Decision
Zamfara governor: I’m ready to resign if it will end insecurity
The Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, says he is ready to resign if that will end insecurity in his state. He said this on Wednesday while responding to questions on the abduction of over 200 Jangebe schoolgirls by bandits in the state last week on Channel Television’s Politics Today. When asked if he is intimidated with the decision of the Federal Government to ban flights in the state, he said, “I am ready to accept any solution that will bring security to my state. “I am not intimidated. If I know my resigning as a governor will make the people sleep with their two eyes closed, I can resign. I am not power-hungry. I have been having sleepless nights to protect the people of Zamfara State.” Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking f...
Ex-pope Benedict chides ‘fanatical’ Catholics who reject his resignation
Former pope Benedict has chided conservative Roman Catholics who have not accepted his decision to resign as “fanatical”, telling them that there is only one pope and it is Francis. Benedict, now 93, in 2013 became the first pope in more than 600 years to resign instead of ruling for life, saying he no longer had the strength to govern the 1.3 billion-member Church. Some hardline conservatives unhappy with the more liberal Pope Francis have often voiced doubts about whether Benedict stepped down willingly, even though he has said several times in the past eight years that he did. “It was a difficult decision. But it was a fully conscious choice and I think I did well (to resign),” he told Italy’s Corriere della Sera in a interview published on Monday. “Some of my more fanatical friends are...
Israeli court limits use of spy agency to track coronavirus cases
Israel’s top court ruled Tuesday the government must curb its use of the domestic spy agency to track coronavirus infections, saying “draconian” surveillance constituted a blow to democracy. The government began using the Shin Bet’s surveillance technologies in March 2020, when Covid-19 infections began to spike. But the supreme court quickly blocked such practice, saying legislation was needed to authorise the programme. Tracking was discontinued in June but the following month, amid another infection surge, parliament passed a law allowing the surveillance when “an epidemiological investigation cannot be completed otherwise”. Initially approved for three weeks, that has measure has been repeatedly extended since while details of how information was obtained were kept secret. Critics crie...
Chukwuma Soludo: I received 19 threats during banking consolidation era
YouTube The former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, at the weekend in Awka, narrated how he received 19 written threats on his life following his decision to embark on banking consolidation in Nigeria in 2004 when he became the boss of the nation’s apex bank. In an interview, Soludo also recalled attempts made to kidnap his children at Offa, Kwara State where they were at the time because many people felt threatened by the policy. He said: “I am a very impatient person to see change happen and I am passionate in anything I focus on. When I was the chief economic adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo, and the tenure of the former CBN governor ended and I came in. within one month, I announced a 13 – point agenda for banking consolidation. “At...
SSANU, NASU suspends strike after three weeks
File Photo The Joint Action Committee, JAC, of non-teaching staff unions of universities has announced the suspension of its three weeks old strike with effect from midnight of February 26. The national leadership of JAC non-teaching staff comprises of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of the Universities (NASU). The union which conveyed its decision during media briefing it held after the conciliatory meeting with the federal government, explained that it agreed to suspend the national strike after extracting some concessions from the government. Speaking through NASU General Secretary, Peters Adeyemi, the union said its demands have been harmonized to the satisfaction of both parties, just as he stressed that they will continue to ...
Forgery: Magistrate recuses self, returns case file for reassignment
File Photo Magistrate Njideka Duru of the Magistrate court sitting in Wuse, Abuja has dissociated herself from the criminal charges instituted by Architect Adamu Stephen Okunade against an Abuja based lawyer, James Idih and Otomiewo Ufuoma. The magistrate who made the declaration in a short ruling on Tuesday said; “I am sending the file back for reassignment to avoid the possibility of being biased. This is because from the line of argument by both lawyers, it is glaring that there will be no headway. ‘’My decision to return the case file is to avoid my emotions taking a greater part of the proceedings. I therefore recuse myself from the matter,’’ Magistrate Duru held. Okunade had through his lawyer Abiodun Olukere dragged Mr Idih alongside Ufuoma before the magistrate court for allegedly ...
PDP: Ex-service chiefs’ ambassadorial portfolio insufficient to stop ICC investigation
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has taken a swipe at the All Progressives Congress, APC, leadership in the Senate for “betraying Nigerians” by clearing former services chiefs for ambassadorial portfolios despite allegation of crime against humanity committed under their command. The party however insisted that the clearance will not stop the investigation and possible prosecution of the accused commanders by the International Criminal Court, ICC, for crime against humanity, with preliminary steps to have been initiated. In a statement issued by Kola Ologbondiyan, national public secretary of the party, the PDP described as horrendous the fact that the APC leadership in the Senate “could choose to betray Nigerians by rushing to clear the accused ex-service chiefs in a desperate attempt t...
Crypto ban: We acted in Nigerians’ best interest – CBN
The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, says the Bank’s decision to prohibit deposit money banks, non-banking institutions, and other financial institutions from facilitating trading and dealings in cryptocurrency is in the best interest of Nigerian depositors and the country’s financial system. Mr Emefiele made the declaration on Tuesday, February 23, 2021, while briefing a joint Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions; ICT and Cybercrime; and Capital Market, on its directive to institutions under its regulation. Describing the operations of cryptocurrencies as dangerous and opaque, the CBN Governor said the use of cryptocurrency contravened an existing law. He said given the fact that cryptocurrencies were issued by unregulated and...
Gombe governor suspends Mai Tangale selection process
Gombe State governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has suspended all proceedings leading to the selection of a new traditional ruler of Tangale Chiefdom until peace is fully restored to the troubled area which has seen days of violent protests. This follows confirmation by the state’s commissioner of Police, Maikudi Shehu confirmed that three persons have been killed during the crises. The police commissioner who spoke when the governor led some members of the government on assessment tour of the destruction of lives and property in Billiri local council area said: “So far we have arrested 10 suspects and we are still counting. About three people died during the cause of incident.” Meanwhile, governor Inuwa Yahaya during statewide broadcast yesterday shortly after returning from Billiri that th...
U.S. to de-link Ethiopian aid pause from dam policy
The U.S. State Department on Friday said Washington will de-link its pause on some aid to Ethiopia from its policy on the giant Blue Nile hydropower dam that sparked a long-running dispute between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters that President Joe Biden’s administration will review U.S. policy on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and will assess the role the administration can play in facilitating a solution between the countries. A bitter dispute between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over the filling and operation of the dam remains unresolved even after the reservoir behind the dam began filling in July. “We continue to support collaborative and constructive efforts by Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan to reach an agreement on the GERD,” P...
Prince Harry, Meghan markle officially resign from royal duties
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have resigned from all duties related to the UK’s royal family. A statement by Buckingham Palace on Friday revealed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would no longer serve as working members of the royal family. “Following conversations with The Duke, The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service,” the statement read. It also disclosed that the couple’s honorary military appointments and royal patronages would go back to Queen Elizabeth II for redistribution. “While all are saddened by their decision, The Duke and Duchess remain much loved members of the family,” the statement concluded. Get more stories like...
Governors Abiodun, Ganduje, Akeredolu, others receive Gbenga Daniel into APC
Former Ogun State Governor Gbenga Daniel has been officially received into the All Progressives Congress (APC) by state Governor Dapo Abiodun. Supported by governors of Ondo, Kebbi, Kano and Niger states, Rotimi Akeredolu, Atiku Bagudu Abdullahi Ganduje and Abubakar Sanni Bello, respectively, Abiodun received Daniel, a one-time Director-General of the 2019 Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Organisation, into the party Tuesday night at his Asoludero Court residence in Sagamu. The ex-governor had in March 2019 officially resigned from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and announced his exit from partisan politics. Receiving Daniel into the party, Governor Abiodun said: ‘Daniel will come with a lot of experience, a lot of wisdom, he is a very dynamic individual, he is referred to as the ...
