Fact
Anambra: JUSUN strike a national issue, not state-driven
The Anambra State Government on Monday said the ongoing strike by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), was a national issue and not state-driven. Prof. Solo Chukwulobelu, Secretary to the State Government, made the assertion, while addressing members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Anambra branch, at a peaceful protest to the Government House in Awka. Newsmen report that the protest followed a directive issued on April 18 by the President of the NBA, Mr Olumide Akpata, to all branches of the association. Chukwulobelu said the executive was aware of the need to ensure that all aspects of the three arms of government function properly. “Your demands on independent judiciary are very important, but it is a national issue. “The fact that the courts are not sitting is not becaus...
PDP hails suspension of three council chairmen by Lagos Assembly
File Photo The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has commended Lagos House of Assembly (LAHA) over the suspension of three council chairmen in the state. The PDP Publicity Secretary in the state, Taofik Gani, gave the commendation in a statement issued on Sunday in Lagos. The suspended chairmen are: Ogidan Mukandasi of Lekki LCDA, Suleiman Jelili (Alimosho) and Tajudeen Ajide (Surulere). He said that the assembly’s resolution to suspend the three council chairmen over alleged mismanagement and under-performance was commendable. According to him, many local government areas and local council development areas (LCDAs) in the state have remained underdeveloped since the assumption of office by the chairmen in 2017. Newsmen recall that the assembly had, on Tuesday, suspended the council chairmen ...
Taraba governor: Senator Alhassan’s demise a personal loss
Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku has described the death of former minister of Women Affairs Senator Aisha Jumai Alhassan as a personal loss to him. In a statement issued in Jalingo on Friday night and signed br Bala Dan Abu Special Adviser to the governor on Media, Ishaku said that he received the news with rude shock and is still trying to come to terms with it. He described Alhassan as a woman of courage and rare asset who have contributed immensely to the political emancipation of wen and her death would leave a gapping hole on the political landscape of the nation. “Governor of Taraba State, Arc Darius Dickson Ishaku, has received with deep shock news of the death of Senator Aisha Jumai Alhassan, a former governorship candidate in the state and frontline member of the People’s Demo...
2023: NULGE threatens to mobilise against PDP over bill
President of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Hakeem Ambali, has threatened to mobilise Nigerians to vote against the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023, if it fails to call its member Solomon Bob that sponsored the bill to delist local governments from the constitution to order. Speaking with newsmen in Lagos, Ambali said he was disappointed that a member of the PDP, a party that had the opportunity to rule Nigeria for 16 years could sponsor a bill that can lead to the scrapping of local government administration in Nigeria He wondered why his party had kept quiet over the matter, without mounting pressure on him to drop the bill. Hon Bob who is from Rivers State sponsored the bill which has gone through first reading. Since the introduction of the bi...
Chadian rebels, government forces clash in area where slain leader was shot
Government troops and rebels clashed on Thursday in a region of western Chad where president Idriss Deby Itno was killed earlier this month. The fight in the desert region of Kanem, near Chad’s border with Niger, pits Libya-based rebels against forces loyal to a new military junta led by Deby’s son. Fiercely criticised for authoritarianism and inequality, Deby was seen as a trusty ally by many Western countries including the former colonial power France. He was seen as a stabilising force in the fight against jihadism in the wider Sahel region on the southern fringes of the Sahara desert. “Fighting is continuing in Kanem — we are going to have continue to fight, otherwise they will destabilise us,” junta spokesman General Azem Bermandoa Agouna told AFP. The Military Transition Council (CMT...
NAPTIP chief seeks renewed regional collaboration against illegal migration, trafficking
The Director General of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, Imaan Sulaiman Ibrahim, as called for renewed regional collaboration against illegal migration and human trafficking. This was as he expressed sadness over the incessant mishap involving hundreds of irregular migrants on the Mediterranean Sea enroute Europe describing it as huge loss that could be avoided. She called stakeholders across the World and specifically in African to join hands with the Agency in its renewed efforts to scale up sensitization and awareness campaign as a way of remedying the situation. Mrs Suaiman Ibrahim, according to a statement, Wednesday, by Stella Nezan, Head, Press and Public Relations Unit of NAPTIP, “made the call in Abuja while reacting to the recent human casual...
Senator Saraki urges Nigerian government to seek help over escalating insecurity
Former President of the Senate, Sen. Bukola Saraki, has advised the Federal Government to seek help wherever it could to address the escalating insecurity in the country. Saraki, in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, said that calling for help in the present situation of the country was not a sign of weakness. He said he was worried over cases of violence, kidnapping and terrorism recorded on Monday in Anambra, Kaduna, Yobe, Niger, Lagos states and many parts of the country. The ex-senate president reiterated the need for President Muhammadu Buhari to convene meeting of all those who could help in finding solutions to the problem at hand. ”The people include former presidents and heads of state, serving and former chief justices, serving and former presiding officers of the National Assembly...
Ex-NOC official: National Sports Festival remains good investment in youths
Elias Gora, a former Secretary-General of Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), says the biennial National Sports Festival (NSF) remains a good investment in ensuring Nigerian youths are positively engaged. Gora told newsmen in Lagos on Monday that the Festival could however be improved upon to discover more talents for Nigeria. He emphasised on the need to also use the Festival to continue to promote peace and unity in the country. “It is an investment, and it has kept the youths busy. Other youths who watched would have been motivated. “So, with the height of insecurity in the country, such distraction is needed. “I was part of the officials and one thing I understand is the fact that these youths will rather focus on what they enjoy doing. They can’t be bothered about anything. “If we can in...
Chad rebels ready for ceasefire; opposition presses for civilian rule
Rebels in northern Chad are ready to observe a ceasefire and to discuss a political settlement after the battlefield death of President Idriss Deby last week, a rebel spokesman said on Sunday. The rebels, known as the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), came over the northern border from Libya on April 11 calling for an end to Deby’s 30-year rule. They came as close as 200-300 km (125-185 miles) from the capital N’Djamena before being pushed back by the army. Deby was killed on Monday while visiting troops at the front, just after he won an election. His death shocked the Central African country, which has long been a Western ally against Islamist militants. The air force has since bombarded rebel positions, the military and rebels said. The military said on Saturday it had “annih...
Lagos: Police arrest protesting Uber, Bolt drivers
The police in Lagos have arrested some members of the Professional E-hailing Drivers and Private Owners Association (PEDPA), the umbrella body of e-hailing ride companies including Uber and Bolt, who had embarked on an industrial action over the services rendered by the platforms. Five drivers, including the president of PEDPA, Idris Shonuga, were arrested on Tuesday. Speaking on the arrest, Kolawole Aina, the Regional Vice President PEDPA, South-west, said the drivers were picked up by the police at the National Stadium in Surulere while they were gathering for a peaceful march to Alausa. Newsmen reported that Bolt and Uber drivers commenced strike on Monday to express their displeasure over the “unfavourable pricing” of the companies and its impact on their business. Shonuga, who listed ...
George Floyd murder: Minneapolis police to face US federal probe
A US federal investigation has been launched into policing practices in the city of Minneapolis, a day after one of its former officers was convicted of the murder of George Floyd. The justice department will look at whether there has been a pattern “of unconstitutional or unlawful policing”, Attorney General Merrick Garland said. It follows national outrage over the killing of Floyd by Derek Chauvin. The former officer was convicted of all charges against him on Tuesday. Chauvin was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest in May 2020. Floyd, an unarmed African American, was pronounced dead an hour later. His death sparked protests across the US and worldwide, and calls for police reform. Tuesday’s verdict has been widely welcomed in a country where poli...
US: Chad rebels heading towards capital from north
The United States said rebel fighters in Chad appeared to be moving towards the capital N’Djamena and ordered non-essential staff to leave, warning of possible violence. A spokesman for the rebel Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) said its fighters had “liberated” the province of Kanem, some 220 km (136 miles) from the capital N’Djamena, but the government denied this. “The authors of these false statements are not even on the ground, but somewhere in Europe,” the government said in a message posted to Facebook. A day earlier the British government urged its citizens to leave Chad because of information that two rebel convoys on the move, one near the town of Faya, some 770 km (478 miles) northeast of N’Djamena, and another by the town of Mao, the provincial capital of Kanem. On S...
