Chairman
Attah-Igala urges promotion of values, development of Igala land
Attah-Igala and President, Kogi Council of Chiefs, Dr Michael Idakwo, Ameh-Oboni II, on Friday urged the Igala Cultural Development Association (ICDA) to remain committed to the promotion of values and development of the land. Idakwo made the call while receiving the newly inaugurated 20-member Interim National Working Committee of the ICDA, the apex socio-cultural association of the Igala nation, at his palace in Idah. Newsmen reports that the National Executive Council of the association was dissolved on Thursday by the Board of Trustees at the Stephen Achema Sports Complex, Idah. The royal father urged various associations and groups of the Igala extraction to collaborate and come up with productive initiatives and ventures that would promote the values and development of the area. He a...
Private school owners fear ‘mass failure’ in WASSCE
File Photo Association of Private School Owners of Nigeria (APSON), on Thursday, expressed fears that there will be ‘mass failure’ of students in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) scheduled to commence on August 17, 2020. APSON attributed its prediction to poor preparation of students due to the COVID-19 lockdown. This was contained in a statement jointly issued by Bishop (Dr.) Godly Opukeme and Bishop Elakhe Imoukhede, Chairman and National Director of Administration of the association in response to the federal government’s directive that schools should resume academic activities on August 4th, 2020- only for exit classes. According to the statement, to avert mass failure, there should be four to six weeks of academic revision to enable students to adequatel...
Eid-el-Kabir: Senators Lawan, Ekweremadu, Adeola felicitate with Muslim Ummah
The President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan; former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu; and Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, have felicitated with the Muslim Ummah on the occasion of this year’s Eid-el-Kabir celebrations. Lawan in his Sallah message urged Muslims to continue to seek the face of the Almighty “in our various national wars, be they against insecurity or the COVID-19 pandemic, and as we strive to make Nigeria a comfortable home for all its citizens. “As we celebrate the feast of sacrifice with worship, I enjoin us to be mindful of the risk of the COVID-19 pandemic and adhere strictly to the safety protocols prescribed by our public health authorities”. In the message personally signed by him on Thursday, the Senate President...
Oyo to set up employment scheme for repatriated indigenes
The Oyo State Government says it is working toward setting up an employment scheme that will provide work opportunities for its repatriated indigenes. The Oyo State Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism stated this in a statement it issued on Wednesday in Ibadan. The ministry said that Dr Akin Fagbemi, the Chairman, Oyo State Road Transport Management Authority (OYRTMA), disclosed this after a meeting he had on Tuesday with Mrs Bolanle Sarumi-Aliyu, the Senior Special Adviser to Gov. Seyi Makinde on Diaspora Affairs. According to the ministry, the meeting centered on how the Department of Diaspora Affairs can effectively partner OYRTMA in the area of providing opportunities for Oyo State indigenes who for one reason or the other had to return home from different parts of the world. ...
President Buhari presides over virtual FEC meeting
Expectedly, President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday presided over his 10th virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) which also had in attendance his Vice, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, and eight ministers physically present. The meeting holding at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja, is also being attended by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (retd). The ministers who are present are the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami, Informatoon and Culture, Lai Mohammed, Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, Interior, Rauf Aregbesola...
NDDC: Nigerian students now beggars in UK – NIDCOM chief
The Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has appealed to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to pay the allowances, tuition fees and other incentives of students on its scholarship schemes. In a statement signed by the spokesperson of NIDCOM, Mr. Gabriel Odu, Dabiri-Erewa said NDDC should intervene by promptly paying other incentives of students on their scholarship scheme to guarantee their stay and education in the United Kingdom. According to her, she had in a letter to the Minister of the Niger Delta, Senator Godswill Akpabio, in June, drew the attention of NDDC to the plight of the students that are under its scholarships scheme. “The commission counts on the minister’s assurances that all outstanding payments to affected students w...
Stakeholders commend government’s decision to reopen school for exit classes
Stakeholders in education have commended the Federal Government’s decision made at the stakeholders’ consultative meeting to reopen school on Aug. 4 for exit classes. Newsmen report that they made this known in Ibadan on Monday in separate interviews. Kayode Adeyemi, the President, National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, Oyo State (NAPPS), said that the decision was a welcome development given the prevailing circumstances. Adeyemi said with the level of learning loss occasioned by the lockdown was a good decision, adding that children would not be too backward because of the holiday. “I still remain cautious about the release though it’s from a stakeholders’ forum. I just hope that the ministry of education will not come up to say that they are not prepared again. “This is ...
NIDCOM: More Nigerians stranded in Europe set to return home
The Federal Government has revealed that more Nigerians stranded in France and other European countries, due to the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the world, are being evacuated to the country. This was disclosed on Sunday by the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa via Twitter. Dabiri-Erewa explained that the citizens, who have departed Citizen Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, are expected back soon and will arrive at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja, the nation’s capital. The evacuation exercise was coordinated by the Nigerian Mission in France under Ambassador Modupe Irele and monitored by the commission. Upon arrival, the Nigerian returnees are expected to proceed on a 14-day self-isolation as mandated by the Presidential Task Force on C...
NYCN decries lack of constituency projects in Nasarawa
The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), an umbrella body of all youth organisations in Nigeria, has decried lack of constituency project in Nasarawa West Senatorial District since 2011. The NYCN Chairman, Keffi Chapter, Alhaji Mohammad Idris, made the assertion in a statement made available to newsmen, on Sunday in Keffi. Idris alleged that in spite of the billions of Naira released for some constituency projects in the senatorial district since 2011, there was nothing on ground to justify it. He emphasised the need for social infrastructures such as potable water supply, electricity, health care facilities, good road networks in almost all the five Local Governments that made up the senatorial district. He lamented that the Federal road that passed through Keffi central roundabouts ...
Osun governor appoints 16 new aides
Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, on Thursday announced appointment of 16 new aides. A statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Ismail Omipidan, said an ex-lawmaker representing Obokun state constituency, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, was appointed Special Adviser to the governor on Civic Engagement. Also, a foremost banker, Mr Femi Adeniran, was appointed Special Adviser to the governor on Investment Promotion Agency. Similarly, the governor named Mr. Niyi Idowu, a seasoned public administrator, as Special Adviser, General Administration (Governor’s Office). Others named as Special Advisers are: Mr Kameel Oyedele, a three-term state lawmaker (Legislative Matters) and Aremo Adelabu (Youths and Sports). Oyetola also named the incumbent Nigeria Union of Journalists Chairman, in...
NAHCON begins refund of 2020 Hajj fares to intending pilgrims
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has commenced the refund of the 2020 Hajj fares to intending pilgrims who wish get their deposits back. The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NAHCON, Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan, disclosed this during a press conference in Abuja. Hassan said that the development became necessary following the decision of the Government of Saudi Arabia not to entertain any external pilgrim at Mecca this year as part of measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that pilgrims who wish to rollover their deposits to the 2021 Hajj will be permitted to do so. He said that registration for the 2021 Hajj will commence in September this year. Hassan said: “Any intending pilgrim who desires to recover his/her deposit from the State Pilgrims ...
Emirates offers passengers free coronavirus medical cover
Emirates has become first airline to offer free cover for Covid-19 medical costs for its passengers travelling via its networks to United Arab Emirates (UAE), and across the world, airlines chairman Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed al-Maktoum said. In the medical package deal, passengers travelling on the airline can now claim coronavirus medical expenses of up to $173,799 and quarantine costs of $115 per day for 14 days if one tests positive for the virus. The carrier, which has restarted operations globally, says the move is meant to boost confidence among travellers. “We will be the first airline to offer free cover for Covid-19 medical costs for its customers when they travel in the UAE and around the world,” Mr al-Maktoum said. “We know people are yearning to fly as borders around the world gra...
