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There’s no integrity in Buhari’s government, condones corruption – Saraki

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By: Oliseama Okwuchukwu

Senate President Bukola Saraki has carpeted President Muhammadu Buhari for lacking the much-trumpeted integrity adding that the management of fuel subsidy regime was enough to pooh-pooh the President’s integrity.

The Senate President, who appeared in an interview session on the Africa Independent Television (AIT) on Wednesday, said that the much-vaunted integrity of President Muhammadu Buhari cannot be substantiated in view of his performance in the last three years.

According to him, the management of fuel subsidy payments put serious question marks on Buhari’s integrity adding that whereas the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan was accused of condoning corruption when it based subsidy claims on 30 million daily fuel consumption, Buhari’s government had based daily fuel consumption at 50 million.

He stated that massive fraud had dominated the management of fuel subsidy regime despite repeated calls by the National Assembly for openness.

He said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), was cheating Nigerians with not less than N1 billion daily from the amount meant for the subsidy.

He said: “In 2011, one of the major issues of departure with the former President, Goodluck Jonathan, on the issue of integrity and corruption, was on false subsidy. Remember, I got up and raised a motion on the floor of the Senate that a government, saying that could allow over N1 trillion on false subsidy in the opaque and non-transparent manner it was going, especially when we knew that a lot of money that was being spent, was being siphoned, because the country was not consuming the amount of volumes that were being registered; that time, they were registering 30 million litres on PMS (Premium Motor Spirit).

“But experts had done an analysis to show that there was no way Nigerians could consume 30 million litres. Therefore, people like myself, that was where we departed, how we labelled Jonathan’s government as corrupt.

“Now, it is shocking and alarming that the fuel subsidy matter is worse today. Instead of 30 million, the government is saying that we’re consuming 50 million litres. And we know it’s not true. So, money is being siphoned. So, even if you say that Jonathan was corrupt for fuel subsidy that he was doing at 30 million litres, today’s government that is doing 50million litres, what do you call it?

“The worst is that till now, they’re doing it without appropriation. So, my conclusion is that you cannot give them integrity. You cannot. We (Senate), have cried out over these issues, but we have got stonewall. For two years, I have maintained my argument with the executive that you cannot do this. You have to bring this for appropriation.

“We set up a committee to look at it, but in a government, where agencies under the executive are encouraged not to respond or made to understand that they are accountable to the National Assembly, is a challenge. We have done our own part to raise it and to say this can’t continue.

“You talk about integrity; you cannot talk of integrity about a government that allows this to go on. As I said, about Jonathan, we all cried corruption, it was largely on the issue, because when we talk that the country is losing money, the greatest culprit is NNPC. When you are losing about N1 billion on a daily basis, in a government that is claiming to be fighting corruption, then it raises a big question.

“Subsidy, on its own is not where the fraud is, if managed transparently and efficiently. But where Nigerians are being told that they consume 50 million litres a day is the issue, because it is a lie. We don’t consume that much. So, that money must be going somewhere. The volumes involved are huge.

“So, the point is that in 2015, this was what we used to assess that Jonathan’s government was corrupt. So, our problem is that it has not got better and we expect it to be better under a government that every minute is claiming to have integrity, it has not got better, it has got worse.” (Tribune)

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The Peruvian Government Has Officially Classified Transgender, Nonbinary And Intersex People As “Mentally ill”

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According to the country’s ministry of health, the controversial decision was made to ensure the country’s public health services could “guarantee full coverage of medical attention for mental health” for the trans community.

It also categorises “dual-role transvestitism,” “fetishistic transvestism,” and “other gender identity disorders” under the same bracket of mental illness.

The new law will change language in the Essential Health Insurance Plan (PEAS) to reflect the view of trans and intersex people as a mental health disorder.

Trans groups across Peru have loudly condemned the decision as a step backwards for the country’s already complex relationship with LGBTQ+ rights.

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Math Teacher Accused Of Having Sex With 2 Students And Getting Pregnant For One Tearfully Reveals The Baby Was Taken Away From Her

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The UK teacher who had a baby with an underage student while on trial for having sex with another teenage boy broke down in court after revealing her newborn baby girl had been “taken away” from her.

Manchester math teacher Rebecca Joynes, 30, sobbed to jurors over how her baby was taken “24 hours after being born” this past January — and now she only sees her for nine hours a week, Joynes told jurors on Monday, May 13, according to the Manchester Evening News.

“At the moment I have contact with her three times a week for three hours and that’s it,” she said through tears.

Joynes was arrested and released on bail on orders not to have unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 after allegedly grooming her pupil, known as Boy A in court, by buying him a $430 Gucci belt before bringing him to her apartment for unprotected sex.

She was suspended from school and eventually fired, but soon after, she began having a relationship with a 15-year-old boy, known in court as Boy B, whom she had a baby with in January.

Joynes, who has denied having sex with either boy when they were underage, told the court that when she learned of the allegations against her she had gone to the second boy in a “panic” and he deleted all of her phone’s content.

The former teacher denied having a sexual relationship with the second boy until after he turned 16 and she was already suspended from teaching.

According to her narration,

She said he had added her on Snapchat twice, which she only accepted the second time because she thought he “wanted to tell her something.”

Joynes said a friendship developed and he quickly became her “best friend” even though the boy would make flirtatious and sexualized comments toward her when he was drunk.

She told jurors that it wasn’t until after his 16th birthday that he messaged her saying “I’ve left school now” with a winky face.

After she received notice that she had been dismissed from her job, he went to her apartment, where following an emotional conversation, they had sex.

The two then entered a relationship that Joynes described as “quite toxic” telling the court how the teenager was “very controlling.”

After discovering she was pregnant, Joynes hid love notes for the boy to find around her apartment.

The notes eventually led to a piece of baby clothing that had the words “I love my daddy to the moon and back” written on it.

The court was told that she gave birth to their baby girl in January, but following an emergency court hearing, the newborn was taken away from Joynes.

Joynes has denied two counts of sexual activity with Boy A; two counts of sexual activity with Boy B; and two counts of sexual activity with Boy B while being a person in a position of trust.

Her trial is ongoing.

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First Man To Receive Pig Kidney Transplant Has Died

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The first Man to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant has died two months after the operation.

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), which carried out the procedure in March, announced Sunday, May 12, that Richard “Rick” Slayman, 62, has died.

They said there was no indication his death was a result of the transplant.

Transplants of other organs from genetically modified pigs have failed in the past, but the operation on Mr Slayman, who was suffering with end-stage kidney disease, was hailed as a historic milestone.

In addition to kidney disease, Mr Slayman also suffered from Type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

In 2018, he had a human kidney transplant, but it began to fail after five years.

Following his pig kidney transplant on March 16, his doctors confirmed he no longer needed dialysis after the new organ was said to be functioning well.

“Mr Slayman will forever be seen as a beacon of hope to countless transplant patients worldwide and we are deeply grateful for his trust and willingness to advance the field of xenotransplantation,” MGH said in a statement.

Xenotransplantation is the transplanting of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another.

MGH said it was “deeply saddened” at his sudden death and offered condolences to his family.

Mr Slayman’s relatives said his story was an inspiration.

“Rick said that one of the reasons he underwent this procedure was to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive,” they said.

“Rick accomplished that goal and his hope and optimism will endure forever.

“To us, Rick was a kind-hearted man with a quick-witted sense of humour who was fiercely dedicated to his family, friends, and co-workers,” they added.

While Mr Slayman received the first pig kidney to be transplanted into a human, it is not the first pig organ to be used in a transplant procedure.

Two other patients have received pig heart transplants, but those procedures were unsuccessful as the recipients died a few weeks later.

In one case, there were signs the patient’s immune system had rejected the organ, which is a common risk in transplants.

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