Calabar
CDD: Monitoring and evaluation vital in tracking fight against corruption
The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) says monitoring and evaluation is vital in tracking the fight against corruption in Nigeria. Speaking at a three-day monitoring and evaluation capacity-building workshop for Anti-Corruption Agencies (ACAs) on Monday in Calabar, Idayat Hassan, CDD director, said monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is a process that helps track the progress in the fight against corruption in the country. The workshop was organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in partnership with the Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-corruption Reform (TUGAR). It also had support from the MacArthur Foundation. Represented by Emmanuel Akomaye, the centre’s project consultant on anti-corruption, Hassan said the CDD believes that it is important to bring all...
Foundation donates N2 million to fix potholes in UNICAL
Tecno An educational foundation, Teacher Essien Ita Ita Educational Foundation (TEIIEF), has presented a cheque of N2 million to the University of Calabar (UNICAL) for the fixing of potholes in the institution. The presentation, which was done at the weekend in the office of the Vice Chancellor of the University, was part of the activities to mark the second year remembrance of the demise of Mrs. Temitope Ekpenyong Ita, wife of Mr. Ekpenyong Ita, a former Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and son of the late Teacher Esien Ita, who died March 13, 2019. Speaking shortly after presenting the cheque to the Vice Chancellor of UNICAL, Prof. Florence Obi, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation, Chief Gersh Henshaw said, the organisation was delighted to i...
Cross River Assembly to confirm Justice Ikpeme as substantive chief judge
The Cross River State House of Assembly has scheduled to confirm Justice Akom Ikpeme as Substantive Chief Judge of the State on Thursday, January 28, 2021. Newsmen gathered that all machineries have been put in place to confirm Justice Ikpeme following the refusal of the National Judicial Council to extend the acting tenure of Justice Eyo Effiom. Justice Eyo Effiom Ita acting capacity expired on Monday January 18th 2021. Justice Akon B. Ikpeme has acted as Acting Chief Judge of the State for three months, followed by Justice Maurice O. Eneji, who acted for six months while Justice Eyo Ita acted for three months. A source from Judiciary hinted our reporter that the National Judiciary Council (NJC) has declined extending the tenure of Justice Eyo Effiom Ita for another three months as they h...
UNICAL to resume 2019/2020 academic session February 5
The University of Calabar will resume its 2019/2020 academic year on February 5. The University Senate on Monday approved the revised academic calendar for 2019/2020 session. This announcement was made through the university’s twitter handle. Students are to resume on February 5 while lectures will begin on February 8. The University had announced on Friday that only staff (Teaching and non-Teaching) of the University were to resume work on Monday. The Vice Chancellor, Florence Obi, disclosed that the date was picked to allow management carry out repairs in some of the hostels that had been destroyed and vandalized in the violence that tailed the #EndSARS protests in the state. In October, newsmen reported that the University of Calabar was broken into. Banks within the school premises wer...
Foundation feeds 1,000 Calabar orphans at yuletide
The Romeo Odey Cares Foundation has visited Infant Jesus Orphanage Home and Good Samaritan Home, both in Calabar, Cross River State, feeding over 1,000 orphans as part of its mission to cater for the most indigent members of society. A statement delivered to newsmen by the Brand Manager of the Foundation, Gidyon Thompson, explained that the gesture extended to helpless children from the streets of Calabar. The foundation, owned by network marketing expert Romeo Odey, said the gesture was a way of giving back to society. According to him, the move is part of Odey’s decision to affect humanity positively. He urged the federal and state government to step up and take responsibility for the children on the streets to avert impending doom. He added that the serial entrepreneur would launch two ...
Air passengers decry upsurge in fares, seek urgent attention to roads, railway
Nigerians, who travel by air, have decried the “sudden” upsurge in air fares and urged the Federal Government to intervene to avoid poor patronage that could dwindle the fortunes of the aviation industry. Newsmen report that the air fares shot up by about 100 per cent in the last one week, with some airline operators even raising their fares by as much as 120 per cent or more. At Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, the fare from Abuja to Lagos, which was N35,300 (Economy Class), rose to between N70,000 and N75,000. Newsmen found that Business Class travellers were charged between N100,000 and N120,000, depending on the airline. Our correspondents, who visited other airports across the country, found that the rise in airfares was the same, a situation that forced some passengers to...
Police arraign kidnap kingpin, seven others for terrorism in Calabar
A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar has remanded 8 persons for kidnapping, terrorism and possession of illegal firearms at the Afokang Correctional Service centre. Five were arraigned by the Nigeria Police Force for kidnapping, terrorism and possession of illegal fire arms on a three count charge in Charge numbers FHC / CA / 94c / 2020 and three others on a two count charge of charges number: FHC /CA/95c / 2020 for three others. The Presiding Judge, Justice S.M Shaibu ordered that the 8 defendants be remanded at Calabar Correctional facility on a three count charge and two count charge respectively levelled against them by the police . He ordered that the 8 of them be remanded till 25 of February 2021 at the centre pending their trial at the Federal High Court 1 ,Calabar . Recall that ...
Minister: Industry, trade, investment key to economic diversification
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, says the sector is crucial in the drive toward diversification of the nation’s economy, away from being oil dominated. Adebayo spoke in Abuja at the Physical/Virtual 12th National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment meeting, with the theme “Revitalisation of the Industry, Trade and Investment Sector in Nigeria in the Post-COVID-19 pandemic era”. He explained the pivotal role of the ministry as a key actor in the economy with the mandate to stimulate domestic investment and attract foreign direct investment into all sectors. The minister said it was committed in facilitating trade in goods and services and maximising benefits of international trade through functional bilateral and multilateral trade relations. Acc...
President Buhari sends 1000 more troops to Cross River
State House/Facebook President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered extra 1000 soldiers to be drafted to Calabar and other parts of Cross River State to contain rising insecurity and alleged second phase of ENDSARS protest. Governor Ben Ayade confirmed this in a statement where he commended the president for rising proactively to the predicament of the state. Apart from the EndSARS protest which was hijacked by hoodlums who unleashed massive destruction of property in the state, kidnapping, cultism, gangsterism and armed robbery have reigned in Calabar The commissioner of police in the state, Abdulkadir Jimoh early Monday morning disclosed that they have picked up ‘actionable intelligence’ about impending public disobedience and mayhem in Calabar and environs and warned that they will ‘ethically s...
Cross River bye-election: Court affirms Stephen Odey as PDP candidate
A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar on Thursday affirmed Dr Stephen Odey as candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the Cross River North Senatorial bye election. Ruling in the suit with number FHC/CA/CS/87/2020, presiding judge, Justice S.A. Amobeda held Odey was the validly nominated candidate of the PDP for the said bye election. Relying on relevant provisions of the the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), provisions of the Electoral Act 2020 and Articles of the PDP guidelines for conduct of its primaries, Justice Amobeda ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish the name of Odey as the duly nominated candidate of the People’s Democratic Party to contest the election. Citing the relevant provisions of the const...
Cross River by-election: INEC assures transparent, violence free election using technology
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it wil deploy relevant technology to ensure transparent, violence-free and fair election in Saturday’s Cross River North Senatorial and House of Assembly by-elections. Mr Festus Okoye, INECs Commissioner for Information and Voter Education Committee said this on Wednesday in Calabar while speaking on the commission’s preparedness for the polls. He said the successes recorded in Edo and Ondo elections were testimonies to the fact that the commission was improving by every election through the use of modern technology. “We want to surpass our successes in Edo and Ondo. “We are going to conduct a transparent, violence-free and credible election in Cross River North come Saturday. “We are ready for the elections, the Card Readers have b...
Bible Society appoints new CEO-designate
The Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN) on has announced the appointment of Pastor Samuel Sanusi as its new General Secretary/ Chief Executive Officer-Designate. BSN Manager, Media and Public Relations, Mr Benjamin Mordi, disclosed in a statement on Saturday in Lagos. Newsmen report that Bible Society of Nigeria is a not-for-profit interdenominational Christian organisation. It translates the Bible into local languages, publishes, distributes, raises funds for the Bible work and organises life-transforming programmes. So far, it has translated the full Bible into 26 Nigerian Languages, while translation revision is on-going in 10 Nigerian Languages. According to him, Sanusi will be taking over from the incumbent General Secretary/CEO, Dr Dare Ajiboye, who will be retiring in June 2021. He said ...
