National Impact Magazine

17/08/2025

https://nationalimpactglitz.com.ng/celebrating-a-rare-gem-at-50-sir-comrade-amb-mrc-ibekwe-ksji-sm-jp/

By Omenihu Alfred fibmn The monument of a great man is not of granite or marble or bronze. It consists of his goodness, his deeds, his love and his compassion. The Great Man is colder, harder, less hesitating, and without fear of ‘opinion’. He has strong virtues that accompany respect and ‘res...

11/03/2025

``Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. When you are thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more.

Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude and gratitude being a golden virtue turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.

Thank You Lord Jesus for another 365 days. Congratulations to Me.

22/07/2020

Magu’s letter implicates Presidential Villa, some ministries and government agencies on vehicles auction and forfeited properties

Ibrahim Magu, the suspended acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, says some of the vehicles recovered by the EFCC were auctioned to the Presidential Villa, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development as well as the Federal Inland Revenue Services and other agencies.

In a letter to the Justice Ayo Salami-led panel in response to an earlier report by the Presidential Committee on Audit of Recovered Assets in which Magu was accused of being unable to account for the interest accrued to N550bn recovered funds as well as recovered vehicles and houses, titled, ‘Re: Alleged Case of Conspiracy, Enrichment, Abuse of Public Office and Other Infractions,’ he explained how some of the recovered vehicles were auctioned.

“On allocation of vehicles to some government agencies through special auction with presidential approval. The beneficiary agencies are: the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management of which the valued price is to be debited from their allocation; State House, National Commission for Refugees and Displaced Persons; Federal Inland Revenue Service and National Directorate of Employment.”

“Some of these agencies had not paid for the vehicles but there was an arrangement that the money would be deducted from their financial allocation” he stated in the Letter.

The suspended EFCC boss said about 450 other vehicles, which had been recovered, had yet to be sold despite receiving presidential approval to do so.

“The commission presently has presidential approval to dispose over 450 forfeited vehicles located in Lagos and Abuja. The vehicles have been valued by the National Automotive Council Valuers and the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing. But no sale/disposal has been conducted yet,” Magu stated.

Furthermore, Magu explained that some of the houses permanently forfeited to the Federal Government by looters had also been handed over to some agencies of the government like the Voice of Nigeria, North -East Development Commission and the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate while some were being rented by the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Nigerian Army and other agencies of government. The letter equally mentioned that the commission also temporarily handed over property in Lagos to the Lagos State Government for use as isolation centres for COVID-19 patients.

22/07/2020

Lagos Bus Service fare hike takes effect by August first

Lagos state government has finally given approval to the management Of LBSL for an average of 46 percent increase in the transportation fare. According to LBSL “The approval to use the BRT corridor by the governor is to further give the commuting public a better experience on Lagos roads. “The increase in the number of passengers and fare becomes necessary in order to enable the company to sustain its operations, following the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on public bus transportation.

The Chief Executive Officer of LBSL, Mr Idowu Oguntona, made the announcement in a statement on Monday by Mr. Afolabi Olawale, the Public Affairs Officer of the company. Oguntona said the approvals would take effect from August 1.

“The governor also approved LBSL’s request to increase the number of passengers per bus from 20 to 42 in strict observance of updated COVID-19 safety protocol as directed by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, in the operation of public transport, while ensuring all other measures are in place.”

According to him, as part of reforms ongoing in the LBSL, government has also granted approval for the operators of the buses to commute passengers to its full capacity without standing. He said that this must be done with strict adherence to necessary safety protocols. The managing director said that the COVID-19 guidelines, which restricted the firm to convey not more than 20 passengers per bus, had affected the running of the buses. He said that the development led to a 72 percent drop in revenue of the company while running costs remained fairly the same.

22/07/2020

Ohanaeze expresses optimism that Igbo’ll succeed Buhari in 2023

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the top Igbo socio- cultural group, has said that an Igbo will succeed Buhari in 2023. In a statement signed by Chuks Ibegbu, its Spokesman, he noted that “with the mood of the nation today, an Igbo will hopefully succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023 but that should not stop Ndigbo from marching on to realise the dream of Igbo Stabilisation Fund. If we succeed in Igbo land, it will rub off on the rest of Nigeria and Nigerians will also be happy. Nigeria has no business with poverty.

“Our people need to be healthy and happy but our politicians, past and present have looted us dry with our parasitic elites”

The apex umbrella further applauded Nnia Nwodo and South East governors for initiating the Igbo Stabilization Fund, noting that if pursued vigorosly, it will make Igbo land a paradise on earth and wipe away their tears.

Moreso, Chuks Ibegbu called on Ndigbo in the diaspora, intelligenstia, business moguls, scientists and entrpreuners to invest in the programme and make Igbo land the toast of the world. Ibegbu in a statement said: “It can be done with Igbo energy. It’s possible. Igbo land can be better than Dubai, California, Paris and many civilized cities. We can do it with or without external support. We want Nigerians to come to Igbo land and feel very comfortable and happy and invest too. We want to have a working rail, sea ports, clean cities, industrial emporium, world class health and educational facilities. We want Igbos all over the world to key into this project. We want more cities to be developed in Igbo land and abandoned cities revived. This is the dream of Dr M. I. Okpara and today, Chief Nnia Nwodo.

“We can do it. We can make Igbo land the centre of attraction in Africa and this will rub off on Nigeria. “Let the Arthur Ezes, Ubas, Innosons, IWA, our billionaires and every Igbo patriot invest in this project. Let us have six lane roads, speed rails, seaports, skyscrappers, beautiful cities and agricultural revolution. This is a big challenge to Ndigbo and we owe this to the three million people we lost in the past,” he concluded

22/07/2020

Kaffy urges dancers to remain prayerful over deaths in industry

Expressing her heart felt sympathy over the rising cases of death among dancers in Nigeria, the Guinness World Record holder, Kafayat Shafau-Ameh popularly called Kaffy has encouraged her fellow dancers in Nigeria to continue to pray for the industry.

According to the super dance instructor four dancers have died in less than two months. “Dancers rise up, it has to stop! We have to be more prayerful. There is a wave and this is becoming too much. Four dancers died in less than 2 months.” she wrote as she announced the death of another young dancer identified as Romeo.“Romeo, Romeo always humble and ready to work. Never complaining, funny and smiling. May your soul Rest in Peace.”

In May, popular Nigerian dancer and video vixen, Love Divine aka Kodak died from electrocution. Also, it was reported that Nigerian-London based dancer and Nicole Thea died along with her unborn son a few days ago.

In view of the situation on ground, Kaffy has kicked off a live conversation on Instagram titled, ‘A Dancer’s Health.’ Speaking on the project, the energetic dancer said that it will serve as an opportunity for a better life.

“Though death is inevitable at least we need to educate, protect, and take good care of ourselves. I would be discussing with professionals on the benefit of health insurance and how we can take good care of ourselves. Last year, I offered a free medical insurance scheme for my dancers” she opined.

18/04/2020

Ekiti circulates photos of convicted rapists

“Evil originates not in the absence of guilt; but in our effort to escape it,” said
Shannon L. Alder. Reasons being that if caught, the image of 'the Scapegoat' will seem eternally etched in the back of everyone’s mind incomprehensively. And even at that, it is said that, the search for a scapegoat is the easiest of all hunting expeditions. Ekiti State Government has publicly shamed two convicted s*x offenders in its renewed onslaught against r**e and other s*xual offences to serve as deterrence to others. It pasted the photographs of the two convicted s*x offenders, Basiru Adeyanju and Abiodun Olusola, in public places in the state and as well on various online platforms for the crimes they committed which earned them prison sentences. They are the third and fourth convicted s*x offenders publicly shamed through publishing of names and photographs.
A public notice released by the state Ministry of Justice on the 16th of April stated that “the two had been registered in the ministry’s s*x offenders’ register and as well published on all social media platforms of the ministry”. A statement from the office of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Olawale Fapohunda, read, “The step was in furtherance of the zero tolerance policy of the Fayemi administration to violence against women and children. The action is aimed at discouraging s*xual violence against women and minors which has reached alarming rate in the state”.
Adeyanju, formerly of Irona Street, Ado Ekiti, was convicted and currently serving a 14-year prison term at the Nigerian Correctional Centre, Ado Ekiti for the attempted r**e of a 17-year-old girl. Abiodun, on the other hand, formerly of Ijero Ekiti, is also currently serving a 10-year prison sentence in the same facility for the r**e of a 61-year-old woman. Recall that a former Anglican priest, Gabriel Asateru, and Ajibade Olaoluwa, who were both convicted for ra**ng minors, were earlier publicly shamed. The Ekiti State S*x Offenders Register was opened in 2013 while the public shaming started in 2019.

14/04/2020

Trump halts funding to the World Health Organization pending a review of its response to coronavirus pandemic - The Washington Post

US President Donald Trump who accused the World Health Organization on April 14 of "covering up the spread of the coronavirus has on Tuesday 15th April instructed his administration to stop funding the World Health Organization until a review is completed on what he calls a mismanagement of the pandemic.
The WHO has been criticized for its slow response in the early days of the outbreak in Wuhan, but by Jan. 30, the organization declared a global health emergency, after which the president continued to downplay the outbreak and compare it to the flu.
The hold on funding was expected this week as the Trump administration and conservative allies have ramped up their criticism that the United Nations agency catered to China early in the outbreak and jeopardized global health.
Here are some significant developments:

• As world leaders consider how to restart a crashing global economy, the governors of California and Oregon on Tuesday laid out a framework to reopen public life and businesses in their states. “Science and public health, not politics, must be the guide,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said, a day after President Trump incorrectly claimed that he is the final arbiter on when the United States will reopen.
• The U.S. reported more than 2,070 deaths on Tuesday, a new daily high, and total confirmed fatalities surpassed 25,000 with more than 600,000 infections.
• Covid-19 checkpoints targeting out-of-state residents in several states, including Rhode Island, Florida and Texas, are drawing complaints and legal scrutiny.
• The International Monetary Fund said the pandemic is causing the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
• More than 9,000 U.S. health-care workers have been infected, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis.
• In Britain, the government’s daily covid-19 tallies appear to be seriously undercounting the true mortality figures.
• More than 2,100 U.S. cities are now bracing for budget shortfalls, with many planning cuts and layoffs, according to the new survey

14/04/2020

Public statement for collaboration on COVID-19 vaccine development as of 13th April

"We are scientists, physicians, funders and manufacturers who have come together as part of an international collaboration, coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO), to help speed the availability of a vaccine against COVID-19. While a vaccine for general use takes time to develop, a vaccine may ultimately be instrumental in controlling this worldwide pandemic. In the interim, we applaud the implementation of community intervention measures that reduce spread of the virus and protect people, including vulnerable populations, and pledge to use the time gained by the widespread adoption of such measures to develop a vaccine as rapidly as possible. We will continue efforts to strengthen the unprecedented worldwide collaboration, cooperation and sharing of data already underway. We believe these efforts will help reduce inefficiencies and duplication of effort, and we will work tenaciously to increase the likelihood that one or more safe and effective vaccines will soon be made available to all."

Signatories in alphabetical order
Randy A. Albrecht, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA
Mohamad Assoum, Mercy Global Health
Luigi Aurisicchio, on behalf of Takis Biotech, Italy
Dan Barouch, Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, USA
Trevor Brasel, The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), USA
Jennifer L Bath, ImmunoPrecise Antibodies, Canada
Sina Bavari, Edge BioInnovation Consulting and Management, USA
Maria Elena Bottazzi, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA
Gerhard Beck, Austrian Medicines and Medical Devices, Austria
Tom Brady, Flow Pharma Inc, USA
Kate Broderick, Inovio, USA
Will Brown, Altimmune Inc, USA
Scot Bryson, Orbital Farm, Canada
Ricardo Carrión, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, USA
Miles Carroll, Public Health England, UK
Keith Chappell, University of Queensland, Australia
Daniel S. Chertow, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, USA
Sandra Cordo, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Wian de Jongh, on behalf of the Prevent n-CoV consortium (AdaptVac, ExpreS2ion, Copenhagen University, Leiden University Medical Centre, Wageningen University and Tubingen University)
Natalie Dean, University of Florida, USA
Rafael Delgado, Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Spain
Dimiter Dimitrov
David A. Dodd, GeoVax, Inc., USA
Paul Duprex, Center for Vaccine Research, University of Pittsburgh, USA
Luis Enjuanes; Centro Nacional Biotecnología, Spain
Jeremy Farrar, Josie Golding, Charlie Weller, on behalf of Wellcome Trust, UK
Mark Feinberg, Swati Gupta and Ripley Ballou, on behalf of IAVI, USA
Antonella Folgori, on behalf of ReiThera, Italy
Thomas Friedrich, University of Wisconsin, School of Veterinary Medicine, USA
Simon Funnel, Public Health England, UK
Luc Gagnon, Nexelis, Canada
Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA
Vipin Garg, Altimmune Inc., USA
Volker Gerdts, on behalf of VIDO-Intervac, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Nora Gerhards, Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, The Netherlands
Christiane Gerke, Head of Vaccine Programs/Head of Vaccine Innovation Development, Institut Pasteur, France
Carlo Giaquinto, Department of Women and Child Health, University of Padova, Italy
Prakash Ghimire, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Nikolaj Gilbert, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), USA
Sarah Gilbert, University of Oxford, UK
Marion F. Gruber, Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, USA
Farshad Guirakhoo, GeoVax Inc, USA
Bart L Haagmans, Erasmus Medical Center, The Netherlands
M. Elizabeth Halloran, Center for Inference and Dynamics of Infectious Diseases, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and University of Washington, USA
Scott Harris, Altimmune Inc, USA
Hideki Hasegawa, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan
Richard Hatchett, on behalf of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Norway
James Hayward, Applied DNA Sciences, USA
Sheri Ann Hild
Peter Hotez, Baylor College of Medicine, USA
Youngmee Jee, Seoul National University, College of Medicine, Republic of Korea
Charu Kaushic, Institute of Infection and Immunity, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CHIR), Government of Canada
Alyson A. Kelvin, Dalhousie University, Canada
Larry D. Kerr, Office of Global Affairs, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, USA
Bernard Kerscher, PEI, Germany
Jae-Ouk Kim, International Vaccine Institute, Republic of Korea
Seungtaek Kim, Institut Pasteur Korea, Republic of Korea
Jason Kindrachuk, University of Manitoba, Canada
Otfried Kistner, Senior Consultant and Independent Vaccine Expert, Austria
Gary Kobinger, Université Laval, Canada
Marion Koopmans, Viroscience Department, Erasmus Medical Centre, The Netherlands
Philip R. Krause, Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, USA
Greg Kulnis, Nexelis, Canada
Paul Henri Lambert, Centre of Vaccinology, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Nathalie Landry, Medicago Inc., Canada
Roger Le Grand, Inserm-CEA-Université Paris Saclay, France
Robin Levis, Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, USA
Mark G Lewis, Bioqual Inc, USA
Joshua Liang, Clover Biopharmaceuticals, China
Jinzhong Lin, on behalf of Fudan University, China
Ira Longini, University of Florida, USA
Shabir Madhi, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Jessica E. Manning, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, USA
Peter Marks, Director, on behalf of Food and Drug Administration/Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research
Hilary D. Marston, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, USA
Federico Martinón-Torres, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Sebastian Maurer-Stroh, on behalf of the GISAID Initiative
John W. Mellors, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, USA
Ali Mirazimi, Department of Laboratory medicin, Karolinska institutet, Sweden
Kayvon Modjarrad, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, USA
Stefan O. Mueller, CureVac, Germany
Vincent J. Munster, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, USA
César Muñoz-Fontela, Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine, Germany
Aysegul Nalca, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), USA
José Manuel Ochoa, Altimmune Inc., USA
Dave O'Connor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
Lidia Oostvogels, CureVac, Germany
Nisreen M. A. Okba, Erasmus Medical Center, The Netherlands
L. Jean Patterson, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, USA
Joe Payne, on behalf of Arcturus Ther**eutics
Jonathan Pearce, on behalf of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Medical Research Council (MRC), UK
Stanley Perlman, University of Iowa, USA
Margaret Louise Pitt, WRAIR/ U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), USA
Anuradha Poonepalli, Health Products Regulation Group, Health Sciences Authority, Singapore
Dieter Pullirsch, Austrian Medicines and Medical Devices Agency, Austria
Damian Purcell, Doherty Institute, Australia
Chuan Qin, Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences (ILAS), CAMS & PUMC, China
Angela Rasmussen, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, USA
Scott Roberts, Altimmune Inc., USA
Estefania Rodriguez, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Germany
Ted M Ross, Center for Vaccines and Immunology, University of Georgia, USA
Chad J Roy, Tulane National Primate Research Center and Tulane School of Medicine, USA
Reid Rubsamen, Flow Pharma Inc, USA
Anna Laura Salvati, Italy
Andrew Satz, EVQLV Inc, USA
Hanneke Schuitemaker and Johan Van Hoof, on behalf of Janssen Pharmaceuticals Companies of Johnson & Johnson, USA
Robert Shattock, Imperial College, UK
John Shriver, Sanofi, USA
Gale Smith, Novavax Inc. USA
Peter Smith, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK
Isabel Sola, Centro Nacional Biotecnología, Spain
James Southern, Adviser to South African Health Products Regulatory Authority
Jonathan M Spergel, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania, USA
Sybil Tasker, Codagenix Inc, USA
Chien-Te Kent Tseng, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, USA, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response/Biodefense Advanced Research and Development Authority
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, USA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Jean Marie Vianney Habarugira, on behalf of the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP)
Veronika von Messling, on behalf of German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany
Tony T. Wang, Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, USA
Jeffrey Wolf, Heat Biologics Inc, USA
Ningshao Xia, Xiamen University of China, China
Yingjie Xu, on behalf of Shanghai Jiaotong University, China
Paul R Young, University of Queensland, Australia
Hang Yu, on behalf of Shanghai RNACure, China
Xuefeng Yu, CanSino Biologics, China
Tal Zaks, on behalf of Moderna, USA
Peter Daszak, President, EcoHealth Alliance, New York, USA

11/03/2020

Bizarre indeed! Woman smashes world Record as she married for 314 times

As a student of Mass Communication then, i was told that the best definition of news is when a man bites a dog. Without mincing words, its obvious that odd stories has taken center stage on global news table. The story has been going viral but i view it as a whitewash on the sanctity of marriage as an institution.
A young woman recently pronounced the words “until death do us part” for the 314th time in Las Vegas, setting a new Guinness World Record for the most weddings for a single person.
A 27-year old Betty Carmichael woman from Las Vegas has recently gotten married for the 314th time after 313 failed marriages at a drive-thru wedding chapel in downtown Vegas. It is on record that 277 of her unions were annulled in less than 48 hours and none of the others lasted more than 3 months. Funny enough, Ms. Carmichael keeps a rather positive outlook on her failed relationships.” I promised myself that I would never have s*x with a man without being married to him and I’ve always respected it. That means a lot to me because I’m a good Christian.” She said. Good Christians indeed!
Reverend Andrew James, one of the clerics who has performed 43 wedding ceremonies for the woman of the moment the, says it’s the 43rd time he marries Ms. Carmichael to different men, and always hopes for her that it is the last time. The Guinness World Record organization has announced that it would dispatch a representative to meet the new record holder as soon as she came back from her honeymoon.
The former record was held by a 19th Century Arab Sultan, Sheikh Ali Bin Hassan el Seoud, who married 312 times, having up to 260 wives at the same time at the end of his life.

11/03/2020

THE HYPE AROUND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY AROUND THE WORLD
… the end of crude oil is near and Nigeria will be badly affected

A glance at the $644 Million Hydrogen-Powered Superyacht from Sinot Yacht Architecture & Design made me conclude that the end of crude oil is near and Nigeria will be badly affected. The 367-foot vessel nicknamed “The AQUA” which has been in the news as associated with World Billionaire Bill Gates, according to design specifications released by the manufacturer, would store its liquid hydrogen fuel in twin 28-ton vacuum-sealed tanks cooled to minus-423 degrees Fahrenheit. The sci-fi concept ship received an enormous amount of hype when it was revealed recently.
Simply put, hydrogen fuel cell technology works by generating electricity through a chemical reaction. Pressurized hydrogen (H2) is the ‘fuel’ in the tank, which then interacts with oxygen (O2) in the air to create electricity through a chemical reaction. Fuel cells are inherently more efficient than combustion engines, which must first convert chemical potential energy into heat, and then mechanical work. Currently most internal combustion engines operate with an efficiency around 25% and power plants achieving about a 35% efficiency; however, a stationary fuel cell, when used in a combined heat and power system, can have an efficiency level of greater than 80%.
Fuel cells systems are more environmentally friendly than internal combustion engines, as the only byproduct is H2O (and it’s clean enough to drink). Hydrogen fuel cells can be thought of as batteries that never run flat as long as the H2 keeps coming. Other alternative power that is fighting against crude oil are Solar Power, Nuclear Power, Hydroelectric Energy, Wave Energy, Biofuels, Natural Gas, Geothermal Power, Wind Energy.etc
We all hope that the inevitable decline of oil in the global space will drive Nigeria’s attention to other alternatives which of cause is Solid Minerals and Agriculture. So while the future of oil is getting threatened by the impending ban on vehicles using fossil fuels in countries such as UK, France, China and the US, it is a big opportunity for Nigeria to start producing batteries from these mineral resources that will power the electric cars. We have all the ingredients to become an electric battery-producing country.