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Trade Fair Village: Uyo Chamber of Commerce to build new site

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The Uyo Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture, has proposed to build and complete a trade fair village for manufacturers in Akwa Ibom State.

The President, Mr Nseyen Ebong, said this during the inaugural meeting on the formation of youths and women wing of the group in Uyo, the state capital.

He said the trade fair village would avail entrepreneurs the opportunity to increase product sales, market both old and new products, meet and interact with customers and attract local and foreign investors.

According to him, the organisation had already produced young and talented manufacturers who are breaking new grounds adding that there was the need to build an environment where their products would be constantly showcased and received good patronage.

He expressed the hope that the narrative of women and youths who had been used as praise singers to politicians at political rallies, would be changed as the UYOCCIMA intends to register one thousand five hundred new businesses before 2021 and also create over two million jobs before 2025.

Ebong said the anticipated businesses would be targeted at women and youths to turn them into drivers of industries and change the state from civil service-oriented domain to industrialized society.

Ebong said, “We want to change the narrative of our women and youths being used as praise singers to politicians at political rallies without any gain at the end of the day, as we hope to register one thousand five hundred new businesses before 2021 and also create over two million direct and indirect jobs before 2025.

“As an organised private sector, we hope to diversify to businesses so that jobs can be created for the people, especially youths and women.

“We have mentorship programmes to encourage, advice and help the young entrepreneurs attain better height. We also have financial support to advance individual businesses.”

Speaking on the expertise of the members, he said the chamber ” parades a repertoire of experienced and capable hands who are set to ensure that the indigenes of the state benefit economically from various training programmes through training and seminars that will be organised regularly at a minimal fee or free.”

Yellow fever outbreak: Tension as disease spreads to three Enugu council areas

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There was palpable tension in Enugu State on Monday following the report of a suspected Yellow Fever outbreak in three more local government areas of the state.

Enugu State had been battling to contain the outbreak of the disease in two communities of Ette Uno and Umuopu in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of the state, which reportedly claimed 52 lives between late October when the outbreak was first reported and November 2020.

The state government has also confirmed it had received reports of strange deaths within communities in Nsukka, Isi-Uzo, and Igbo-Etiti LGAs.

A statement by the Commissioner of Health, Prof Ikechukwu Obi, released on Sunday night, disclosed that the ministry’s Rapid Response Team, LGA Rapid Response Teams in collaboration with International and National Partners had visited the communities to investigate the reports and had taken samples for testing.

The statement partly read, “Following the confirmed cases of Yellow Fever in Igbo Eze North LGA of Enugu State and the concerted efforts to control the situation in the LGA by the State Government, Stakeholders and Partners; Federal and International, reports have also been received of ‘strange deaths’ within communities in Nsukka, Isi-Uzo and Igbo-Etiti LGAs.

“The Enugu State Ministry of Health Rapid Response Team, LGA Rapid Response Teams, International and National Partners have also visited these LGAs to investigate the reports and take samples for testing just as was done for the reports at Igboeze North.

“The new set of samples from these LGAs have been sent to the National Reference Laboratory at the Federal Capital Territory Abuja for a thorough and complete examination to determine conclusively the reasons for these new set of reports and the results are expected back early this week.”

While the Health Commissioner condoled with families that lost their loved ones in the unfortunate development, reminded residents of the state that “Yellow Fever is transmitted through mosquito bites”.

He, therefore, advised that people should keep their environment clean and remove mosquito breeding sites around their homes.

He added, “Yellow Fever Vaccination is not for treatment of Yellow Fever, it is for prevention of Yellow Fever.

“If you have been recently vaccinated against Yellow Fever, you do not need to be vaccinated again.

“It takes 10 days or more for Yellow fever vaccine to start working after you have received it.

“If you or your loved one are not feeling well, please visit or take your loved one to a nearby hospital for treatment. Trained Health Workers can recognize most of the diseases of public health importance and know what to do.”

Just In: spokesperson says PDP hasn’t started discussion on 2023 zoning

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The National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Kola Ologbondiyan, has said the PDP has not started discussions on the zoning of candidates in the 2023 presidential election.

The PDP spokesman was reacting to reports of the planned defection of the Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi.

It was  earlier reported that Umahi told the PDP National Working Committee at a meeting in Abuja last week of his decision to leave the party for the ruling All Progressives Congress.

The governor had also told the PDP NWC led by the party National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, that the APC would protect the interest of the South-East in the 2023 elections.

Ologbondiyan said concerns raised by Umahi as it relates to the fate of the South-East in the next presidential election were genuine concerns.

He, however, insisted that the party has not started discussions on the zoning of candidates in the 2023 presidential election.

Ologbondiyan stated, “Discussions have not reached that stage at all. The concerns raised by Governor Umahi as it affects the South-East, the party believes are genuine concerns. And when the time comes and all the variables are considered, and all the issues are taken into consideration, the party will take its decision.

“PDP is not a party that can be stampeded. We are not a party that takes decision on the impulse of one or two individuals; we are a structured political party – we have our various organs and decisions as important as the zoning of the number one office is not a decision that can be taken at a sitting; it is a decision that must be taken round all the interests and the organs of our party. We haven’t even started the discussion, that’s the honest truth.

“But concerns are being raised and the party is also studying all the concerns. I believe all these will come into play when the party wants to make a decision but as we speak, we have not reached that level.”

The PDP spokesman also noted that the party was not bothered about which part of the country the All Progressives Congress wants to zone the ticket for the 2023 presidential election.

He further alleged that some disgruntled APC members were working at pulling members of the PDP to form a third force in the next general elections.

“We are aware in the Peoples Democratic Party that there are those who are losing out in APC and they are contemplating a third force just as they did in 2014 and as such, they are looking at coming to the PDP and break the party by taking members of the PDP to create a new political party.

“The PDP is a holistic political party and we are not going to allow distractions. The leadership of the PDP under Prince Uche Secondus is steadying the party for the purpose for which Nigerians are aligning with us come 2023,” he stated.

Ologbondiyan also said that the National Executive Council of the party would meet on Thursday “in order to consider all issues lingering in the nation and our party”.

Election Overtime: 6 States With Voting Litigation, Controversies

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The presidential election has continued into overtime in the courts on multiple fronts as President Donald Trump declines to concede the contest to Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

Even as states kept counting ballots, no state had certified results, and lawsuits began to work their way through the courts, major media outlets announced four days after Election Day that the former vice president had won the presidency by exceeding the necessary 270 electoral votes. 

Biden now leads by varying margins in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, and Wisconsin, most of which had showed Trump ahead on election night. 

To explain what’s happening in the courts, here is an overview of the litigation and related election controversies in the most contentious states. 

1. Pennsylvania 

20 electoral votes

Vote spread: Biden leads Trump by about 63,000 votes.

—A Pennsylvania appeals court delivered a victory Thursday to the Trump campaign by blocking mail-in votes by anyone who didn’t provide required identification by the Nov. 9 deadline. 

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, sought to give voters who mailed in ballots more time to fulfill the ID requirement, beyond the deadline–a full six days after Election Day. 

Shortly before the Nov. 3 election, Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, a Democrat who oversees elections in the state, pushed the date further back. 

Commonwealth Court Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt ruled that Boockvar lacked the legal authority to change the date unilaterally. The votes were not yet included in Pennsylvania’s tally, where Biden leads Trump by more than 54,000 votes, or less than 1%.

The number of potential votes that wouldn’t be counted was unknown Thursday, but Philadelphia election officials said it was about 2,100 in the city, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Trump campaign’s chief legal counsel, Matt Morgan, said the pending lawsuits alone wouldn’t tilt the election outcome, but cumulatively could whittle Biden’s lead to 0.5%–triggering an automatic recount under Pennsylvania law.

The Trump campaign is suing in both Pennsylvania state court and in federal courts. 

—Among the most high profile allegations has been that Republican monitors were kept too far away to be able to view election workers’ ballot counting in several counties. The Trump campaign asked a federal court to block certification of the vote until officials follow proper procedures. U.S. District Judge Matthew W. Brann is presiding over this case. 

—In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, the Trump campaign also asserts that Pennsylvania ran a “two-tiered” election system that favored mail-in ballots over in-person voting, held voters to different standards on whether their signatures checked against voter rolls; and allowed votes received three days after Election Day to be counted without evidence of timely mailing, such as a postmark. 

The Trump campaign’s lawsuit alleges this violates the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause and its Elections and Electors Clauses. 

—In a separate lawsuit filed independently of the Trump campaign, the Thomas More Law Center’s Amistad Project filed a lawsuit alleging that Pennsylvania poll workers in heavily Democratic counties provided flawed mail-in ballots to Democratic campaign workers to contact voters about fixing their ballots. By state law, mail-in ballots must be set aside after receipt until the election is complete. 

Boockvar, Pennsylvania’s secretary of state, authorized counties to do this at 8:38 p.m. Nov. 2. Former Kansas Attorney General Phillip Kline, director of the Amistad Project, said large metropolitan counties had an advantage in adjusting to this late notice that smaller rule counties didn’t. In other words, Kline said, blue counties had an advantage over red counties. 

“They were activated,” Kline told The Daily Signal of political operatives in Pennsylvania. 

Kline stressed that there is no rush as this and other litigation go forward. States have until Dec. 8 to certify electors. The Electoral College is set to meet Dec. 14, and Inauguration Day is Jan. 20, 2021. 

“It’s important to hit the pause button. This is not a constitutional crisis,” Kline said. “We have to get this right. Election officials need to be accountable.” 

—Three Pennsylvania counties–Bucks, Chester, and Delaware–reported inaccurate voter registration information to the federal government, Judicial Watch reported in October. 

—More than 21,000 names on Pennsylvania’s voter registration rolls belong to voters who are dead, according to Public Interest Legal Foundation, an election integrity watchdog group. 

This doesn’t mean all–or any–of those voters were recorded as having voted, only that Pennsylvania has been deficient in cleaning its voter rolls as required by the Help America Vote Act. Of the total number, at least 9,212 of those still listed as registered voters died in the past five years; at least 197 have been dead longer than 20 years. 

2. Michigan

16 electoral votes

Vote spread: Biden leads Trump by about 147,000 votes.

Michigan would be the most difficult state to flip, but the Trump campaign as well as independent groups and voters have raised several questions. 

—Four Michigan voters filed a federal lawsuit alleging fraud and asking that election results be excluded from three counties. 

The lawsuit calls for scrapping ballots cast in Wayne, Washtenaw, and Ingham counties. That reportedly would amount to 1.2 million votes. 

Among issues in the Detroit-Wayne County area: Republican election observers could not see past cardboard put up to cover glass while workers counted votes. 

One expert on the case is noted election lawyer James Bopp Jr., a former vice chairman of the Republican National Committee and former chief legal counsel for the National Right to Life Committee. 

Bopp has been part of a legal team in several U.S. Supreme Court cases, including two major free speech cases–Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and McCutcheon v. FEC. Bopp also has been a campaign adviser to Trump, 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney, and former President George W. Bush. He has teamed with Michigan lawyer Maxwell Gross. 

The Michigan plaintiffs are Oakland County residents Lena Bally and Gavriel Grossbard; Eaton County resident Carol Hatch; and Jackson County resident Steven Butler, Michigan Live reported. Defendants include Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat; members of the Michigan State Board of Canvassers; and members of similar boards in Wayne, Washtenaw, and Ingham counties. 

The plaintiffs argue that “this evidence suffices to place in doubt the November 3 presidential election results in identified counties and/or the state as a whole.” The lawsuit, which notes that the plaintiffs will present a data analysis, also says:

Upon information and belief, the expert report will identify persons who cast votes illegally by casting multiple ballots, were deceased, had moved, or were otherwise not qualified to vote in the November 3 presidential election, along with evidence of illegal ballot stuffing, ballot harvesting, and other illegal voting.

The lawsuit contends that if illegal votes are counted, legal votes will be “diluted.”

—Separately, Thomas More Law Center’s Amistad Project filed a suit in Michigan to list firsthand eyewitnesses  who say they saw Democratic election observers filling out new ballots for votes that machines couldn’t read. State law requires that observers from both parties agree on the intent of the voter before a ballot is marked. 

“In Michigan, they are talking about the intent of the voter in counting the ballots and the law requires members of the Republican and Democratic parties to observe,” Kline told The Daily Signal. 

—The Trump campaign filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan that includes sworn affidavits from more than 100 individuals alleging misconduct in counting and processing ballots. 

The lawsuit cites eyewitness claims under oath of fraud and intimidation, mostly from poll challengers who were observing counting at TCF Center in Detroit. This included examples such as seeing about 50 ballots being fed multiple times into a ballot scanner; seeing provisional ballots placed in a tabulation box;, and seeing ballots received after Election Day being backdated and counted. 

“I witnessed election workers open ballots with Donald Trump votes and respond by rolling their eyes and showing it to other poll workers. I believe some of these ballots may not have been properly counted,” Republican poll challenger Artricia Bomer said of TCF Center in an affidavit, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Mordechai Mandelbaum, another Republican challenger at TCF Center testified that, 20 to 30 times, poll workers duplicated ballots “to incorrect precincts in order to run two ballots through for the same person.” 

Another Republican poll challenger, Kristy Klamer, testified in a deposition that she witnessed at least 46 ballots processed for voters not in the database, and she specified precinct and ballot numbers for those ballots. Klamer said in the sworn deposition that election workers manually inputted information into the system for these ballots, including, in some cases, birthdates of Jan. 1, 1900. 

Numerous other observers made assertions about backdating and back-timing. 

However, Detroit Elections Director George Azzouz told CNN that “the date of January 1, 1900, is often used in the electronic poll book as a temporary placeholder for absentee ballots arriving just before Election Day.”

The lawsuit includes allegations from observers of backdating or backtiming of ballots. For Michigan, the deadline was 8 p.m. Election Day. Chris Thomas, a senior adviser to Detroit election officials, denied any backdating. 

The Detroit Free Press reported that 134 Republican poll challengers were allowed into TCF Center.

—A separate lawsuit filed on behalf of two Detroit area residents claims that Wayne County election officials knowingly allowed illegal activities, including validating ballots when names on them weren’t in the voter database; ordering of election workers not to verify voter signatures on mail-in ballots; and counting of ballots that appeared after the deadline. 

3. Nevada

6 electoral votes

Vote spread: Biden leads Trump by more than 35,000 votes.

Of the six states in question, Nevada is the only one that Trump didn’t carry in 2016. He came close in 2020. 

—The Trump campaign alleges that at least 3,000 out-of-state residents voted in Nevada. Lawyers with the campaign sent a list of suspect voter information to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, asking for a federal inquiry. 

The lawyers’ letter to Barr reads in part:

Specifically, we have initially identified 3,062 individuals who appear to have improperly cast mail ballots in the election. We verified this by cross-referencing the names and addresses of voters with the National Change of Address database.

Of course, voter fraud is a serious federal felony, one that cuts to the heart of our representative democracy. We understand that these are serious allegations and we do not make them lightly. 

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada countered that some of the names in question are those of members of the armed services who currently live outside the state.  

—Clark County, home of Las Vegas and key to Biden’s victory in the state, had a voter registration rate of 102% of eligible voters, according to Judicial Watch. 

4. Georgia 

16 electoral votes

Vote spread: Biden leads Trump by more than 14,000 votes.

—Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced that the state would conduct a hand recount of ballots in the presidential election.

“With the margin being so close, it will require a full by hand recount in each county,” Raffensperger, a Republican, said Wednesday. He added: “It will be an audit, a recount, and a recanvas all at once.”

The recount likely will be finished by Nov. 20, he said. 

5. Wisconsin 

10 electoral votes

Vote spread: Biden leads Trump by about 20,000 votes. 

In Wisconsin, the counties of Rock and Milwaukee are facing scrutiny. 

—State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican, called for an investigation by the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections. 

“If there’s real evidence of fraud, I want it to come forward to be able to be investigated. If there’s not, it validates the process and we should be fully supportive of it,” Vos said, according to the Journal Times newspaper, adding:

I would rather guarantee that everyone at the end of the day has certainty that the election was conducted fairly because we do a thorough investigation as opposed to trusting a bunch of bureaucrats in Madison saying, ‘Look, we did it just fine.’

Vos referred to absentee ballots from Milwaukee that were not reported until 4 a.m. Nov. 4, 21 hours after polls opened. Election workers can begin counting ballots after the polls open on Election Day in Wisconsin. 

Vos also referred to the “inefficiency of Milwaukee’s central counting of absentee ballots.” 

Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson responded that the counting operation was “incredibly efficient in that it was able to count nearly 170,000 ballots in less than 24 hours.” Christenson noted that the law prohibits counting ballots until Election Day. 

However, The Journal Times in Racine, Wisconsin, reported that election workers counted about 92% of the city of Madison’s 121,000 absentee ballots by 6 p.m. Election Day and the city of Racine reported all its returns a few hours before Milwaukee that finished at 4 a.m. on Nov. 4, the morning after Election Day. 

—Other Republicans, including presidential sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, raised questions about The Associated Press’ first calling Rock County for their father before the news service reversed the call. 

6. Arizona 

11 electoral votes

Vote spread: Biden leads Trump by about 11,000 votes.

The Trump campaign dropped a lawsuit in Arizona that claimed Arizona poll workers “incorrectly rejected” votes cast in person on Election Day. 

Trump campaign attorneys wrote late Thursday: “Since the close of yesterday’s hearing, the tabulation of votes statewide has rendered unnecessary a judicial ruling as to the presidential electors.”

Biden appeared to have flipped Arizona, a traditionally Republican state where the president had criticized two former GOP senators, Jeff Flake and the late John McCain. 

However, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, said Wednesday that correcting the irregularity  likely would affect only 200 votes. “There is no evidence, there are no facts that would lead anyone to believe that the election results will change,” he said.

by Fred Lucas

Making Sense of the Election Results: Which way America?

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Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump gather at a “Stop the Steal” protest after the 2020 U.S. presidential election was called for Democratic candidate Joe Biden, in front of the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., November 7, 2020. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart

After the exciting Election Day—and predicted impasse – the united states elections has been a source of heated debate for and against pitting old friendships against each other and seriously polarizing the world oldest democracy.

The major source of concern is the unorthodox methods being adopted by the two major parties to achieve the same objective.

As the drums of civil disobedience grows louder driven by the unrepentant hatred for Donald Trump by the radical left whose globalist agenda have been put on hold.

Rather than feed the embers of hate we have a responsibility to diffuse tensions and foster peace that will ensure that whoever wins can inherit a nation that is governable. Call it consensus building sadly, the Democrats want control and not consensus with those who differ.

So those who want to conserve American traditions and national symbols have to roll up our sleeves beside the fighting Trump. Those who can support silently with prayer and private well-wishing are encouraged to do so as many evangelical leaders uphold.

For those in support of the incumbent and  defenders of one nation built under God who frequent patriotic events or wear Trump caps or other America-loving paraphernalia, should do so with full knowledge they may get into altercations just to protect themselves and companions.

We pray that cooler heads prevail thought it seems unlikely . Sadly, cooler heads on the other side of the aisle are afraid of retaliation too.

AFCON qualifier: Eagles depart for Freetown after testing negative for COVID-19

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Nigeria’s Super Eagles players have all been given medical clearance to play in Tuesday’s reverse fixture of the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Sierra Leone after the COVID-19 tests conducted on every player and official of the team returned negative on Monday morning.

It is the second time in the space of five days that the entire Eagles’ delegation would turn in negative results for COVID-19, following earlier tests and results ahead of the match day 3 game at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin, Edo State last Friday.

Gernot Rohr and his men squandered a four-goal lead in Nigeria to play a 4-4 draw and will be looking to redeem their image on Tuesday when they face the Leone Stars at the Siaka Stevens Stadium in Freetown.

The Eagles delegation departed the country on Monday at about 9:20am morning aboard a chartered flight from Benin City, Edo State to Freetown Sierra Leone without Victor Osimhen, who left camp earlier on Sunday.

The Napoli striker suffered a shoulder injury in last Friday encounter and may be out for at least weeks.

The three-time African champions currently top Group L with seven points and will seal qualification for the 2022 AFCON in Cameroon if they win on Tuesday.

Venezuela set to buy 10m doses of Russian COVID-19 vaccine

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Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, on Sunday revealed that his government has agreed to buy 10 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19.

The vaccines will come in the first quarter of 2021, Maduro said at an event in Caracas broadcast on government television, adding that “Venezuela will manufacture the Russian vaccine in the Venezuelan laboratories.”

In August, Russia became the first country to register a vaccine against Covid-19, which it named Sputnik V after the world’s first satellite launched into space in 1957.

However, the announcement has been met with skepticism in the international community.

Its developers reported initial test results showing the vaccine to be 92 per cent effective, two days after pharma giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech said Phase 3 results found their vaccine to be more than 90 per cent effective, injecting hope into the battle against the virus.

In early October, Venezuela began participating in the Sputnik V clinical trials phase, with some 2,000 volunteers participating — among them Maduro’s son Nicolas Maduro Guerra.

Since the pandemic arrived in Venezuela in March, the government has confirmed 96,933 infections and 848 deaths.

But opposition figures and non-governmental organizations question the figures, saying that due to underreporting, they could be much higher.

Monday Motivation: 7 Monday morning routines for a productive week

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After a great and adventurous weekend, it’s almost like we never want Mondays to come. We sluggishly wake up every Monday morning wishing we had one extra day added to the weekend.

The problem is, it’s that attitude which sets you up for a bad week ahead.

Everyone can have enjoy waking up to the dreaded Mondays by creating and following these Monday morning routines which will ensure that the next five days are brilliant, productive, and most of all, enjoyable.

1. Wake up Early

We’ve all been there, hitting the snooze button on the alarm clock when it goes off on a Monday morning. That five minutes of extra time in bed can’t hurt, can it?

Well, the truth is, it can. Hitting that button automatically means that when you do get up, you’re already running behind.

Here’s a radical idea: set the alarm clock for even earlier than you normally would, and get up when it goes off.

2. Meditate

No longer the domain of spiritual gurus, meditation is something that everybody should do at least once a day. Of course, any time is a good time to take 5, but on a Monday morning it is especially important to meditate as soon as you wake.

3. Practice Gratitude

Whether or not you believe in the Law of Attraction, being grateful for the good things in your life will attract more good things, and vice versa. Starting the week with gratitude is a great way to put a positive slant on everything.

4. Indulge in Some Personal Development

Every day is an opportunity to become a better version of yourself, so use that extra hour in your morning to inject some inspiration and motivation into your life. Whether it’s listening to a podcast, reading a book, or watching a Ted Talk, check out some great motivational speakers and incorporate them into your day.

5. Make Breakfast the Best Meal of the Day

Okay, so it might sound like something your mother drummed into you, but she was right; breakfast is important. Just like trying to drive a car with no fuel, facing a busy day without food will make you sluggish and prone to grinding to a halt.

6. Get Moving

Make exercise an integral part of your Monday morning (and every morning). It doesn’t have to involve joining a gym or hitting the pool; why not invest in a pair of decent shoes and head for the park or even the streets for a run? It’s a great cardio workout.

7. Be Present

When you’re rushing around, getting ready for work, or school, or family life, it is all too easy to miss what’s actually going on around you. Make a conscious effort to notice what’s happening in the here and now, and learn to find joy in the little things.

FG considers tax exemption for small businesses

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The exemption of small businesses from the payment of tertiary education tax has been proposed in the draft Finance Bill 2020.

This was disclosed by the Fiscal Policy Reforms Committee, established by the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and chaired by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu.

The Chairman, Drafting Sub-committee and member of Fiscal Policy Reforms Committee, Mr Ajibola Olomola, said the proposal for Finance Bill 2020 “is to introduce an amendment to the Tertiary Education Tax Act to exempt small businesses from Tertiary Education Tax”.

According to the committee, currently, all companies registered in Nigeria are required to pay TET at two per cent of assessable profits for each year of assessment.

It noted that the Finance Act 2019 introduced companies income tax exemption for small businesses.

“However, in line with the Federal Government objective of incentivizing small businesses, there is a need to introduce similar exemption for TET,” Olomola said at a virtual consultation and stakeholder engagement on Friday to discuss the economic and fiscal policy drivers underpinning the bill.

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said the President had indicated in his 2021 executive budget presentation speech that the Finance Bill “is to support the realisation of our 2021 revenue projections and that we will be adopting appropriate counter-cyclical fiscal policies that will enhance the efficiency of fiscal incentives.”

According to the committee, there is a proposal to introduce legislation to empower the Federal Inland Revenue Service to deploy technology for general tax administration.

It was also proposed that penalties should be introduced for breach by tax officials of taxpayer confidentiality.

Olomola said, “The Finance Bill 2020 will include certain provisions that allow the tax authorities deploy information technology for the collection of taxpayer information of tax and reduce cost of collection.

“In light of this proposal, stringent rules are also proposed to secure taxpayer confidentiality from unauthorised access by third parties. The Finance Bill 2020 will look to introduce significant penalties for breach of data confidentiality by tax officials.”

According to the committee, there is a proposal for the creation of an unclaimed dividend and unutilised bank balance trust fund wherein dividends declared and unclaimed would be warehoused and owed as a perpetual debt to shareholders.

“This change corrects an anomaly under the CAMA which extinguishes shareholder’s right to dividend after 12 years and returns the money to the company for redistribution to other shareholders,” Olomola said.

Just In: Yellow fever outbreak spreads to three more LGAs in Enugu

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There’s tension in Enugu State following the report of a suspected Yellow Fever outbreak in three more local government areas of the state.

Enugu State had been battling to contain the outbreak of the disease in two communities of Ette Uno and Umuopu in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of the state, which reportedly claimed 52 lives between late October when the outbreak was first reported and November 2020.

The state government has also confirmed it had received reports of strange deaths within communities in Nsukka, Isi-Uzo, and Igbo-Etiti LGAs.

A statement by the Commissioner of Health, Prof Ikechukwu Obi, released on Sunday night, disclosed that the ministry’s Rapid Response Team, LGA Rapid Response Teams in collaboration with International and National Partners had visited the communities to investigate the reports and had taken samples for testing.

The statement partly read, “Following the confirmed cases of Yellow Fever in Igbo Eze North LGA of Enugu State and the concerted efforts to control the situation in the LGA by the State Government, Stakeholders and Partners; Federal and International, reports have also been received of ‘strange deaths’ within communities in Nsukka, Isi-Uzo and Igbo-Etiti LGAs.

“The Enugu State Ministry of Health Rapid Response Team, LGA Rapid Response Teams, International and National Partners have also visited these LGAs to investigate the reports and take samples for testing just as was done for the reports at Igboeze North.

“The new set of samples from these LGAs have been sent to the National Reference Laboratory at the Federal Capital Territory Abuja for a thorough and complete examination to determine conclusively the reasons for these new set of reports and the results are expected back early this week.”

While the Health Commissioner condoled with families that lost their loved ones in the unfortunate development, reminded residents of the state that “Yellow Fever is transmitted through mosquito bites”.

He, therefore, advised that people should keep their environment clean and remove mosquito breeding sites around their homes.

He added, “Yellow Fever Vaccination is not for treatment of Yellow Fever, it is for prevention of Yellow Fever.

“If you have been recently vaccinated against Yellow Fever, you do not need to be vaccinated again.

“It takes 10 days or more for Yellow fever vaccine to start working after you have received it.

“If you or your loved one are not feeling well, please visit or take your loved one to a nearby hospital for treatment. Trained Health Workers can recognize most of the diseases of public health importance and know what to do.”