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Navy’s newest offshore survey vessel begins homeward voyage to Nigeria
The Nigerian Navy (NN), says its newest offshore survey vessel, NNS LANA, has began her homeward journey to the country. This is contained in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja by the Director of Information, Naval Headquarters, Commodore Suleman Dahun. He, however, said the ship will visit ports in Lisbon, Las Palmas, Banjul and Tema-Ghana, before heading to Nigeria on May 17. According to Dahun, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Adm. Awwal Gambo, had addressed the ship’s company. The CNS noted that the foremost desire of every littoral state is to have a fleet with the right mix of platforms to meet its operational objectives. Gambo acknowledged that the homebound voyage of NNS LANA was another milestone in the NN’s fleet recapitalisation efforts. He added that the induction of N...
N60 billion mint: PDP demands sack of finance minister
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has called for the sack of Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed, over what it described as an attempt to mislead Nigerians. The call follows her denial of the revelations by the Edo state Governor, Godwin Obaseki, that N60 billion was printed in March to support federal allocation to states.” Edo State governor Godwin Obaseki had earlier in the week, lamented the sorry state of the nation’s economy, stressing that the federal government had to order the printing of currency to the tune of N60 billion to share among the tiers of government, a claim dismissed by the Finance, Budget and National Planning Minister, Zainab Ahmed. In a statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, national publicity secretary of the party, the PDP maintained that “the admission by Central B...
Gunmen kill six, injure many in Plateau village
Fresh attack on Thursday night claimed six lives as gunmen opened fire on some villagers at Wereng village, Riyom local government area of Plateau State, killing six and injuring three villagers. The attack occurred at the time villagers returned from their day’s businesses and were preparing to retire for the night when sporadic gunshots jolted them Before the incident, there were rumours being circulated that the villagers may be attacked any moment but it was unclear if security agencies acted on the information. Wereng has consistently been under attack in over a decade now and all appeals for the dastardly act to end have been rebuffed by the attackers. Although Operation Safe Haven on peace mission in the State did not confirm the incident at the time of this report because the spoke...
CSOs threaten to occupy National Assembly over Electoral Act amendment
A coalition of Civil Society Organisations has threatened to occupy the National Assembly after Ramadan fasting, if the lawmakers fail to pass the Bill for an amendment of the Electoral Act. The CSOs which include Center For Liberty, Concerned Nigeria, The Electoral Hub, and Raising New Voices Initiative, issued the threat at a joint news conference on Thursday in Abuja. The Co-convener, Centre for Liberty, Mr Dare Ariyo-Atoye, who read the joint speech of the CSOs, said they were worried that the 9th National Assembly was yet to pass the bill. According to him the passage of the bill could have given them lasting legacies and written their names in gold. Ariyo-Atoye said that in the last 15 months, CSOs had consistently engaged lawmakers and appealed to the NASS to make the passage of a n...
Osun FC lifts suspension on Bright Omokaro, others
Management of Osun United Football Club of Osogbo has lifted the suspension placed on the team’s Head Coach, Bright Omokaro. The club also said the suspension of the two assistant coaches, Bayo Adesina and Wole Animasahun, as well as a player, Olusola Akilapa, had also been lifted. Osun United Media Officer, Tajudeen Amodu, on Thursday, made it known that the decision to lift the suspension was taken on Wednesday. Amodu explained further that the decision to lift the suspension was taken after the management’s meeting to review the club’s performance, after the mid-season break declared by the Nigeria National League (NNL). He said the management, while lifting the suspension, charged the reinstated coaches to be up and doing and take the club back to its winning form, when the league resu...
NiMet chief appointed permanent representative to WMO
Following his appointment as the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, Prof. Mansur Bako Matazu, has been appointed the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the World Meteorological Organization, WMO. The appointment is in line with the provision of the General Regulations (Regulation 5a) of the World Meteorological Organization Basic Documents No. 1 (WMO – No 15) 2019 Edition which states that “Each member shall designate by written notification of the Secretary-General, a Permanent Representative who shall be the Director of the Meteorological or Hydrometeorological services to act on technical matters for the member between the sessions of congress. Subject to the approval of their respective government, Permanent Representative sho...
Minister: Rail transportation awakening giant to help run government
Nairaland Mr Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Transportation, on Tuesday described the rail mode of transportation as the awakening giant that would run government. He made the disclosure at the virtual National African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) Implementation Engagement Series for the Rail sub-sector of Transportation. Amaechi, who was represented by Mr Ibrahim Mohammed, a Deputy Director at the Federal Ministry of Transportation (FMOT), noted that the Federal Government had invested heavily on the rail sub-sector of transportation to help facilitate trade. “The rail sub-sector needs consistent opening for the country to further tap into the agreement that AfCFTA creates. “This is why government has embarked on many projects, developing the narrow gauges and establishing standa...
Nasarawa Assembly: No plan to impeach speaker
Nasarawa State Government The Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Monday, said there’s no plan by the lawmakers to impeach the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Ibrahim Balarabe Abdullahi. The House called on members of the public to disregard the impeachment rumour circulating on social media, even as they gave a vote of confidence on the speaker for his leadership qualities. The Majority leader of the House, Hon Umar Tanko Tunga (APC Awe North) gave the vote of confidence while speaking with newsmen in Lafia, the state capital. According to Tunga, the news circulating on social media captioned ” Tension in Nasarawa over plan to impeach Nasarawa State House of Assembly speaker” is a devilish work bent on distracting the development, obstructing progress and causing confusion in the minds of th...
Konshisha crisis: Benue governor apologizes to families of slain soldiers
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state has apologized to the bereaved families of the 12 soldiers who were ambushed and killed about a week ago by armed bandits at Bonta community in Konshisha Local Government Area, LGA, of the state. The Governor also condoled President Muhammadu Buhari, the Chief of Army Staff and the leadership of the armed forces in the country over the murder of the military personnel in the state. Speaking Monday at the funeral of the personnel at the Wurukum Military Cemetery in Makurdi the Governor who condemned the murder and described it as unfortunate promised to collaborate with the military to apprehend the masterminds of the dastardly act. “I condole Mr President who is the Commander-In-Chief of the armed forces, the Chief of Army Staff and indeed the leadershi...
President Buhari appoints new DTCA, NIIA chiefs
President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Ambassador Rabiu Dagari as Director-General of the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA). The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda, in a letter dated April 8, 2021, addressed to Dagari, said the appointment was for an initial period of four years with effect from March 16, 2021. Letter read: “The terms and condition of your appointment is as provided in the appointment of Chief Executives of Government Parastatals and Agencies in the Federal Public Services. “It Is hoped that your performance at the Interview/screening exercise as well as your experiences as a seasoned Diplomat/Administrator will be brought to bear in the discharge of your duties as the Director-General of the Directorate,” Aduda...
Eight killed in fresh Plateau attack
Eight people have been killed in a night attack by unidentified assailants at a mining site in Kuru, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau. The incident was said to have occurred on Friday night. Governor Simon Lalong has directed security agencies in the state to fish out the perpetrators of the act. He said the attack was another desperate attempt by criminals to destabilize the state and create fear among the people. While commiserating with the families of those killed and those who sustained injuries, Lalong reiterated his charge to security agencies to resolve such attacks as excuses of “unknown gunmen” will no longer be tolerated. Governor Lalong also advised the citizens to assist law enforcement agencies with useful intelligence, leveraging on structures such as the tradition...
Reports: Governments ‘gender blind’ to coronavirus’ ‘greater impact’ on women
Governments are putting women and girls at greater risk of the health and socio-economic impacts posed by the coronavirus pandemic, two global studies released Wednesday show. They called on leaders to prioritise gender equity in their response to the health crisis. Two studies, one from a global research partnership led by the Global Health 50/50 Project in London and another by the Center for Global Development (CGD) in Washington, were released Wednesday to coincide with World Health Day that highlight major failings by national governments to consider sex or gender in their COVID-19 policies. Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, several studies have pointed to the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women. Many women have shouldered a heftier burden taking on more unpa...
