Conduct
House asks federal government to suspend upcoming census exercise
Following the ravaging insecurity in the country, the House of Representatives yesterday called on the federal government to suspend the upcoming census exercise until security improved. The House also said it will be counter-productive and a waste of scarce financial resources to conduct such exercise amidst the economic recession. The call was made on the heel of a motion under matters of urgent public importance titled “Call on the federal government of Nigeria to Suspend the Proposed 2021 Population and Housing Census to be conducted by the National Population Commission” sponsored by Shelia Barwa Bell. Moving the motion, Bell said that the state of insecurity would not guarantee accuracy if the census was conducted now, arguing that many Nigerians have fled their homes and villages. H...
Manchester United could lose points against Liverpool after Old Trafford protests
Manchester United could face punishment from the FA and Premier League over protests at the stadium ahead of their game against Liverpool on Sunday. The league clash between the two historic rivals was postponed at the weekend, as fans protested outside Old Trafford pre-match and eventually made their way inside the stadium. The two sets of players did not leave their hotels for the stadium, and there is no clear date set for when the game will be held. According to the Daily Mirror, the FA’s rulebook in section 8.3.4 states if United are at fault for the game not happening, Liverpool are awarded the result and three points. It reads: “In the event of a match being abandoned due to the conduct of one Club or its members or supporters the Board has the power to order that the match is not r...
Tesla scrutinized by US Senate Democrats for autopilot misuse
Two Senate Democrats are urging federal regulators to take “corrective actions” against Tesla to prevent further misuse of the company’s advanced driver assist feature. The request comes in the aftermath of a fatal crash in which two men from Texas were killed after their Tesla Model S crashed with no one in the driver’s seat. In a letter sent to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Acting Administrator Steven Cliff, Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) implored the agency to determine the exact cause of this recent crash to “better inform” future legislation around advanced driver assist systems like Tesla’s Autopilot. “We strongly urge you to conduct a complete investigation into Saturday’s fatal Tesla vehicle crash and develop recommendations for improving a...
NDDC: Ijaw youths tackle minister over forensic audit, sole administrator’s tenure
Bayelsa youths under the aegis of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) worldwide accused the minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio of overseeing an unending forensic audit and illegal extension of the tenure of the sole administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr. Efiong Akwa, describing it as a delib-erate attempt to delay the constitution of a substantive NDDC board. According to the youths, though the conduct of the forensic audit was ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari and supported by the stakeholders from the region, Senator Godswill Akpabio has turned the forensic audit into an unending exercise used to perpetuate corruption and further bleed the commission of scarce funds. The spokesman of the IYC, Comrade Ebilade Ekerefe, who made the statement...
PDP wins all seats in Rivers council election
File Photo In line with expectation and trends in other parts of the country, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Rivers has been declared the winner of all the chairpersons and councillorship seats contested for in the State local government election held on Saturday. The announcement that the PDP won all the seats contested for in the 23 Local Government Areas of Rivers was made by the State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, in Port Harcourt on Sunday. However, one of the parties that participated in the election, the Social Democratic Party, SDP has described the poll as a ‘sham’ while calling for the resignation of Chairman of RSIEC, Justice George Omereji [rtd]. The party also called for cancellation of all the results of the election. The SDP councillorship candidate ...
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...
Court restrains ALGON faction, others from interfering in association’s affairs
An Abuja Federal High Court has restrained the chairman of Bariga Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Hon. Alabi Akolade David-led faction of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) from parading its as the leaders of the association. The court also ordered the faction from taking all further action, steps, proceedings and assembly, relating to the conduct of of ALGON’s General Assembly slated for March 24, 2021, or any other day during the pendency of the suit. Other parties restrained by the court order include the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami, Inspector General of Police and one Mrs Binta Abdullahi Bello from interfering in the affairs of ALGON. The order followed the adoption of a motion ex-parte deposed to by Mohammed Inulin Abubakar on b...
Azman Air apologises to NCAA chief over false accusations
After series of accusations and counter-accusations generated by the suspension of Azman from flight operations by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA) over violation of safety rules, the management of the airline has finally apologised to the regulatory agency for the rash actions it took over the suspension. The suspension of Azman by the NCAA was negatively reacted to by the airline with the management issuing a scandalous statement which accused the director-general of the NCAA, Captain Nuhu Musa, of suspending the airline to punish it for a previous disagreement between him and the airline. Azman had in the statement accused the NCAA DG of embarking on a vengeance mission which elicited reactions from key players across the sector. However, the latest statement issued and sig...
US Supreme Court dismisses case on Donald Trump blocking Twitter critics
The U.S. Supreme Court set aside a federal appeals court ruling that former President Donald Trump violated the First Amendment when he blocked critics from following his Twitter account. The case had already lost its practical impact given Trump’s election defeat and Twitter’s Jan. 8 decision to permanently ban his @realDonaldTrump account for glorifying violence. But the two sides in the case continued to spar over the fate of the appeals court decision. Before Trump left office, the Justice Department asked the justices to wipe away the precedent, while those suing him sought to keep it intact. The appeals court said a social media account run by government officials can become a constitutionally protected “public forum” if used to conduct official business. The Supreme Court has said t...
‘Assault’: Group demands removal of CCT chairman
The Access to Justice (A2Justice) group has demanded the immediate removal of Danladi Umar as chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for alleged abuse of power. Umar was caught on video hitting a security man who had told him his vehicle was parked in the wrong space at a popular plaza in Abuja. In his defence, Ibraheem Al-Hassan, CCT spokesperson, said the guard was rude and could not provide a reasonable explanation why Umar should not park in the said space. Joseph Otteh, A2Justice convener, said on Saturday that the assault of the guard is “indefensible and callous, and is a naked and unbridled abuse of power.” “Unfortunately, the police have failed to arrest and charge Danladi Umar for assault, signaling once again, the deep flaws and dysfunctionalities of Nigeria’s law enforc...
US accuses Nigeria of significant human rights abuses
US Embassy in South Africa The United States has accusesd Nigeria of significant human rights abuses in its latest ‘’Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2020’’, released Wednesday by the Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour. In the report titled ‘’’Nigeria 2020 Human Rights Report, Executive Summary’’, the US accused Nigeria of ‘’significant’’ human rights abuses, which include: unlawful and arbitrary killings by both government and non-state actors; forced disappearances by the government, terrorists, and criminal groups; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government and terrorist groups; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions. The 102-page report also accused the federal government of ‘’arbitrary d...
MTN donates 300,000 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines to Nigeria
The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 said it received 300,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines from MTN Nigeria. Speaking at the National briefing, the Chairman of the PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha said: “Yesterday, Sunday, March 21, 2021, the PTF received 300,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines from MTN Nigeria. “This is acknowledged with thanks as we encourage other partners to contribute towards the fight against COVID-19.” Recall that the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, had said that the first part of the 1.4 million doses promised to be donated to Nigeria would be delivered by end of February, while the remaining balance would be delivered by end of March, 2021. Mustapha also said: “The disclosure that Nigerian...
