JUST IN: Buhari Elected As ECOWAS Boss

Buhari Elected As ECOWAS Boss
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The Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari was on Tuesday, 31st July 2018 in Lome, Togo elected the new Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The president’s election was one of the highpoints of the 53rd Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS which held in the Togolese capital.

In his acceptance remarks, the Nigerian leader who commended his colleagues for his election, noted that he did not offer himself for the post, “but you refused to take my no for an answer.”

He, however, told his fellow leaders that, “I am truly humbled and pledge to serve and work with all of you to deliver on peace, security, good governance and socio-economic development” of the sub-region, and “take our organisation to greater heights.”

President Buhari also commended his immediate predecessor and President of Togo, Faure Gnassingbe, for successfully hosting two important meetings of the Joint Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and ECOWAS as well as the 53rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS.

The new boss had earlier been presented with the emblem of ECOWAS by the outgoing chairman, while the next meeting of the organisation will take place in Abuja, the NIgeria's capital city on December 21, 2018.

DRAMA: APC Legislators Serve Impeachment Notice on Ortom

APC Legislators Serve Impeachment Notice on Ortom
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It was dramatic on Monday, 30th July 2018 as a factional group led by the impeached Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Mr. Terkibir Ikyange abruptly commenced impeachment proceedings against Governor Samuel Ortom, alleging fraudulent activities, non payment of workers’ salaries and non performance as reasons.

 

The members, numbering 12, were said to have moved into the Assembly complex amidst tight security around 6am on the said date.

Some youths who allegedly got wind of the sitting were reported to have invaded the House but they were reportedly dispersed by security men.

It was gathered that the session lasted for about one hour in which the members also suspended the 15 members of the group loyal to the governor.

It will be noted that the House consists of 30 members.

The group loyal to Governor Ortom, led by the new Speaker, Mr. Titus Uba, claimed to have 22 members, while it said that the other group loyal to Senator George Akume have eight members.

But Ikyange said that 12 lawmakers on Monday met and took the decision to commence impeachment process against the governor.

He noted that the group had got an order from court directing banks to release to it (group of lawmakers) details of accounts allegedly opened for some workers but which were allegedly used to siphon money.

Addressing journalists at his official residence at Commissioner’s Quarters along Otukpo Road, Ikyange said that 12 members sat to review the political development in the state and subsequently took a decisive decision.

“Two decisions were taken: one, the members looked at action of some members who invaded the House of Assembly, causing unrest in the state.

“The conduct is not acceptable; we have sent the 15 members on six-month suspension.

“Another item was the motion brought by the Majority Leader of the House to give a notice of impeachment, stating the offences the governor has committed in the past three years.

“We looked at it and saw that it had merit. The House found N50m fraud in each of the 23 local governments, running into N33bn in the past three years.

“Also, the non payment of salaries of seven months to state workers, 11 months’ salaries being owed local government workers and pensioners up to 15 months, as well as non performance which has affected the economy of the state,” Ikyange said.

When asked whether the members formed a quorum, Ikyange said that 12 members sat for the proceedings.

But in a swift response, the group loyal to Governor Ortom which held its own plenary session at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Makurdi, also suspended the other members who held session with the impeached Speaker.

The group said that, contrary to Ikyange’s claim, only seven lawmakers were present at the meeting.

Hon. Paul Biam, the ‘majority leader’ of the G-22, described the sitting by Ikyange-led group as “illegal,” saying that the Titus Uba group had also secured court injunction restraining the impeached Speaker from parading himself as Speaker.

“In spite of the injunction restraining the former Speaker from parading himself as Speaker of the eighth (Benue State House of ) Assembly, this morning, as we approached the Assembly, we found security men armed to teeth with armoured vehicle who refused us entry.

“We learnt that seven members, including the suspended Speaker and without the mace, sat without forming a quorum.

“We have, however, suspended the seven members,” Biam said.
When asked why the members at Monday sitting were 18 instead of 22 as claimed, the ‘G-22 majority leader’ said that four members had gone to Abuja to honor the invitation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

However, while Biam was still speaking, one of the four absentee members, Hon. Sule Audu, walked in.

BREAKING: Kano Lawmakers Impeach Speaker, Install Successor

Kano Lawmakers Impeach Speaker, Install Successor

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The Kano State House of Assembly on Monday, 30th July 2018 impeached its Speaker, Alhaji Abdullahi Ata.

 

The assembly also re-elected Alhaji Kabiru Rurum, the immediate-past speaker of the house, who was also impeached over allegations of corruption.

The motion for Ata’s removal was moved by Malam Labaran Madari, representing Warawa State Constituency.

The speaker was also impeached alongside two other Principal Officers of the assembly.

The assembly closed two months ago after threats to impeach the speaker but the issue was rested following the intervention of the state government.

The house witnessed a shake up where the Deputy Speaker resigned and was replaced with other Principal Officers, yet the impeachment threat was reopened upon its resumption.

Rostrum gathered that the new Speaker is already presiding over the assembly’s sitting which resumed on Monday after a two-month break.

JUST IN: Zimbabwe Elects President Today

Zimbabwe Goes To The Polls Today
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Zimbabwe goes to the polls today being Monday, 30th July 2018 in its first election since authoritarian leader Mr. Robert Mugabe was ousted last year, with alleged ballot fraud and the likelihood of a disputed result clouding voting day.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe's former ally in the ruling Zanu-PF party, faces opposition leader Nelson Chamisa of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in a historic vote for the Southern African nation.

Mr. Mugabe, 94, who was ousted by the military in November 2017, made a surprising intervention on the eve of the elections, calling for voters to throw Zanu-PF out of office.

Zimbabwe's generals shocked the world last year when they seized control and ushered Mnangagwa to power after Mugabe allegedly tried to position his wife Mrs. Grace Mugabe to be his successor.

2m 8s

Mr. Mnangagwa, 75, who promises a fresh start for the country despite being from the Zanu-PF elite, is the front-runner with the advantage of covert military support, a loyal state media and a ruling party that controls government resources.

But Chamisa, 40, who has performed strongly on the campaign trail, hopes to tap into a young population that could vote for change.

The election is Zimbabwe's first without Mugabe, who led ZANU-PF to power in a vote when the country became independent from British colonial rule in 1980 -- and ruled for 37 years.

Speaking at his sprawling mansion in Harare on Sunday 29th July 2018, Mr. Mugabe said that he hoped the election would "thrust away the military form of government."

"I cannot vote for those who tormented me," Mugabe said, hinting he could vote for MDC.

A clean vote?
As Zimbabwe's hectic politics reached fever pitch, Mnangagwa claimed that Mugabe's remarks proved that Chamisa was in an alliance with Mugabe.

But Chamisa also spoke out saying: "I have nothing to do with what president Mugabe would want to say as a voter. He is a citizen."

Elections under Mugabe were marred by fraud and often deadly violence, and this year's campaign has been dogged by accusations that the result will be rigged.

The MDC has raised repeated allegations of a flawed electoral roll, ballot paper malpractice, voter intimidation, bias in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and free food handed out by the ruling party.

But campaigning has been relatively unrestricted and peaceful.

"After years of stasis, the events of November 2017 gave Zimbabwe the chance to dream again," Mnangagwa said Sunday in an address on state radio.

"As we have always said, the elections will be free, non-violent and credible."
A recent Afrobarometer survey of 2 400 people put Mnangagwa on 40% and Chamisa on 37%, with 20% undecided.

Mr. Mnangagwa, who is accused of involvement in election violence and fraud under Mugabe, invited international observers - including the previously-banned European Union (EU) team -- to the poll.

The EU team will deliver a preliminary report later in the week.

Desperate for investment
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned of alleged intimidation and threats of violence in the run-up to polling day, but said it was encouraging to see open rallies and peaceful demonstrations.

The next government must tackle mass unemployment and an economy shattered by the Mugabe-backed seizure of white-owned farms, the collapse of agriculture, hyperinflation and an investment exodus.

Previously solid health and education services are in ruins and millions have fled abroad to seek work.

Life expectancy has only just recovered to its 1985 level of 61 years.
"The governing Zanu-PF party needs to maintain a semblance of free and fair elections in order to attract fresh foreign investment," said the London-based EXX Africa business risk consultancy.
"However, there remain serious concerns over vote credibility."

With 5.6 million registered voters, the results of the presidential, parliamentary and local elections are due by August 4.

A run-off vote is scheduled for September 8 if no presidential candidate wins at least 50 percent in the first round.

"I'm excited, I'm voting for the first time," said Tawanda Mudondo, 18, who sells phone chargers on the street corner.

"I just want a government that will create jobs. I passed my exams but could not go to university. Our economy is trashed."

BREAKING: USA Records Greatest Economic Growth Since 2014

USA Records Greatest Economic Growth Since 2014
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The United States' economy accelerated to a 4.1 percent pace of growth in the second quarter, the fastest since 2014, letting President Donald Trump claim a win for his policies even though expansion is projected to cool.

 

The annualized rate of gains in gross domestic product was just shy of the 4.2 percent median forecast in a Bloomberg survey. It followed first-quarter growth of 2.2 percent that was revised from 2 percent, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Consumer spending grew 4 percent, more than estimated, while nonresidential business investment climbed at a 7.3 percent clip.

Trump seized the chance to declare his policies, including the biggest tax overhaul since the Reagan era, a success, calling the data “amazing” and “very sustainable.” The likelihood is nevertheless that the pace of expansion will slow as the effects of tax cuts fades, companies pull back in the face of foreign tariffs or strong dollar and the Federal Reserve raises interest rates further.

“The economy is doing quite well,” said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JP Morgan Chase & Co. “It will be hard to repeat this performance on a sustained basis.”

Illustrating the volatility of some elements of GDP, net exports contributed 1.06 percentage point to the pace of growth, the most since 2013, partly on a surge in soybean shipments ahead of retaliatory tariffs. Inventories subtracted 1 point, the most since 2014, Commerce said, citing soybean stocks as well as those of drugs and sundries and petroleum and related products.

Fed policy makers are expected to continue their gradual pace of interest-rate hikes aimed at keeping the economy from overheating, without moving so fast that they could choke off growth. The dollar and yields on 10-year Treasuries declined after the report, which also showed inflation excluding food and energy was lower than estimated.

OPINION II Today Is World Hepatitis Day

ELIMINATING HEPATITIS IN NIGERIA

By Fred Doc Nwaozor

       

Today, 28^th July, the world over is commemorating the 2018 edition of World Hepatitis Day. This year’s theme is “Eliminate Hepatitis”.

       

The event, which is observed annually on July 28, was inaugurated by World Health Organization (WHO) under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) to raise global awareness on hepatitis or a group of infectious diseases known as Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E, and to encourage the prevention, diagnosis, as well as the treatment.

        

The first global World Hepatitis Day was marked on May 19, 2008 through the effort of the World Hepatitis Alliance in collaboration with various patient groups. The commemoration received an international endorsement following the adoption of a resolution during the 63^rd World Health Assembly held in May 2010. The date of the event was later changed to July 28 each year by the assembly, in honour of the birthday of Nobel Laureate Baruch Samuel Blumberg – the man who discovered the Hepatitis B virus.

        

No rational man boasts of anything if his health condition is at stake. Suffice to say; a healthy life remains the most precious possession that ever comes to a man regardless of his/her status or age. In the world today, there are millions of illnesses or diseases in existence coupled with the ones that seem to have no specific cause or cure. Among these diseases, some are often referred to be stubborn regarding their mode of cure while some are seen to be deadly. No doubt, hepatitis is one of those stubborn or deadly illnesses in existence. 

       

Hepatitis is a medical condition which is defined as an inflammation of one of the most vital organs in the human body known as the Liver. It is usually characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The inflammatory condition can be self-limiting or can heal on its own; but on the contrary, it can progress to fibrosis or cirrhosis.

       

Hepatitis may occur with limited or no symptoms, but often leads to jaundice, poor appetite, and a feeling of unease. It is referred to as acute when it lasts less than six months, and chronic when it persists longer. Globally, hepatitis viruses are the most common causes of the condition, but hepatitis can as well be caused by other infections, autoimmune diseases, or toxic substances such as alcohol, certain medications, and some industrial organic solvents and plants.

   

Initial features of acute hepatitis are of non-specific flu-like symptoms, which are invariably common to almost all acute viral infections, and may include fatigue, muscle and joint aches, fever, nausea diarrhoea, vomiting, and headache. More specific symptoms which could be present in acute hepatitis from any cause are profound loss of appetite, aversion to smoking among smokers, excretion of dark urine, and abdominal discomfort.

       

A small proportion of people with acute hepatitis usually progress to acute liver failure, in which the liver would be unable to remove harmful substances from the blood thereby leading to confusion and coma due to hepatic encephalopathy. The acute liver failure may also result to the production of blood proteins which often leads to peripheral edema and bleeding.

       

More so, a chronic hepatitis, which is commonly identified through blood test, is usually characterized with no symptoms at all. It often leads to the presence of jaundice which indicates advanced liver damage. On physical examination, there may be enlargement of the liver. In the same vein, women with autoimmune hepatitis mostly experience abnormal menstruation, lung scarring, inflammation of the thyroid gland and kidneys.

       

Aside the aforementioned two major classes of hepatitis, it is invariably grouped and recognized by medical experts based on its common causes. On this note, the different types of hepatitis in existence that are widely recognized include, Viral hepatitis, Alcoholic hepatitis, Toxic and drug-induced hepatitis, Ischemic hepatitis, Giant cell hepatitis, just to mention but a few. Common causes of viral hepatitis, which is the most rampant type, are the five unrelated hepatotropic viruses known as hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E viruses.

       

There is an estimate that hepatitis affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide thereby causing acute or chronic disease and killing close to 1.4 million people every year. Currently, approximately five hundred (500) million people worldwide are suffering from either hepatitis B or hepatitis C. If left untreated or unmanaged, hepatitis B or C can lead to advanced liver scarring known as cirrhosis and other complications including liver cancer or liver failure.

         

While many people worry more about contracting diseases like HIV than hepatitis, the reality is that every year, at least 1.3 million people worldwide die as a result of either hepatitis B or C faster than they would in the case of HIV/AIDS. Needless to say that, hepatitis is indeed a deadly disease. Considering this fact, it is pathetic and devastating to note that many hepatitis carriers are yet to realize that they are living with the disease.

       

Hepatitis groups, patients as well as advocates worldwide, take part in series of events on every July 28 to mark the World Hepatitis Day. The World Hepatitis Day is one of the eight official global public health campaigns being marked by the WHO. As Nigeria joins the international community to commemorate the remarkable event, there’s need for collective support as regards creation of awareness on this silent killer known as ‘Hepatitis’.

       

The World Hepatitis Day provides an opportunity to focus on actions such as, but not limited to, raising awareness on the different forms of hepatitis, their common causes and how they are transmitted; strengthening prevention, screening, and control of viral hepatitis and other related diseases; increasing hepatitis B vaccine coverage cum integration into national immunization programmes; as well as coordinating a global response to hepatitis.

         

As Nigeria joins the global community to mark this remarkable day, it’s needless to state that all hands are expected to be on deck towards ensuring that this killer disease that has been a colossal societal menace for decades now is duly eliminated. Think about it!

Comrade Nwaozor, the media ambassador,

is the Publisher of Rostrum Magazine