Ikoyi building collapse: Relief as COREN weighs in, sets up investigative panel

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November 11, 2021

It was a huge sigh of relief on Wednesday when the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) weighed into the collapse of the 21-storey building at Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos with an investigative panel.

The body’s prolonged silence on the building collapse had been a source of worry.

The panel, COREN explained, was aimed to investigate the causes of the collapse. Members of the public expect that the outcome of the investigation would put an end to all forms of speculations on why and how a structure of that magnitude came down crashing.

The collapse of a 21-storey structure or building is an infrastructure and engineering failure. So, we are acting in line with our Act to know the remote and immediate causes and technically, of course, why this building came crashing,” he explained further.

Rabiu stressed that the panel was also to prevent speculative causes of the collapsed building. “As a professional, I do not speculate; that is why I have set up this committee,” he said, noting that building in Nigeria has become an all-comers affair, hence Nigerians are advised to engage only professionals in the built industry whenever they want to build.

He assured that COREN would not allow cover-ups as was experienced in some previous cases where action was not taken on evidences provided by the council, citing Synagogue Church of All Nations building collapse which claimed the lives of over 100 persons including foreign nationals.

The panel, which has been given six weeks to conduct a thorough investigation into the causes of the collapsed structure, has George Okoroma, the president of the Association for Consulting Engineering in Nigeria (ACEN) as chairman.

Ikoyi building collapse: No plan yet to demolish buildings at site — LASG

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Henry Williams

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November 11, 2021

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The Lagos State government has said that there is no plan on ground at the moment to demolish the two buildings at the site of the collapsed 21-storey in Ikoyi, Lagos. This counters speculations in some quarters that the two buildings would be demolished by the state government.

The state government, in a statement signed by its commissioner for information and strategy, Gbenga Omotosho, explained that an integrity test, which would determine their health or otherwise, was yet to be conducted on the two buildings.

He added that operations at the site of the collapsed building were continuing while vehicular movement around the site had been smooth, following the reopening of the road.

Sadly,however, the commissioner disclosed that two more bodies were recovered from the site on Tuesday, bringing to 45 the number of bodies retrieved from the site so far.

New blood test tool can detect 50 types of cancers

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Cleopatra Okohai

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November 11, 2021

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A new blood-testing technology that can detect up to 50 types of cancers will be made available in the United States by the end of the year.

The new test tool, known as Galleri blood test, was developed by GRAIL, a California-based biotechnology company.

The test tool can detect 50 different types of cancers including pancreatic, ovarian, and oesophageal via a simple blood test, LN247 gathered.

The Galleri test, the company also added requires two tubes of a patient’s blood.

The company also added that it can take up to ten days of laboratory analysis for a person to get their results.

Speaking on the science behind the innovation, the senior medical science liaison at GRAIL, Dr. Julia Feygin said, “We can find and sequence these tiny bits of tumour-derived DNA in the blood and based on the patterns we see we can reveal if there is a signal for cancer present.”

She added that it can predict with very high accuracy where the cancer signal is coming from in the body.

The test has been hailed by experts as a game-changer that can potentially save the lives of millions of people through an early cancer diagnosis.

The Galleri test showed promise in clinical trials, according to GRAIL, the biotech company.

The company added that this new testing technique will not replace going for regular screening but instead, it should be paired with regular screening.

A study conducted by the Mayo Clinic using the new test tool that included 6,600 participants found 29 people with a cancer case they previously did not know about.

The test was found to only have a one percent false-positivity rate.

The new test tool is however yet to receive FDA approval.

Throwback Thursday – History Of Nigerian Police Force

By

Angel Gimalo

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November 11, 2021

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Nigeria Police was first established in 1820. In 1879, a 1200 member armed paramilitary Hausa Constabulary was formed.

In 1896, the Lagos Police was established. A similar Force, the Niger Coast Constabulary was formed in Calabar in 1894 under the newly proclaimed Niger Coast Protectorate.

In the north, the Royal Niger Company set up the Royal Niger Company Constabulary in 1888.

When the protectorate of Northern and Southern Nigeria were proclaimed in the early 1900s, part of the Royal Niger Company Constabulary became the Northern Nigeria Police and part of the Niger Coast Constabulary became the Southern Nigeria Police.

During the colonial period, most police were associated with local governments (native authorities).

In the 1960s, under the First Republic, these forces were first regionalized and then nationalized.

The British merged Lagos colony and the southern and northern protectorates in 1913 and named the new colony Nigeria.

The northern and southern regional police forces were later merged, in 1930, to form the colony’s first national police – the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

The Nigeria Police Force is the principal law enforcement agency in Nigeria. It has staff deployment across the 36 states of the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The command and control of the Nigeria Police Force is under the Inspector General of Police.

For administrative ease, the Force is divided into seven (7) administrative departments, viz. Finance and Administration; Operations; Logistics; Force Criminal Investigation Department; Training; Research and Planning; and Information and Communication Technology, each headed by a Deputy Inspector General of Police.

The Force is further divided into 12 operational Zonal Commands (usually comprising between two and four State Commands) and 37 State Commands including the FCT (usually comprising Area Commands which further comprises Divisions).

While the zone is headed by an Assistant Inspector General of Police, the State Command is headed by a Commissioner of Police, the Area Command by an Assistant Commissioner of Police and the Division by a any officer in the Superintendent cadre.

The current and 20th indigenous Inspector-General of Police is IGP Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, NPM, mni.

DUTIES OF THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE

Section 4 of the Police Acts and Regulations lists the duties of the police force to include:

The prevention and detection of crime.
The apprehension of offenders.
The preservation of law and order.
The protection of life and property.
The due enforcement of laws and regulations with which they are directly charged.
The performance of such military duties within and outside Nigeria as may be required of them by or under the authority of the police act or any other act.

RANKS OF THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE

Inspector General of Police
Deputy Inspector General of Police
Assistant Inspector General of Police
Commissioner of Police
Deputy Commissioner of Police
Assistant Commissioner of Police
Chief Superintendent of Police
Superintendent of Police
Deputy Superintendent of Police
Assistant Superintendent of Police
Inspector of Police
Sergeant Major
Sergeant
Corporal
Constable

ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE OF THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE

A Department – Finance and Administration

B Department – Operations

C Department – Logistics and Supply

D Department – Criminal Investigation

E Department – Training

F Department – Research and Planning

G Department – Information and Communication Technology

ENTRY LEVELS INTO THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE

Constable
Cadet Inspector
Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police
Nigeria Police Academy degree programme

FCT Administration advocates end to Open Defecation

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Olasunbo Okoromi

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November 11, 2021

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The authority of the Nigerian Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, has stepped into the national push to end open defecation, accelerate access to safe water and improved hygienic practices for all residents of the territory, thus leaving no one behind.

Performing the official declaration of a State of Emergency in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in the nation’s capital, the FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, revealed that 39.4 percent of the FCT population practices Open Defecation, just as she described it as alarming and unacceptable.

Aliyu also stated that as part of efforts in the battle against open defecation, the administration has established the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA), as the coordinating body for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) activities in the FCT.

She, therefore, stressed the commitment of the FCT Administration in meeting the Open Defecation Free (ODF) target before the national set date of 2025, and universal access to water and sanitation by the SDG target of 2030.

While stressing the importance of basic water supply in rural communities, the minister however, advocated for a concerted efforts towards winning the battle against open defecation

According to her; “To achieve the goal of ending open defecation by 2025, all hands must be on deck in both the formal and informal sectors. The children, the youth, women and the elderly, all have important roles to play.

“Community-based organisations, religious and traditional leaders, organised private sector entities, development partners, as well as all government agencies are also expected to work in synergy to fight this menace”.

Specifically, she tasked the area councils chairmen to sign and demonstrate their commitment to end open defecation, stressing that they must create the WASH department, fund it, train and retrain its staff, and follow up with rigorous community engagements.

“Additionally, our traditional institutions across the territory are expected to galvanize their subjects in this fight. Community and household members are enjoined to cooperate with relevant stakeholders, and rise up to own this war against Open Defecation in their respective communities,” she added.

In his remarks, the Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman Adamu, said that the country was making steady progress in meeting the objective of ending open defecation by 2025 and improving sustainable access to sanitation and hygiene.

He therefore, charged the institutions at the area councils and communities to drive the campaign through the provision of adequate resources, thereby creating the critical mass of champions across the territory.

Earlier, the FCTA Permanent Secretary, Mr. Olusade Adesola, noted that as part of its commitment, the administration had inaugurated a high-powered committee for the assessment and replacement of about 1,000 water compartment toilets as well as repair of vandalized borehole systems across the six area councils and in public schools.

Goodwill messages were delivered by the traditional rulers, chairman of ALGON FCT, UNICEF representative, and other development partners.

Today In History – Nov. 11 – 1992 – The Church Of England Approves Ordination Of Female Priests

By

Angel Gimalo

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November 11, 2021

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1620 Mayflower Compact signed by Pilgrims at Cape Cod, the 1st framework of government in the territory that is now the USA [N.S. Nov 21].

1675 German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz demonstrates integral calculus for the first time to find the area under the graph of y = f(x) function

1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie’s army enters England.

1793 William Carey lands in Calcutta, India to begin his missionary career.

1883 Elizabeth Ryder Wheaton has had a vision of Christ. Afterwards, she will become a social reformer and evangelist.

1918 WWI armistice signed by the Allies and Germany comes into effect and World War I hostilities end at 11am, “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month”.

1938 Kate Smith first sings Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America,” a song that she thought she was not going to like. It will become her signature song.

1975 Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam removed from office by Governor-General Sir John Kerr – 1st elected PM removed in 200 yrs.

1992 The Church of England approves the ordination of female priests.

2004 Yasser Arafat’s death through unidentified causes confirmed by Palestine Liberation Organization, Mahmoud Abbas elected PLO chairman minutes later.

Today’s Historical Events

Today In Film & Tv

1985 1st AIDS theme TV movie – “An Early Frost” screens in US on NBC

Today In Music

1925 Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five begin their first recording session

Today In Sport

1946 New York Knicks play their first Basketball Association of American (BAA) home game at Madison Square Garden; lose, 78-68 to Chicago Stags in overtime

Do You Know This Fact About Today? Did You Know?

1880 Australian Bushranger and outlaw Ned Kelly is hanged at Melbourne Gaol.

Would You Believe This Fact About Today? Would You Believe?

1807 Washington Irving’s Salmagundi periodical published – first to associate the name “Gotham” with New York City.

Lagos Head Of Service, Muri-Okunola Bags Honourary Fellowship

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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November 10, 2021

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The Institute of Corporate and Public Sector Professionals (ICPSP) on Tuesday conferred its award of Honourary Fellow Member on the Lagos State Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola.

ICPSP’s president, Dr Folasade Airebamen, was delighted that the Honorary Fellow and Award committee of the Institute considered Muri-Okunola worthy of its highest recognition.

Airebamen said the award was in recognition of the Muri-Okunola’s excellence and commitment to civil service.

She assured the institute’s governing council’s continued support towards the actualisation of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s “Greater Lagos Vision.”

Chairperson, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)/Matron ICPSP, Chief Agnes Sessi, noted that the investiture of Muri-Okunola into the institute was laudable.

Sessi stated that ICPSP would continue to recognise individuals with a track record of contributions to national agenda and professionalism in both private and public sectors.

“Your nomination for the award is as a result of your record of selfless service rendered in the public service and your position as the number one worker in Lagos State.

“I trust that the HoS will add massive value to the ICPSP global capacity-building strategy for the benefit of the entire members,” she said.

Registrar, ICPSP, Omolara Adelakun, while congratulating the HoS said the institute would embark on quality training and development initiatives to enhance the value-adding capabilities of all the civil servants in Lagos State.

“Let me seize this opportunity to assure you that our UK Educational partners will be very much pleased to commence the Masters of Public Administration awarded by the University of Chichester via the OTHM progression pathways by 2022.

“We will run this programme jointly in collaboration with the office of the Head of Service, Lagos State.

“This programme will be flexible and tailored towards the work schedule of civil servant who will be on the HoS list of authorised participants,” she said.

In his acceptance speech, Muri-Okunola appreciated ICPSP for finding him worthy of the award and admission into the institute.

He lauded the institute’s governing council for taking note and recognising his effort in his own space.

“We have a strong team for capacity building and development in Lagos State and our human resource is our most priced asset, which we will continue to give our best.

“I pledge my support for the institute and look forward to joining you at the University of Chichester in UK for the honorary doctorate award,” he added.

Australia Launches Investment Fund To Fast-Track Emerging Low Emissions Technologies

By

Angel Gimalo

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November 10, 2021

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Australia’s prime minister on Wednesday launched a billion Australian dollar ($738 million) investment fund to fast-track emerging low emissions technologies including carbon capture and storage as he bolsters his government’s green credentials ahead of elections due within months.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison expects the private sector will at least match his government’s AU$500 million ($369 million) contribution to the fund.

“Australia can become a world leader in creating low-emissions technology that is both affordable and scalable,” Morrison said in a statement.

The ruling conservative coalition wants the fund to be administered by the Clean Energy Finance Corp., a government-owned green bank that was established to increase investment in the clean energy sector.

But that would require a change in the law because the corporation can only invest in technologies that have proved to work in the short term such as wind and solar. It cannot invest in more experiment technologies with longer-term potential such a carbon capture and storage.

Varsity Shut Indefinitely To Avert Students’ Protest Over 120% Hike In Fees

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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November 10, 2021

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Authorities of the University of medical sciences,UNIMED, in Ondo state yesterday postponed indefinitely the resumption for its 2021 /2022 academic session to avert student protest against a 120 per cent hike in tuition fees.

Reports had it that the returning students of the state government-owned institution were planning to protest against the increase in school fees by the state government.

The decision of the management according to findings was to frustrate the planned protest by the aggrieved students.

A circular to students and staff which was signed by Ezekiel Adeniran for the school’s registrar said “This is to inform all staff and students of the University of medical sciences, Ondo that the University management on behalf of the Senate has approved that the resumption date for the 2021 /2022 academic session for all returning students of the University be postponed indefinitely.

“Therefore by this circular, all returning students are directed to vacate University campus and their respective Halls of residence within the next 48 hours (I.e Thursday 11th November, 2021).

The circular added that ” a new resumption date will be communicated as appropriate.

Recall that the management of the institution without any reason increased the school fees for both fresh and returning students.

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party and parents of the students have kicked against the increment last weekend.
They lamented that the insensitive action of the Rotimi Akeredolu led administration would increase out of school children.

PDP’s Publicity Secretary, Kennedy Peretei in a statement said the astronomical increase ” is a silent notice to parents who cannot afford the new fees regime to withdraw their children.

“Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN has never hidden his penchant for increasing fees in tertiary institutions since he assumed leadership of the State. Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko and Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa had suffered serial closures over students protests bordering on fees hike.

“The Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo shrank to a student population of 1,753 from over 9,000 due to fees increase. Most private residential accommodations for students in Owo is now empty. Even the economy of the ancient city has been adversely affected.

“Parents and students of UNIMED received shockers of their lives when they noticed increment of fees with nearly 120% for 2021/2022 session.

“No explanation was given for this hike. Medical students have to pay as much as N1,320,000.00 as against N515,000.00 payable in the previous academic session (2020/2021).

“At Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti students of Medicine and Surgery require only N468,750.00 for 2021/2022 Session. For Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye N176,396.00 will be enough for the same course.

“There is no justification for this continuous upward review of school fees when the economy of the state is practically comatose and workers’ salaries are not only irregular but never paid in full.

“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ondo State Chapter calls on the Governor and the APC led government to wear a human face in taking decisions that affect the well being of our future leaders.

”lf neighbouring States with lesser revenue are charging lesser fees, why must Ondo State breed University dropouts because of the decision of one man?

The party said that ” Education is the only industry Ondo State is known for. If the incumbent administration cannot improve our lots, it is better not to complicate a bad situation.

However, the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Adesegun Fatusi said that there was no going back on the new fee schedule.

Fatusi said the new fee was for students to be admitted to the new academic session.

According to him “The institution commitment to offering quality education would not be compromised.

“The parents have an option. It is not compulsory for their children to study here. Other medical schools are available.

He added that “We run this school almost free of tuition fees. This school is a specialised school and we cannot continue with the previous fees.”

Ford, Purdue University Partner To Develop New Charging Station Cable

By

Angel Gimalo

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November 10, 2021

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Ford and Purdue University are partnering to develop a new charging station cable compatible with vehicle charging technology still being developed with hopes of making a broader transition to electric vehicles possible.

Purdue researchers are trying to develop an alternative cooling method to prevent battery overheating with a charging cable that can deliver an increased current.

The cable uses liquid as an active cooling agent, which can help extract more heat from the cable.

If successful, it would deliver significantly more power than the current technology used to re-charge electric vehicles, potentially speeding up the process if used with technology that is being developed now.

Researchers say charging times for electric vehicles could eventually be on par with filling up a car at a gas station.