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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. ...

Police: We are investigating killing of Kaduna lawyer

The police in Kaduna State have commenced investigation into the killing of a‎ Kaduna-based lawyer, Haro Gandu, by gunmen at his Abuja Road residence on Sunday, 26 July, 2020 and abduction of his wife and son. It was gathered that late Gandu was an Assistant Director in the state Ministry of Justice. Timothy Gandu, a former Commissioner of Economic Planning in Kaduna State who revealed how bandits killed his brother, had disclosed that they gained access into the house by pulling down a window. They shot the victim on the shoulder as he was trying to escape. The spokesman of the police command, ASP Mohammed Jalige, told newsmen that the command has deployed its personnel to the area to rescue the victims. “Already efforts are on top gear and we have deployed security around the area with t...

Embattled AfDB chief survives another probe into his conduct

Embattled President of African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Adewumi Adesina, has survived a second round of investigation into his conduct, giving him a boost in his re-election bid next month. A team of independent auditors demanded for by the US government said they could not find proof he had engaged in corruption or nepotism as anonymous whistleblowers had alleged. The panel was set up on the insistence of the US to review the report of the Ethics Committee of AfDB, which had earlier cleared Adesina of wrongdoings as alleged by whistleblowers. The unanimous report of the independent panel of three said there had been insufficient evidence to prove the allegations. According to the report, the members of the panel said they “considered the President’s submissions on their face and finds ...

Delta to cut political appointees, workers’ salaries effective from July

Following the dwindling global economy occasioned by the ravaging coronavirus pandemic, the Delta State Government, weekend, said there would be a review of the salary of political appointees and workers on salary grade level 7 and above for six months with effect from July 2020. Secretary to the State Government, Mr Chiedu Ebie, who disclosed this, yesterday, while briefing newsmen in Asaba, said the decision was part of measures to overcome the debilitating effect of COVID-19 on the national economy. Saying that the state government had adopted interim fiscal measures to sustain public spending, Ebie noted that the decision to review workers’ salary was reached at a consultative meeting with the organised labour in the state. He said the review was painful, difficult but inevitable, addi...

MASSOB urge police to release arrested members

FIle Photo The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra has called on the police to release its members arrested on Friday in Imo State. MASSOB’s National Director of Information, Sunday Okereafor, who condemned the mass arrest of the movement’s members, said they did no wrong and did not deserve to be apprehended by the police. Four persons had been shot when the police operatives clashed with MASSOB members at Orji axis of Owerri, the Imo State capital, while those injured were rushed to the hospital. The State Police Public Relations Officer, Orlando Ikokwu, who confirmed the clash, alleged that MASSOB members attempted to snatch firearms from policemen. Ikokwu said the MASSOB members also inflicted machete cut injuries on two policemen in the New Owerri area of t...

Boko Haram: 601 ex-insurgents finish de-radicalisation programme in Gombe

The Nigerian Army on Saturday released 601 ex-Boko Haram members after undergoing six months de-radicalisation, rehabilitation and reintegration (DRR) programme in Gombe State. The graduation ceremony of the ex-insurgents took place on Saturday at Malam Sidi community in Kwami Local Government Area of the state. Speaking during the event, Bamidele Shafa, the Coordinator of Operation Safe Corridor (OSC), said the ex-insurgents were ready to be re-integrated into the society. Shafa, a major-general, said the graduating batch four clients were admitted in December 2019 and within the six months undertook a comprehensive medical test to ascertain their health status that enabled their proper care. According to him, out of the 606 clients received into the camp; 601 were graduating, three died,...

Emir extols Kebbi tomatoes farming prospect

The Emir of Yauri, Dr. Muhammad Zayyanu Abdullahi, has said Kebbi State will emerge the hub of tomatoes production in the country in view of the existence of the second largest fresh tomatoes processing company which eliminates the fear of post-harvest loss. Culinary products manufacturer, GBfoods, in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Kebbi State government, and Yauri Emirate, has established a $52 million tomatoes processing factory in Gafara village, Ngaski Local Government Area in Yauri Emirate of Kebbi State. The Monarch made the assertion on Thursday when he visited the site of the company in Gafara village and said he was elated for the tremendous progress registered. According to him, the siting of the firm in his domain has opened a ready-made market for the farme...

Oyo APC, Governor Makinde in war of words over N100 billion bond

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, yesterday, said it has uncovered fresh plots by Governor Seyi Makinde to add to the debt profile of the state through what it called needless borrowing of N100 billion styled bond by the governor to finance some projects. But the state government, in a swift reaction, said the APC was frustrated and has exhibited its mercantile approach to governance. The war of words came on the heels of Governor Mankinde’s approval for the issuance of N100bn Private bond for circular road, Iseyin-Ogbomoso road, Ibadan Airport expansion. However, APC, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary in the state, Dr. Abdul-Azeez Olatunde, noted that the governor on his assumption of office, was shouting on the roof top of meeting debt from his predecessor, in the...

Senator Lawan: Nobody is above scrutiny of the National Assembly

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has said that nobody is above the scrutiny of the National Assembly. Lawan stated this in his closing remarks moments before the Upper Chamber adjourned plenary till September 15, 2020. Speaking on the gains of a harmonious working relationship between the Legislature and the Executive arm of Government, the Senate President advised appointees of the President against needless confrontation with the Committees of the National Assembly. According to him, engagements with Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government by the Committees of the National Assembly are carried out to serve public interest and in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended. “As for what has been happening recently, let me take this opportunity to adv...

Senate demands review of Power Sector Reform Act

The Senate on Wednesday called for the review of the Power Sector Reform Act 2005. According to the upper chamber, a new and more dynamic Electricity Act would among others, “consolidate the roles of regulators and policy makers; bridge existing gaps in the legal and regulatory framework; and cater to post-privatization operational issues in Nigeria’s power sector. The position of the Senate was contained in resolutions reached following consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Power on “Addressing Nigeria’s Power Problems.” Chairman of the Committee, Gabriel Suswam (PDP – Benue North East), in his presentation stressed the need for more consumers to be metered to avoid estimated billing. He added that the Federal Government’s intervention since the privatization of the power...

Bayelsa set to pay hazard allowances

The Bayelsa State Government has indicated its readiness to pay special allowances to frontline health workers combating the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic in the state. Mr Doubara Atasi, the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Deputy Governor, stated this in a statement on Wednesday. It would be recalled that Gov. Douye Diri, had given the assurance to pay the allowances on Tuesday. He said it at a meeting with the representatives of the labour unions including the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and Association of Resident Doctors in Government House, Yenagoa. Other unions represented at the meeting include the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria and Association of Medical Laboratory Sci...

Global Fund: Nigeria receives $890 million to tackle HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria

Nigeria has received an $890 million grant from the Global Fund to reduce the burden of HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria over an implementation period of three years, beginning from 2021 to 2023. The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, announced the receipt of the grant at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja. The Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GF) is an innovative international financing mechanism established by the United Nations in 2002, with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. It is a global partnership of governments, civil society and private donors. It was established for the purpose of attracting, leveraging and investing resources to fund public health interventions to accelerate the eradication of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in affected high burden ...