Jackson Ude, a former aide to ex- President Goodluck Jonathan and an independent journalist, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for his silence amid ongoing killings in the South- East region of Nigeria. The violence stems from the enforcement of ” sit- at- home” orders by unknown gunmen, who claim to be fighting for the establishment of a Biafran state. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Ude expressed his concerns, which were highlighted by LATEST_NEWS Blog. He condemned the continuous killings of Igbo people by their fellow Igbos under the guise of enforcing the controversial sit- at- home directive. According to Ude, this directive denies people their means of livelihood and exposes them to unnecessary violence. ” The continuous killing of Igbos by Igbos under the....Read Full Article>>

International students who want to settle abroad should make it a point to look for countries that will provide them with an easy route to permanent residency (PR) after the completion of their studies. Some countries have designed immigration systems to let graduates stay and work, often providing pathways to permanent residency.....Read Full Article>>

Here are five countries that offer permanent residency pathways after study for international students.

Germany
Germany is sought-after for international graduates, with various routes to permanent residency. You could stay with the Job Seeker Visa to look for a job for up to 18 months after graduation. When graduates get a job, they can apply for a Settlement Permit (PR) after some years.

The Blue Card is also available to highly skilled professionals with residency and work permits if they have a job offer that meets the salary requirements. Germany also provides an Employment Visa for individuals with solid job contracts which is issued for the long term. The country offers a good pathway for graduates because of their interest in conserving talents.

Australia
Clear post-study permanent residency pathways make Australia one of the most sought-after destinations for International students. An excellent way to gain experience in your field of study is via the Post-Study Work Visa (subclass 485) which gives graduates rights to work. This is because graduates are eligible for a Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189) or a Skilled Nominated Visa (subclass 190), both of which operate on a visa points-based system that favours applicants with skills in demand by Australian employers.

This will also allow graduates a better chance at permanent residency through the regional pathways designed for anyone who wants to live and work in regional areas. Australia is a desired destination with better opportunities to live over the long term because of its strong economy and multicultural society.

New Zealand
International graduates in New Zealand do not need to search high and low for alternative pathways to permanent residency, because they are simple. Skilled Migrant Category – SMC is a points-based visa for graduates with job offers or relevant experience in skilled areas.

For graduates, New Zealand also has a Post-Study Work Visa that enables them to gain local work experience. With its emphasis on addressing skill shortages in major industries like healthcare and IT, the country is an attractive option for graduates.

As much as Singapore is selective about its immigration system, there are many pathways for international graduates. If graduated students have received a job in Singapore, the Professionals, Technical Personnel, and Skilled Workers Scheme (PTS) is the pathway.

For entrepreneurs or investors who can contribute significantly to Singapore’s economy, there is the option of the Global Investor Program (GIP). Apart from this, there is an EntrePass visa for post-graduates planning to launch a new business venture in Singapore.

Those are some key reasons why Canada remains the destination of choice for many skilled individuals, given the fact that it has one of the hottest economies around and a business environment that is attracting thousands upon thousands to its shores each year.

Sweden
In Sweden, graduates can apply for a job-seeking visa to look for work in their field of study which is valid for one year upon graduation. During this time, if they find a job or start their own business, they can apply for a work permit or permanent residency after several years of continuous business.

The governments of these countries have clear pathways to permanent residency post-study that international graduates can follow in order to get a PR visa. To retain the talented graduates each of these nations fosters, they have adjusted their immigration policies to allow students to build a future away from home.

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dele Momodu, has debunked the rumoured death of Nigerian billionaire businessman, Mike Adenuga.....Read Full Article>>

Adenuga is regarded as the fifth richest person in Africa according to Forbes. His company, Globacom is Nigeria’s second-largest telecom operator and has a presence in Ghana and Benin Republic.

Reports online had speculated that the billionaire businessman died at the age of 71. In a tweet shared on X by Dele Momodu on Tuesday night, the politician said Adenuga is alive, fit and proper.

He added that he had a telephone conversation with the businessman who mentioned he is still an active stakeholder in the Nigerian economy.

The politician wrote: “Ignore the fake news… The Spirit of Africa DR MICHAEL ADENIYI AGBOLADE ISOLA ADENUGA is hale and hearty. He’s right now at his desk working round the clock in support of the Nigerian economy… He just called me to thank everyone for their concern…” – DELE MOMODU.”

“Ignore the fake news… The Spirit of Africa DR MICHAEL ADENIYI AGBOLADE ISOLA ADENUGA is hale and hearty. He’s right now at his desk working round the clock in support of the Nigerian economy… He just called me to thank everyone for their concern…” – DELE MOMODU pic.twitter.com/w16xqWBIg7

— Dele Momodu Ovation (@DeleMomodu) November 19, 2024

Adenuga made his first million in 1979, at age 26, selling lace and distributing soft drinks.

He was named African Entrepreneur of The Year at the first African Telecoms Awards (ATA) in August 2007.

In May 2015, Adenuga made a takeover bid to purchase Ivorian mobile telecom operator Comium Côte d’Ivoire for $600 million.

Following the shooting of its Chairman, the Osun State Transport Management System(OSTMS) has announced the suspension of commercial transport activities for Wednesday, 20th November, 2024 across the State.....Read Full Article>>

The Secretary of the OSTMS, Alhaji Mukaila Popoola in a statement on Tuesday directed motor parks across the State to suspend activities in solidarity with their Chairman who was arrested and short in Police Custody.

According to the statement, all commercial drivers in the State are to converge at Olaiya Junction in Osogbo in the morning of Wednesday, 20th November where members will be addressed.

The statement also called on the Inspector General of Police to ensure that Superintendent of police, SP Moses Lohor who attempted to take the life of the OSTMS Chairman, Comrade Nurudeen Alowonle is brought to book.

Alhaji Popoola through the statement warned that anything must not happen to Comrade Alowonle after reports indicate that SP Moses Lohor actually wanted to take the life of the OSTMS Chairman.

The statement reads, “It is clear that it is an attempt to take the life of our Chairman, the reports we gathered states that SP Moses Lohor aimed his gun directly at Comrade Alowonle with the intention to kill him.

“We are using this medium to tell the Inspector General of Police that nothing must happen to our Chairman and SP Moses Lohor must be apprehended and made to face the law.

“I call on our members across the State to boycot their transport activities and converge at Olaiya Junction in Osogbo tomorrow Wednesday the 20th of November for a solidarity walk and address.

“I must not fail to thank the Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Alhaji Kazeem Akinleye and the Commissioner for Transportation, Hon. Sesan Oyedele for standing by us through this difficult time. He stated.

Former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has demanded that the Special Adviser to Benue State Governor on Research and Documentation, Mkor Aondona, retract the allegations of financial irregularities he recently levelled against him or be prepared to prove the claims before a court of competent jurisdiction.....Read Full Article>>

A demand notice issued by Ortom’s counsel, Barr. S. E. Irabor, addressed to Mkor and routed through the office of the Secretary to the Benue State Government said his action amounted to cyberstalking, criminal defamation, malicious falsehood and libelous online publication against the former governor.

According to Irabor: “On the 8th November 2024, you did cause to be published on your Facebook timeline (Mkor Aondona Donatus) an insidious publication against our client with the headline – “May God Almighty Never Allow The Wickedness Of An Ortom To Overshadow His Glory!”

“What followed this banal headline was a godless cacophony of mischievous, malicious and malevolent webs of lies that bothered on the utterly ridiculous.”

He went further to allege that Mkor’s publication on social media deeply harmed Ortom’s hard-earned reputation in the eyes of the public.

“By your deliberate design, you ensured that these defamatory and libelous falsehoods received prominent attention on social media platforms where gullible persons took turns to pour invectives on our client.

” By your latter Facebook post of 9th November 2024, you sustained your incontinence against our client and even scoffed at the suggestion of legal action against you.

“It is the brief of our client that the said publication is in all material particular false, unsubstantiated, concocted, malicious, mischievous, wicked, offensive, in bad taste and made in utmost bad faith to bring him to public ridicule, hatred and opprobrium,” he stressed.

He said contrary to Mkor’s allegations, the previous administration under Ortom did not expend a single penny of Benue money for both the proposed Cargo Airport at Daudu and the Igumale Cement Factory nor pay for any MOU.

He stated that Ortom also does not own any water factory by the bank of the River Benue and has never been cited in any court of law, either in the state or beyond its boundaries for tax evasion.

He went further to clarify that Chief Ortom did not at any point deploy imported industrial machines meant for Benue State for his private use as claimed by Mkor.

In consequence, the demand notice mandates Mkor to write a letter of retraction and apology addressed to the immediate past governor in respect of the false, defamatory and libelous statements he made against him.

It also demanded that the Special Adviser to the Governor should publish the retraction/apology in at least five national dailies circulating within Benue State, as well as paid advertorials to the same effect on prime time belts of Arise News, Channels Television, AIT, TVC News, Nigerian Television Authority, Radio Benue and Harvest FM Makurdi.

Mkor is also required to write an undertaking not to indulge in any such false publication against Chief Ortom in future.

He is lastly required to pay N1 billion to the former governor as exemplary, aggravated and general damages.

Nigeria’s population pyramid shows a high dependency ratio of 80 per cent, indicating a surge of young persons dependent on only 20 per cent of the population for support.....Read Full Article>>

This trend is an indicator of an impending demographic crisis, which can only be reversed if the Nigerian government prioritises systematic population control.

These are the summations of Dr Ejike Orji, chairman of the Management Committee, Association of the Advancement of Family Planning, at the 8th Nigeria Family Planning pre-conference media parley.

Orji warned that Nigeria needs to reverse the population bulge where 75 per cent of its citizens are under 35 years old while 45 per cent are under 15 years old, all mostly uneducated, unemployed, hungry and angry.

He noted that this alarming demographic trend has aggravated insecurity, increased immigration pressures and largely fuelled social unrest.

”It’s not a doubt that Nigeria is in a demographic crisis; any country with a bulge of young, unplanned and unproductive persons is bound to face economic crises.

“This crisis demands immediate attention. The conversation around family planning is crucial and we need to support governments in doing the right thing.”

“Population growth affects economic growth; that is why we are seeing the Japa syndrome in the country. All our trained young doctors and ICT experts are leaving the country.

”Neonatal mortality is another indicator of a population anomaly, an indicator of lack of adequate healthcare during childbirth,” he said.

Dr Orji noted that at the current fertility ratio of 4.8 per cent, Nigeria’s population is projected to hit 450 million people by 2050, warning that at such a rate Nigerians may begin to serve each other as food, given the economic situation currently.

He advised the government to work on reducing the fertility rate to 4 per cent to ensure a demographic transition and to begin planning for demographic dividends.

Orji said this is why the federal government must release the outstanding N2 billion allocated for family planning commodities in the 2024 budget.

“We are advocating for the remaining $2 billion to be released to the UNFPA this fiscal year. This funding is critical to addressing Nigeria’s growing population and its ripple effects on security, education, and health systems,” he stated.

Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has agreed a one-year contract with the Premier League champions, according to The Athletic.....Read Full Article>>

City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain departed last month and there was speculation that Guardiola could follow suit, with Ruben Amorim reportedly sounded out prior to his appointment at Manchester United.

His decision brings an end to the uncertainty surrounding his future.

Guardiola’s current deal with the Etihad club was sent to expire in June 2025.

But the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss has now committed his future to City until 2026.

It is believed that the fresh terms include the option for an additional year.

Guardiola is the most successful manager in the history of Manchester City, winning 17 trophies since he arrived in 2016.

Former Brazil and Barcelona player Romario has described Raphinha as one of the best players in the world at the moment.....Read Full Article>>

This is following the winger’s amazing start to the 2024-25 season under Hansi Flick.

The winger has already made 22 goal contributions in 17 games for Barcelona this term.

The 27-year-old also scored his country’s lone goal in their frustrating 1-1 draw against Venezuela last week.

“Barca now have a great team. They’ve won some good games and played well. I think we’ll be champions again this year,” Romario told Mundo Deportivo.

“Raphinha is one of the best players today. He is one of the best in the world. He does very well with the Barca shirt and he is also doing very well with the Brazilian shirt. Raphinha is a pride for all Brazilians; he will give us very special things in football.”

In commemoration of World Toilet Day, the Ogun State Government has officially criminalised open defecation and urination as part of its efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6, which focuses on water accessibility, sanitation, and hygiene for all.....Read Full Article>>

The World Toilet Day is celebrated annually on November 19.

The year’s campaign, themed ‘Toilets – A Place for Peace,’ is to highlight how broken or inadequate sanitation systems affect people’s lives and show how sustainable sanitation is essential to a healthy and stable society.

The campaign, which began in 2019, seeks to eliminate open defecation nationwide by 2025.

DAILY POST reports that the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, had lamented that Nigeria is among the nations in the world with the highest number of people practising open defecation, estimated at over 46 million people.

Commissioner for Environment Ola Oresanya announced the plan to criminalise offenders during the commissioning of four new public toilets equipped with bio-digesters in border communities along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, including Berger, Isheri, Warewa, and Magboro, on Tuesday.

The newly commissioned toilets increase the total number of public facilities in the area to 20, while the state-wide count now stands at 80.

The facilities, according to the commissioner, will eradicate open defecation and establish Ogun as an open-defecation-free state.

Oresanya explained that criminalising open urination and defecation marks the beginning of rigorous enforcement measures and strict penalties for offenders.

He maintained that this initiative will not only support the attainment of SDG Goal 6 but also enhance the aesthetic beauty of the state and improve the overall well-being of residents.

He said: “This is a significant step towards making Ogun State open-defecation-free. It aligns with our commitment to SDG 6, ensuring water accessibility, proper sanitation, and hygiene for all.

“The enforcement of this law, coupled with the provision of public toilets, will promote a cleaner and healthier environment for all residents.”