Ceremony
Amaju Pinnick faults Ayiri Emami’s position on emergence of new Warri monarch
President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mr. Amaju Pinnick, yesterday faulted the position of the Ologbotsere of Warri Kingdom, Chief Ayiri Emami, on the emergence of new Olu of Warri, who succeeded the late monarch, Ogiame Ikenwoli. Some kingmakers had a few days ago selected Prince Tsola Emiko as the Olu of Warri-designate, a development that did not go down well with the rival group led by Emami, who insisted that picking him was a breach of the rules. The announcement made by the Iyatsere of Warri Kingdom and acting Chairman of Olu’s Advisory Council, Chief Johnson Atserunleghe, at a traditional ceremony in Ode Itsekiri, had since divided the kingdom into factions. Pinnick insisted that the 1979 edict which purportedly states that whoever must be the king must either be full...
Niger’s new president blasts terrorists for war crimes
Niger’s new president Mohamed Bazoum lashed out on Friday at jihadists who have carried out devastating attacks on his country, accusing them of “war crimes” after he took the helm of the troubled nation. The inauguration marked the first-ever transition between elected presidents in Niger’s six decades of independence from France — a historic moment that has been widely praised. But the Sahel country’s problems were deeply underscored in the run-up to Friday’s ceremony, after a string of jihadist massacres and an alleged attempted coup just two days before the handover. Bazoum hit out at “terrorist groups whose barbarity has exceeded every limit.” These groups “carry out large-scale massacres of innocent civilians, and in doing so, commit real war crimes,” Bazoum declared. Niger is being ...
Japan releases softball squad for Tokyo Olympic Games
Japanese softball team head coach Reika Utsugi has urged her players to capture Olympic gold on home soil after naming a 15-strong squad for Tokyo 2020. The team features Yukiko Ueno, captain Yamada Eri and Yukiyo Mine who helped Japan clinch softball gold at Beijing 2008 – the last time the sport featured at the Games. Pitchers Yamato Fujita and Miu Goto, who was named Most Valuable Player in last season’s Japan Women’s Softball League, as well as star outfielder Saki Yamazaki are other notable names. Haruka Agatsuma, Nayu Kiyohara, Mana Atsumi, Yuka Ichiguchi, Hitomi Kawabata, Minori Naito, Yu Yamamoto, Nodoka Harada and Sayaka Mori have also been chosen. “Of course, skills and physical competence are the necessary elements,” said Utsugi. “But in selecting the 15 members, we also took th...
Port Harcourt DisCo insists NMMP meters not for sale
File Photo The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) says it is not selling to customers, meters provided free to electricity users by the Federal Government. PHED’s Acting Manager of Corporate Communications, Mrs Chioma Aninwe, disclosed this in a statement in Port Harcourt on Monday. The Federal Government had in October 2020 introduced the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP), to eliminate arbitrary estimated bills that were given to unmetered customers by Distribution Companies (Discos). Through the scheme, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) provided financing support to the Discos for the procurement of meters for customers from local meter manufacturers. Aninwe disclosed in the statement that “Our attention has been drawn to a publication alleging that PHED is direc...
Nigerian Army appoints new NDA commandant
Major-General Sagir Yaro has been appointed as the commandant of the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA). The NDA is a military university based in Kaduna. Bashir Jagira, the academy’s spokesperson, in a statement on Wednesday said Yaro is taking over from Jamil Sarham, also a major-general who is now to proceed on a senior research course at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Kuru, Plateau state. Jaguar described Yaro as a seasoned military officer of the Nigerian Army Corps of Engineers, and member of the 36th regular course of the NDA, who has held several appointments cutting across command, staff and instructional. Until his appointment, Yaro was the general managing director, Nigerian Army Welfare Limited by Guarantee (NAWLG). While addressing principal staff o...
Ekiti governor urges Nigerians to disregard unfounded theories about coronavirus vaccines
Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has urged Nigerians to disregard any unfounded theories about the efficacy and effects of the COVID-19 vaccines on them saying it is unnecessary introducing sentiments to the health and well-being of the people for whatever reasons. The governor who received the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine alongside his deputy, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, and some frontline health workers on Wednesday emphasised that all hands must be on deck to ensure all indigenes know that the vaccine is safe. He spoke while flagging off the vaccination exercise in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital. Fayemi who stated that his administration had put in place measures to ensure that residents have equitable access to the vaccine said, “The availability of COVID-19 vaccines and its glob...
Boko Haram: Nigerian Army commanding officer, four others laid to rest in Borno
The Nigerian Army has buried a commanding officer and four other soldiers killed in the attack on the military base in Marte local government of Borno state. The attack occurred on February 14 when the Commanding officer Bedan Ishaya, now late, a Major from the 22 battalion led a reinforcement to Marte to support dislodged troops. The insurgents had hoisted their flags in Marte for at least a week before the Chief of Army Staff’s 48 hours ultimatum to troops (at the 81 DIV Task Force battalion which is also the headquarters of Super Camp 9 Dikwa) leading to Marte’s recapture. The bodies of Major Ishaya, a sergeant, two lance corporals and a private soldier were retrieved from the battlefield; they were all laid to rest today at the Maimalari Cantonment Military Cemetary. Deputy Theatre Com...
Reps speaker urges Nigerians not to believe conspiracy theories about coronavirus vaccine
The speaker of the house of representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has advised Nigerians not to believe conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 vaccines. Many Nigerians are wary about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine amid unverified claims that it contains microchips. Faisal Shuaib, chief executive officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), had recently dismissed the claims as false. The first shipment of the vaccines– 3.9 million doses– arrived in Nigeria on Tuesday and the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine was administered today. Speaking at the national flag-off ceremony for the COVID-19 vaccination in Abuja, Gbajabiamila urged Nigerians to rally behind the federal government to fight the pandemic. He also cautioned against playing politics with the vaccinati...
AfDB provides $400,000 grant for SEC
African Development Bank Group (AfDB) on Friday signed a $400,000 grant agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to strengthen securities market regulation and broaden market instruments. The funds, according to a statement from AfDB, will go towards strengthening the risk-based supervision framework, regulation of derivatives and green bonds, and build capacity for green finance. The grant will be sourced from the Capital Markets Development Trust Fund, a multi-donor fund administered by the Bank. “This collaboration further underscores our mutual goal to grow our markets and create viable avenues for sustainable economic development for Nigeria and the region,” said Lamido Yuguda, Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission at the virtual signing ceremon...
Babagana Zulum: Bauchi governor will soon join APC
Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, will join the All Progressives Congress soon, the Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, has stated. Zulum spoke when he led the North-East Governors to perform the groundbreaking ceremony for the reconstruction and upgrading of the Bauchi State Government House on Thursday. He, however, did not give further details on his statement about Mohammed joining the APC. Zulum who is the Chairman of the North-East Governors’ Forum said, “I want to express my appreciation to my colleague, the Governor of Bauchi State, and my other colleagues for giving me the support to take the North-East Governors’ Forum to a greater height and indeed to the next level. “The only quarrel that I am having with my colleague, the Governor of Bauchi State is his refusal to ...
Kano governor donates N3 million to man who lost seven family members in fire incident
Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has donated N3 million to Malam Abdulrahman Ibrahim Wailari to ameliorate the loss he suffered in a fire disaster that engulfed his house recently. Wailari, a resident of Kumbotso local government area of Kano state, had lost seven members of his family to the inferno. The donation was announced during the flag off ceremony for the distribution of care and maintenance items to 1500 households in the state. The money was meant to enable the victim rebuild his house. Mallam Abdulrahman lost his mother, his two children, his sister and her three children lin the tragic incident which occurred last week. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating shoul...
Super Falcons new boss signs agreement with NFF
New Head Coach of the Women’s National Team of Nigeria (Super Falcons), Randy Waldrum, on Wednesday signed his contract with the Nigeria Football Federation, as he started his work with the nine-time African champions. The simple ceremony took place at the Super Falcons’ Emir Hotels abode in Antalya, Turkey. President of the NFF, Amaju Melvin Pinnick, affirmed the belief of the football-governing body in the ability of the 64 –year old American to propel the Super Falcons to a higher level in women football’s global ranking. “We believe that Mr Waldrum is the right man to take the Super Falcons from where the team presently is to that higher level that we want it to be. We have been champions of Africa on nine occasions and it is time that we move up to competing stoutly for honours at glo...
