STARrex BLOG

California on Tuesday sued rideshare operators Uber and Lyft for “misclassifying” drivers as contractors instead of employees in violation of state law. The suit, joined by the state’s large municipalities, seeks to require the companies to compensate drivers and pay penalties that could total in the hundreds of millions of dollars. “California has ground rules with rights and protections for workers and their employers,” attorney general Xavier Becerra said in a release. “We intend to make sure that Uber and Lyft play by the rules.” The suit will test a law that took effect in California this year. The cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego joined the state in the complaint. Officials said the classification requirements would not prevent the ride-hailing operators to offer flexible work arrangements to drivers. “There is no legal reason why Uber and Lyft can’t have a vast pool of employees who decide for themselves when and where they w...

The Kano State Government has appointed Alhaji Muhammad Kabir Inuwa as the New Emir of the Rano Emirate. The appointment was announced on Tuesday by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji. According to him, Emir Kabiru was selected out of three candidates submitted. Meanwhile, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has urged the new emir to continue to discharge his duties in accordance with tradition. The appointment comes days after the passing of the former Emir, Tafida Abubakar-Ila. Abubakar-Ila died at a hospital in Kano on Saturday, almost one year after the state government created four new Emirate Councils and made him a first-class emir in Rano. A member of the House of Representatives and Turakin Rano, Alhassan Rurum, confirmed the death of the emir. The lawmakers said he died at a hospital after a brief illness. He is survived by 17 children and two wives. Emir of Rano, Tafida Abubakar-Ila, died on Saturday at a hospital in...

Buhari Writes Reps, Seeks Approval For N850 Billion Loan President Buhari President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the House of Representatives, for the approval of N850 billion loan. The lawmakers read the letter on the floor of the House during its plenary session on Tuesday. The letter explained that the N850 billion loan is to be sourced from domestic capital market to finance critical projects in the 2020 budget. The letter reads in part: “To ensure that there are adequate funds to finance critical projects and programmes in the 2020 Budget, I hereby seek the Senate’s approval, by Resolution, to raise the N850bn of New External Borrowing, in Naira, from the Domestic Capital Market, instead of from the International Capital Markets.” Read Also: Buhari Begs International Financial Institutions To Cancel Nigeria’s Debts Buhari’s letter, however, provided no details of the “critical projects and programmes” to be financed with the loan. The Debt Management Office (DMO) had howev...

COVID-19: Nigerian govt gives fresh update on Chinese doctors Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Tuesday, said the Chinese medical team who arrived the country from China are working at isolation centres. Recall that the doctors arrived in Nigeria on April 8, 2020. The team flew in with medical equipment worth about $1.5million. Speaking during a press briefing, Lai Mohammed said the team who had tested negative are setting up the COVID-19 equipment they brought. “The Chinese are doing well; they all tested negative for coronavirus. As to what they are doing right now, they are busy working at our isolation centres, putting together and setting up the equipment they brought. “They are helping our doctors in capacity building in the centres. Like we said at the beginning, none of the Chinese doctors will be treating any patient in Nigeria,” he added. Meanwhile, while Nigeria’s cases jumped to 2,802, the NCDC said the country has discharged 417 patients. It ...

CAN cautions on passage of proposed infectious bill The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) says the proposed bill on Infectious Disease Control will deny Nigerians their Fundamental Human Rights (FHR) if passed into law. In a statement on Tuesday, CAN General Secretary, Mr. Joseph Daramola, said it would destroy the citizens’ civil rights. “It has come to our notice, the intention to allow the above-named bill, which seeks to prohibit and control infectious diseases to be passed by the Federal House of Representatives. “CAN and other well-meaning citizens of this country have critically looked into this bill and cannot but observe that it will destroy the civil and human rights of Nigerians. “The proposed bill prevents Nigerians from having a say in their own affairs through the hasty and speedy way by which the house is trying to make it a Law. “Among this denial of the FHR are right to life. personal liberty, freedom from degrading and inhu...

COVID-19: Four intercepted travellers tests positive in Ibadan Four out of the 11 travellers from Sokoto State intercepted over the weekend at the Oyo-Osun boundary by Oyo State border patrol have, on Tuesday, tested positive for coronavirus. The state’s incident manager, Dr Taiwo Ladipo, disclosed this while speaking to newsmen Ibadan. Ladipo said the four confirmed cases are isolated at the Infectious Diseases Centre, Olodo. It would be recalled that men of the Nigeria Police had rounded up 11 travellers from Sokoto who were on their way to Akure, Ondo State. After an interrogation of the travellers, Governor Seyi Makinde declared that the travellers would not be released to the Sokoto State Government until they undergo coronavirus test. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Oyo State as of Tuesday morning stands at 39, with 28 active cases. The state has also recorded two COVID-19 related deaths, while nine persons have recovered from the virus. Source: https...

Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on Tuesday confirmed a total number of 148 new coronavirus cases and five deaths in the last 24 hours. Nigeria’s populated city Lagos and Kano states have the highest numbers. While Lagos recorded 43 new cases, Kano recorded 32 new cases. Zamfara State witnessed a spike with 14 new cases announced while Abuja recorded 10 new cases. Katsina continue recording more cases as nine new cases were recorded in the state while Taraba State confirmed seven new cases. Borno and Ogun recorded six new cases each while Oyo State has five new cases, NCDC also announced three new cases in Edo, Kaduna and Bauchi. Two new cases were found in Adamawa and Gombe while Plateau, Sokoto and Kebbi had one new case each. In total, Nigeria has now confirmed 2950 cases of COVID19, discharged 481 persons, while 98 persons have died. Nigeria began a “phased and gradual” easing of more than four weeks of lockdowns in the national capital and the largest c...

President Buhari President Muhammadu Buhari ‘s media aide, Femi Adesina has debunked claims that the president and his administration are intolerant to criticisms and why he’s slow to react to Nigerians raging on social media. Adesina made this known in a recent interview with TheCable, an online news platform. Speaking, Adesina said while some may be of the opinion that Buhari abhors criticisms, others think he is over tolerant and needs to return to the General Buhari of 1984. He said, “Yes. A lot of people say, ‘’we want General Muhammadu Buhari. We do not want this President Muhammadu Buhari. We want the General Muhammadu Buhari we knew in 1984 and 1985.” A lot of people say that, so that shows you the president is quite tolerant now.” On why Buhari is slow to social media outrage, Adesina said: You think social media represents the country? That is the mistake you make. That is the mistake of the vocal minority, because they are making noise. You think that is the country? Let m...

The Federal Government has debunked the report being circulated on the social media of a bomb explosion at the South African High Commission in Abuja on Saturday, describing the report as fake news, orchestrated by the desperate opposition to cause panic and chaos among the populace. Lai Mohammed This is contained in a press statement issued on Saturday, by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed made available to Sunday Vanguard. The statement said that the video of the purported bomb explosion, which is being circulated on the social media, is that of the bomb explosion at Emab Plaza, near Banex, in Abuja on June 25 2014. The Minister said it is now apparent that the desperate opposition has decided to use fake news and disinformation as handy tools in their avowed determination to make Nigeria ungovernable, having lost woefully at the polls. The statement further reads, ”A pattern is emerging of the antics of the desperate opposition to latch...

The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, has expressed worries that communities in flood-prone local government areas are not getting ready ahead of the prediction. Flood in Lagos This just as NEMA revealed that a total of 44 Local Government Areas in Cross River, Akwa Ibom and the Rivers States, in the South-South zone would be flooded in 2019 according to reports of the Annual Flood Outlook, AFO, released by the National Hydrological Services Agency, NHSA. The Zonal Coordinator, NEMA South-South zone, Mr Ibarakumo Walson, disclosed this in Port Harcourt, during a one disasters management meeting with key stakeholders and representatives from flood-prone areas in the state. Walson expressed regrets that despite the predictions that communities in the affected local government areas have not done much in preparation ahead of the flooding. He noted that the essence of the meeting was to bring key stakeholders in disaster management together to chart way forward in handling the ...

Iran seized a boat and arrested 12 Filipino crewmen as it busted a suspected fuel-smuggling ring in the Strait of Hormuz waterway on Saturday, state media reported. State television aired footage of an orange and white tugboat docked at Bandar Abbas port, with at least three armed guards on board. “Coast guards successfully seized a foreign ship in the Strait of Hormuz,” said Major Hossein Dehaki, the coast guard chief in the southern province of Hormozgan. The boat allegedly carrying contraband fuel had 12 Filipino crew on board, and all of them were arrested, he told the television station. Dehaki said the group was suspected of operating a fuel-smuggling ring and the confiscated shipment had been intercepted close to Sirik county in the Strait of Hormuz. The seizure comes amid tensions in the Gulf after the United States unilaterally withdrew from a nuclear deal putting curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme in return for relief from sanctions. The escalation has seen ships mysteriousl...

Lai Mohammed Minister of culture and information, Lai Mohammed has dismissed social media reports that there was a bomb explosion at the South African High Commission in Abuja on Saturday. According to the minister, fake news is being circulated by the desperate opposition to cause panic and chaos among the populace. In a statement by the minister on Saturday, he said the video being circulated is a Jun 25, 2014 bomb explosion at Emab Plaza, near Banex. The statement reads in part, ”A pattern is emerging of the antics of the desperate opposition to latch on to the use of fake news and disinformation as a strategy to trigger chaos in the country. “On Friday (6 Sept 2019), they doctored and circulated the video of my appearance on Channels Television in January 2015 (when I was the spokesman of the APC) to make it look like I was begging Nigerians to forgive President Buhari for not having a school certificate. “Worse still, they posted the video afresh, giving the impression it hap...

Ado-Ekiti-The Commissioner for Information, Culture and Values Orientation, Aare Muyiwa Olumilua, on Saturday disclosed that Governor Fayemi administration will soon commence disbursement of bursary to indigenes of the State in higher institutions. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State Olumilua made the disclosure during a lecture presentation by the Federation of Ekiti State Students Union (FESSU), Topiced: Effect of press and information on education in Nigeria educational system. He said, the Fayemi led-administration does not believe in propaganda, but in setting the record straight and ensuring that the people know the true position of issues, adding that the governor, since assumption of office has been committed to giving a face-lift to the standard of education in the State restoring our values and reclaiming the land ” We have in less than one year introduced free and compulsory quality education up to senior school certificate class in public schools “We have commenced payments of a...

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe attends the 2nd Session of the South Africa-Zimbabwe binational Commission (BNC) at Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria. AFP A day after ex-strongman and founding leader Robert Mugabe died, the only clear sign that Zimbabwe was in mourning were flags flying at half mast. The streets and shops were packed, weddings and parties went ahead as planned. Most people were going about their usual business, trying to eke out living. For while Mugabe is hailed for having led Zimbabwe to independence, for many Zimbabweans he is also the man who wrecked their economy, leaving them to live with the consequences. Commuter mini bus driver More Kondo, 30, was busy decanting petrol from a large jerrycan into a smaller container to share with a fellow driver. “If it were another leader, right now this country should have shut down to mourn,” he said. “But he was an autocrat. “Had he left power early and the country in a better shape, we would be...

Former senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani has advised the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed to avoid talking about the certificate of President Muhammadu Buhari . Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed and Senator Shehu Sani The minister has been at the receiving end of huge criticisms on social media following the resurfacing of an old video where he declared that the President’s certificate is missing. Also Read: Not All Human Beings Are Willing To Surrender Their Dignity To Worship Power – Shehu Sani The former lawmaker advised the minister to avoid making any more statement about the certificate of the President. See his tweet below: My brother Lai,just leave that certificate matter and let the sleeping dog… — Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) September 7, 2019 Source: https://www.informationng.com/2019/09/let-sleeping-dog-lie-shehu-sani-tells-lai-mohammed.html

Nnamdi Kanu The leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has disclosed what the group will do to any Nigerian governors owing salaries to pay, that travels abroad. The IPOB leader said in an interview with ‘BEN TV London’, that the governors would not be attacked but would be questioned on the why they that workers and pensioners in that manner. His words, “Very soon, any governor who has not paid salaries will not come abroad anymore. If you are owing salaries you’re not allowed to go abroad anymore. “You bank teachers’ salaries, you bank the salaries of pensioners, you cannot come abroad anymore. So this is just the beginning. We’ll not attack them; we’ll just ask them questions. It is called picketing. It’s allowed within the ambit of democratic rules. “If we see you, we’ll ask you what you’ve been doing with teachers’ salaries, nurses’ salaries and why you’ve not been paying people and what are you doing here? Any governor owing workers onc...

A Nigerian Evangelist, Victor Edet, has taken to Facebook to caution Gospel Singer, Tope Alabi to desist from wearing ‘weavons, attachments, artificial nails, makeup, earrings’. Victor Edet and Tope Alabi Edet wrote; “TOPE Alabi, you are talented and gifted, but don’t allow your labour to be in vain. Take off the Weavon, Attachment, Earrings, Make-up and Artificial Nails. Anyone who wears these things won’t make Heaven.” ALSO READ: Tboss Finally Admits Being Pregnant, Laughs Off Her Baby Daddy Being A Senator See his full post below: Source: https://www.informationng.com/2019/07/nigerian-evangelist-cautions-tope-alabi-to-stop-wearing-wigs-earrings-in-order-to-make-heaven.html

The screening of the ministerial nominees entered the third day on Friday as the Senate screened Abubakar Malami (Kebbi) and Hadi Sirika. Abubakar Malami (SAN) . Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan FG won’t stop prosecution of El-Zakzaky, Buhari tells Shiites(Opens in a new browser tab) Malami is the immediate past Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) while Sirika is the immediate past Minister of State on Aviation. The Senate adjourned the exercise by 6:30p.m. on July 25, after screening 14 nominees. Malami, while fielding questions from the Senate Committee, said that the ministry under his watch had facilitated the prosecution of 63 terrorism cases and secured 59 convictions. He said the Federal Government, through the ministry, had also increased the recoveriy of looted public funds in 2015 from N19 billion to N279 billion in 2018. On why some bills passed by the senate were not signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, Malami said that the issue was purely absence ...