The Lagos State Government on Friday announced further easing of restrictions on social and event centres across the state with immediate effect. Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Uzamat Akinbile Yusuff and the Director-General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr Lanre Mojola made the announcement. According to Majola, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, gave the approval after due consultation and deliberations with relevant stakeholders and Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDA’s including the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and Lagos State Safety Commission. He listed the new guidelines for social/event facilities to include: “All event centres must hold a valid license of The Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture prior to operating as an event centre in the State. “All event centres must be duly registered and verified on The Lagos State Safety Commission website www.lasgsafetyreg.com prior to holding any event. “An Event Safety Clearance must be obtained from the state safety commission through the website www.lasgsafetyreg.com for any proposed event or exhibition. “Safety Marshals shall be deployed by an accredited event safety consultant from Lagos State Safety Commission for every social event with attendance exceeding over 200 people. “Occupancy limit at any event must not exceed 50 per cent of the maximum design capacity of the hall, wherein occupancy limit stickers provided by the state safety commission must be boldly posted at the entrance of the event hall. “Maximum allowable capacity for Event Centers irrespective of the occupancy limit is 500 people. Deep cleaning must be carried out before and after every event. “Physical distancing shall be maintained between seated guests and a maximum number of seated guests should be six people on a table of 10 persons. “Event duration should not exceed a maximum period of 6-hours. “All guests and service providers at the facility must wear a nose mask and make use of hand sanitisers. “All guests and service providers must endeavour to wash their hands before entering the venue or in the alternative use hand sanitisers. “Temperature checks must be taken at all entry points into a facility. Guests and service providers with temperature (above 37.5) are to be politely turned back and referred to paramedics or the emergency response team on the ground. “Hand sanitisers must be positioned at the entry points and different spots within the hall and must endeavour to display standard COVID-19 safety signs. The signs must be bold and installed at conspicuous locations.” Omojola warned that event centre owners/ planners/vendors would be responsible for any breach of protocols by their staff, stressing that any violation of the protocol shall attract fines and penalties in line with the Lagos State Infectious Diseases Control Regulation 2020.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has launched the second phase of the 5-million Solar Home System (SHS) tagged, ‘Solar Power Naija’, to provide energy to 100,000 homes across the federation. Speaking in the Jangefe community in Kazaure Emirate of Jigawa state during the programme launch on Saturday, Osinbajo said as the cost of installing and maintaining solar devices becomes cheaper, Nigeria has the opportunity to provide power for its citizens. He said, “This programme marks a milestone to focus effort for Nigerians to have access to electricity. We cannot continue to hold on to the national power grid and to achieve the decentralisation of power, an alternative source like renewable energy with cheaper facilities will help us achieve the dream of electrifying Nigeria and the time is now.” Osinbajo, while stating that 25 million households would benefit from the programme in the entire phases, said it is aimed to ensure that the country will stop reliance on the national grid and help to serve communities that are not served or underserved. The programme which is part of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP), is implemented by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and would create over 250,000 jobs, as part of reversing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. “President Muhammadu Buhari approved the powering of five million homes to create jobs for those that will install, maintain as well as those in the payment solar home system.” He added that the programme is an ambitious initiative funded by a N140 billion financing program to support private developers to provide cheap and environmentally friendly power. The Minister of Power, Sale Mamman, at the event said the project would generate N7 billion in tax for the federal government per annum. The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Chiedu Ugbo, whose agency is collaborating with REA for the implementation, said in this second phase, 100,000 homes would be reached with the SHS and they would pay N3,500 monthly rent before taking ownership of the power system after five years. The launching had in attendance the Governors of Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru and his Kano counterpart, Abdullahi Ganduje.

Multiplatinum rapper DMX has died at the age of 50 a week after being hospitalized following a heart attack, according to a family statement released Friday, Abc7 Chicago reports. DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, had been in “grave condition” in a New York hospital after suffering a heart attack on April 2. DMX made a splash in rap music in 1998 with his first studio album “It’s Dark and Hell is Hot,” which debuted No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The multiplatinum-selling album was anchored by several hits including “Ruff Ryders Anthem,” “Get At Me Dog” and “Stop Being Greedy.” The rapper had four other chart-topping albums including “…And Then There Was X,” “Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood,” “The Great Depression” and “Grand Champ.” He has released seven albums and earned three Grammy nominations. His last album, “Undisputed,” was released in 2012. Along with his music career, DMX paved his way as an actor. He starred in the 1998 film “Belly” and appeared in “Romeo Must Die” a couple of years later with Jet Li and the late singer Aaliyah. DMX and Aaliyah teamed up for the film’s soundtrack song “Come Back in One Piece.” The rapper also starred in “Exit Wounds” with Steven Seagal and “Cradle 2 the Grave” with Li. Over the years, DMX has battled with substance abuse. The rapper cancelled a series of shows to check himself into a rehabilitation facility in 2019. In an Instagram post, his team said he apologized for the cancelled shows and thanked his fans for the continued support. Last year, DMX faced off against Snoop Dogg in a Verzuz battle, which drew more than 500,000 viewers. The New York-born rapper has been nominated for multiple Grammy awards, including for the single “Party Up (Up In Here).” His bestselling album, 1999’s “And Then There Was X,” went platinum five times. All told, his albums have gone platinum — sold 1 million units — 14 times and his first five albums all rose to No. 1 on the U.S. charts. He has also been featured in several movies, including “Romeo Must Die” and “Cradle 2 the Grave.” He starred in his own reality television series, “DMX: Soul of a Man,” on BET in 2006. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to tax fraud, in what prosecutors called a “multi-year scheme to conceal millions of dollars” from the IRS. He served one year in prison.

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has rescheduled the May/June 2021 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). The exam body took to its Twitter page on Friday to announce that the exams, earlier scheduled for May/June, will now hold between August 16 and September 30. In a statement by Demianus Ojijeogu, head of public affairs WAEC, Nigeria, the council also denied media reports that the exams had been postponed. WAEC also clarified comments made by Patrick Areghan, its national head, stating that he was quoted out of context. “We wish to categorically state that the head of the national office was quoted out of context,” the statement read. “The head of national office had in his address… stated as follows: ‘Let me also use this opportunity to dispel rumours being peddled about by some people regarding the conduct of WASSCE for school candidates, 2021. “The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are still very much felt in the education sector. The academic calendar has been distorted. It will, therefore, not be possible to have the examination in May/June this year. “A convenient International Timetable for the conduct of the examination will soon be released.’ The arrangement is in line with the current academic calendar and was done in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education.” WAEC also informed “schools, candidates and the general public that the exam will hold from August 16 to September 30, 2021. The International timetable for the conduct of the exam will be released in due course.” The exam body recently released the results for private candidates who sat for this year’s WASSCE — first series.