ONE WORD

Mr. Ola Oresanya, MD/CEO. Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) (2nd left) supported by Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin(L) and Barr. Nonye Mike-Nnaji, president, Spotlight Africa (r), to present an award to one of the 150 awardees, Adeola Bidemi, during an award presentation for Outstanding Excellence & Leadership to Street Sweepers, organised by Spotlight Africa, to celebrate LAWMA Women, at Alausa, Ikeja, recently. The Managing Director of Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Mr. Ola Oresanya, has described the female street sweepers as the engine room of the organization, working round the clock to keep the state clean and sustain the environment. He said this at Ikeja during an award ceremony organized by Spotlight African Network to celebrate the women workforce of the Authority for their input towards achieving cleaner and healthier environment in the state. At the programne tagged, “LAWMA Women Making A Difference, Community Service Leadership Awards”, he said: “I us

Rev. Father Paul Offu: killed in Enugu The Commissioner of Police in Enugu state, Mr Sulaiman Balarabe, on Sunday, said arrests will soon be made in connection with the killing of the Catholic Priest, Rev.Fr. Paul Offu. “Soon, we will make arrest of some suspects,” declared the commissioner. He spoke in an interview on Sunday. He said the police have been on the trail of some suspects believed to be the killers Offu, who was the Parish Priest of St. James Greater Parish, Ugbawka in Nkanu East Local Government Area (LGA) of the state, was allegedly killed on Thursday evening by yet-to-be identified gunmen. He was reportedly killed on the Ihe-Agbudu Road in Awgu LGA. The police chief said: “We are still tracking some individuals believed to be connected with the crime”. He appealed to residents of the state to assist security agencies with useful information that could help in apprehending the hoodlums. At least 200 Catholic priests in the state marched on the major

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka on Sunday described the arrest of activist, Omoyele Sowore by the Department of State Security, DSS, as a travesty and violation of the fundamental rights of citizens to congregate and make public their concerns. Soyinka said the young politician has never engaged in any treasonable act as being claimed by the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu. Operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS, in the early hours of Saturday arrested Sowore, who is also the convener of ‘#RevolutionNow’ protests. Sowore posted a distress tweet at exactly 1:25 am with an eyewitness confirming that his phone was forcefully taken from him. Reacting, Soyinka, in a statement, titled: “Surely, Not Again!!!,” said the deployment of alarmist expressions such as “treason”, “anarchist”, “public incitement” and so on by security forces had become so predictable and banal that they have become meaningless. He said beyond the word ‘revolution,’ another much

The Senior Pastor of the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly, COZA, Biodun Fatoyinbo, on Sunday returned to the pulpit, a month he stepped down following serious rape allegation against him. Busola Dakolo, wife of singer, Timi Dakolo had accused Fatoyinbo of raping her 20 years ago while she was still 16 years old in Ikorin, Kwara State. The rape allegation drew sharp criticism and condemnation from different quarters. However, Fatoyinbo, in his sermon, titled: “Sudden victories,” told a large crowd that Christians would surely face persecution, but that God would always deliver them. Taking his texts from 1 Timothy 6:12; Mark 4:35-37 and 1 Corinthians 10:13, Fatoyinbo stated that “As a Christian, you must face opposition. If God, who is holy and faithful has enemies, you are sure going to have.” According to him, most times, when faced with troubles, Christians had the tendency to call everyone except God for help. He noted that the reason most Christians fail was that they

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Washington has previously proposed unconditional talks with Tehran. "They (Americans) are resorting to childish behavior... They were claiming every day 'We want to talk, with no preconditions' ...and then they sanction the foreign minister," Rouhani said in remarks carried live on state television. "This means they have lost the power of rational thought." Zarif, a critical figure in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, dismissed the action and said it would not affect him. U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the deal last year and ramped up sanctions to put pressure on Iran's economy. The move dismantled part of President Barack Obama's legacy and upset U.S. allies who were party to the agreement, which was designed to restrict Tehran's pathway to a nuclear bomb in exchange for sanctions relief. Strains between Washington

King Mohammed VI of Morocco has called on its citizens to work toward creating a new development model to place the country on the ranks of developed nations. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 55-year-old king made the call in a speech celebrating his 20 years on the throne. The speech was made available to NAN on Tuesday by the Embassy of Morocco in Abuja. Mohammed, a member of the Alaouite dynasty, was enthroned in Rabat, Morocco’s Capital, on July 30, 1999 after the death of his father, King Hassan II. Although the country has made a lot of progress in all sectors under his watch, the Monarch said that the effects of the achievements had not been felt by all segments of the Moroccan society. He therefore assured that the country was working toward a new development model to tackle social inequalities, while urging a government reshuffle. He said a government advisory body would be set up to make suggestions to improve reforms in education, health, agric

China orders business owners to take down Arabic, Islamic signs Authorities in the Chinese capital have ordered halal restaurants and food stalls to remove Arabic script and symbols associated with Islam from their signs, part of an expanding national effort to “Sinicize” its Muslim population. Employees at 11 restaurants and shops in Beijing selling halal products and visited by Reuters in recent days said officials had told them to remove images associated with Islam, such as the crescent moon and the word “halal” written in Arabic, from signs. Government workers from various offices told one manager of a Beijing noodle shop to cover up the “halal” in Arabic on his shop’s sign, and then watched him do it. “They said this is foreign culture and you should use more Chinese culture,” said the manager, who, like all restaurant owners and employees who spoke to Reuters, declined to give his name due to the sensitivity of the issue. The campaign against Arabic script and Islamic