Tabernacle in Ota, Ogun State and Living Faith Church Worldwide, visa as false. Thisday had reported that the US Embassy denied Oyedepo Visa and that the preacher blew hot over the denial of visa. But the US Embassy in Nigeria, in its verified Facebook page said the report published by Thisday was fake news as it never happened. “#FalseNews Alert! Be advised, the reports making the rounds about a visa being denied to Nigerian Bishop Oyedepo are false. “If you have seen this manufactured item in the media, help defeat this #misinformation by communicating to everyone that it is completely false,” it said. Both the Embassy of the United States of America and Winners Chapel have thrashed reports that Bishop David Oyedepo, the Founder and General Overseer of the Living Faith Church, was denied US visa. Report

Court reinstates 14 Perm Secs sacked by Rivers Govt The National Industrial Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, has reinstated the permanent secretaries sacked in 2015 by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike. The court declared the action of removing and compulsorily retiring the affected senior civil servants by the governor as unconstitutional, ultra vires, null and void. Ruling on the case brought before him by the aggrieved permanent secretaries, the presiding judge, Bashar Alkali, held that the state government overstepped its constitutional bounds by treating the civil servants as if they were his political appointees. Alkali held that all their entitlements, salaries and other privileges should be restored within 30 days adding that their salaries must be paid from November 2015 till date. “They should not lose their entitlements if their appointments were wrongly terminated. They are entitled to their salaries from the day of the termination till date”,

CORONAVIRUS: LIBERIA MONITORING CHINESE NATIONALS Liberian authorities are monitoring 10 Chinese nationals who arrived from China amid the coronavirus outbreak, Minister of Health Henry Fahnbulleh told the BBC on Friday. He said that government officials had held a meeting with officials at the Chinese embassy in the capital, Monrovia, to assure them that their citizens would not be stigmatised. “We wanted to assure the Chinese government that we will do everything within our powers to make sure they’re not stigmatised.” Mr Fahnbulleh said 77 out of the 470 Liberian students in China studied in the city of Wuhan – the epicentre of the outbreak. “We [also] wanted to get the assurances from the Chinese government of our citizens, especially the students who are studying there to ensure that they are safe and they are not stigmatised,” Mr Fahnbulleh said. He added that efforts were underway to provide the students with financial assistance. Mr Fahnbulleh said Liberia

FG pays corps members N33,000 minimum wage Some corps members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) serving in Enugu State have expressed joy over the payment of N33,000 new monthly minimum wage by the Federal Government. The corps members, who have been expectant, expressed their happiness while speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Friday. Some of the corps members said it was a shock when they started receiving the credit alert at about 2:00a.m on Friday. The respondents, who spoke to NAN, expressed their joy over the payment, noting that the payment was a New Year package from the federal government. One of the corps members, Mr. Joseph Odichi said it was like a dream when he got a call at about 3:00am from a fellow corps member about the payment. “We are really grateful for this administration especially President Muhammadu Buhari for fulfilling its promise especially at this crucial stage of the year. In fact, this is another Good Fr

PDP takes protest to US, UK as protesters demands CJN resignation  The National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, on Friday, led other party chieftains in a protest march to the American Embassy and the British High Commission in Abuja. Protest letters were separately delivered to officials of the US Embassy and the Brith High Commission by Secondus who sought the intervention of the two countries in the matter. The letter, entitled, Perversion of Justice: Deliberate Efforts At Truncating Democracy in Nigeria, detailed a number of inconsistencies in the apex court’s judgement in the Imo governorship election. The letter was signed by Secondus. In the said judgement, the Supreme Court had, on January 14, 2020, sacked the Mr Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP as governor and declared Senator Hope Uzodinma as winner of the election. A copy of the letter, made available to newsmen in Abuja, alleged a serious case of judicial compromise and deliberate perversion of ju

LASSA FEVER: 121 INFECTED IN ONDO One hundred and twenty-one persons have been reportedly infected with the deadly Lassa fever virus in Ondo State. Sources revealed that the deadly virus has reached more than 10 out of the 18 Local Government Areas of the state. Most of the victims of the disease were said to have been quarantined at the Federal Medical Centre, (FMC) Owo. The state Epidemiologist, Dr Stephen Fagbemi who confirmed the development, said some patients were also admitted in Akure, the state capital where they were quarantine, while five patients from other states were treated in Ondo state. According to him, the Akure centre which was just opened is being used as holding centre and once the patients are confirmed, they will be moved to the Federal Medical Centre Owo. He said 50 people are currently undergoing treatment, while 46 persons have been treated and discharged He assured that the state government would redouble its efforts at enlighteni

BAUCHI CONFIRMS FOUR LASSA FEVER CASES Four fresh cases of Lassa Fever have been confirmed in Bauchi state while 22 others are under surveillance. The discovery has increased the number of confirmed cases to seven in the state as against the three previous cases recorded. The Executive Secretary of the Agency, Dr. Rilwanu Mohammed, made the disclosure Friday while giving an update on the epidemic to newsmen in Bauchi. He, however, said that no cases of death have been recorded so far following the outbreak. Visit  https://www.obireefe.com/  for more stories

ATLETICO MADRID RE-SIGN WINGER YANNICK CARRASCO FROM DALIAN YIFANG ON LOAN Atletico Madrid have re-signed Belgium winger Yannick Carrasco two years after he left for Chinese Super League club Dalian Yifang. Carrasco, 26, returns on loan until the end of the season to Atletico, where he scored 23 goals in 124 games. He was at the club between 2015-2018 and scored in the 2016 Champions League final against Real Madrid. Atletico are fifth in La Liga, 10 points behind leaders Real, who they are away to on Saturday (15:00 GMT). Diego Simeone’s side have managed just 22 goals in 21 games in Spain’s top-flight this season. Atletico host Premier League leaders Liverpool in the last 16 of the Champions League on 18 February, the second leg is at Anfield on 11 March. Visit  https://www.obireefe.com/  for more stories

ARSENAL SIGN DEFENDER CEDRIC SOARES FROM SOUTHAMPTON ON LOAN Arsenal have signed Portuguese defender Cedric Soares on loan from Southampton until the end of the season. The 28-year-old has made more than 100 appearances since joining the Saints in 2015. Cedric has also made 33 appearances for his country, including featuring at the 2018 World Cup and in Portugal’s victorious Euro 2016 campaign. Arsenal’s technical director Edu said Cedric would “provide our squad with quality”. Edu added: “I know he is a player who plays with absolute full commitment and energy. We are all looking forward to going into the last stages of the season with Cedric as part of the club.” Cedric, who started his career with Sporting Lisbon, becomes Arsenal’s second addition to the squad during the January transfer window following  the agreement of a loan deal  for Flamengo defender Pablo Mari. Visit  https://www.obireefe.com/  for more stories

CORONAVIRUS: WORLDWIDE CASES SURPASS SARS OUTBREAK IN 2003 The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has surpassed that of the Sars epidemic, which spread to more than two dozen countries in 2003. There were around 8,100 cases of Sars – severe acute respiratory syndrome – reported during that outbreak. But nearly 10,000 people have been infected with the new coronavirus, which emerged in China in December. The number of deaths stands at 213 – all in China. That is far lower than the 774 people killed by Sars. On Thursday,  the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency  over the outbreak. It said there had been 98 cases outside China, but no deaths. But on Friday,  two cases of the virus were confirmed for the first time in the UK . Most international cases are in people who had been to the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei province, where the virus originated. However, in eight cases – in Germany, Japan, Vietnam and the United States – pati

BELGIUM EUTHANASIA: THREE DOCTORS CLEARED IN LANDMARK TRIAL A court in Belgium has acquitted three doctors accused of unlawfully poisoning a woman whose life they helped to end. Tine Nys, 38, died surrounded by her family on 27 April 2010. In the landmark case, her sisters and prosecutors had argued she wanted to die because of a failed relationship – not an “incurable disorder” as required by Belgium’s euthanasia law. But after hours of deliberations the jury in Ghent cleared the doctors, prompting applause in the courtroom. Those acquitted early on Friday were Joris Van Hove, the doctor who administered the lethal injection, Nys’s former doctor Frank D. and psychiatrist Lieve Thienpont. Euthanasia and assisted suicide were made legal under strict conditions in Belgium in 2002. Since then doctors have faced legal proceedings before, but none of the cases had reached a courtroom until now. WHAT DID THE COURT RULE? The three doctors were cleared by the 12-membe

LAGOS MOTORBIKE-TAXI OPERATORS PROTEST AGAINST BAN Operators of motorbike and tricycle taxis in Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos, are protesting against a state ban coming into effect on Saturday. The Lagos state government said the ban was needed because of deaths and disorderliness caused by motorbike taxis, locally referred to as “okadas”, and motorised tricycle taxis, known as “keke napeps”. The ban on the city’s most common forms of transport will be enforced on all major highways and bridges. City official Gbenga Omotoso was quoted on Tuesday by local media as saying they motorbikes will not be allowed in these areas of the city: Ikeja, Lagos Mainland, Lagos Island, Apapa, Surulere and Eti Osa. A statement from Lagos state on Friday said the ban was also intended to push young people into finding better jobs because “Okada is not an enduring trade”: “Our youths no longer learn the trades we used to be proud about of – tailoring, bricklaying, printing, pain