Inception
IOM sensitizes 25,500 Nigerian migrants on irregular migration, trafficking
United Nations migration agency, the International Organization on Migration, IOM, said it has deployed Community Dialogue and Theatre in its quest to curb irregular migration, trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants in Nigeria. The UN agency said it has through the process reached out to 25, 545 migrants on the dangers of irregular migration and the need for safe and orderly migration. IOM’s Chief of Mission, Mr Franz Celestin stated this yesterday in Abuja at the launch of a Community Dialogue and Community Theatre Manual on irregular migration, trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants. Celestin who was represented by Cyprine Cheptepkeny, the Awareness Raising Officer of IOM Nigeria said the occasion marked a key milestone in contributing to the Federal Government effort...
National Assembly members agreed not to be hostile to Prudent Buhari’s government – Senate spokesman
The current 9th National Assembly members all agreed that they will not have an acrimonious relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, unlike the 8th Assembly under Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara. Spokesman of the senate, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, who represents Osun Central disclosed this in an interview published in newsmen on Wednesday while responding to claims that the current national assembly is a rubber-stamp that is always quick to do the bidding of the executive. He said “I don’t know the basis for your question, but what I do know is that at the inception, there was an agreement among the lawmakers that we do not want an acrimonious relationship between the Executive and the Legislature”. “All of us witnessed how such a relationship worked against the interest of...
Nigerian government’s special cash grant for rural women launched in Yobe
Federal government has on Friday Flag-off Special Cash Grant for Rural Women in Damaturu, Yobe State capital. Launching the programme, the Minister of Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq said that “we gather to provide support to citizens of our beloved country. I am delighted to have you all converge on this venue for purpose of flagging off the Federal Government’s cash grant for rural women, which is a significant social protection programme of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, aimed at uplifting the most vulnerable groups out of poverty”. According to her, since the inception of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration in 2015, Government has paid more attention to protecting and promoting the plight of the poor and vulnerable in the country. This s...
Rivers governor: Labour can’t reverse APC’s anti-people policies
The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has said that the labour movement in Nigeria is dead, adding that it cannot reverse the anti-people policies of the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government. Wike who wrote on Twitter lamented the silence of labour in the face of insecurity and hike in fuel price and electricity tariff in the country. According to him, labour which used to be alive under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan died since the inception of the present government. He said, “Labour movement in the country is dead because it has lost its force of engagement with government and hardly can achieve anything good for the generality of the workforce and Nigerians. “The leadership of labour has left substance to pursue shadows and hardly can speak in...
President Buhari wants rapport between NDDC, National Assembly sustained
President Muhammadu Buhari has lauded the cordial relationship existing between the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the National Assembly. The president, who spoke on Thursday at the virtual commissioning of the NDDC headquarters building in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, called for such relationship for the development of the Niger Delta region. While commending the management and staff of the NDDC for staying the course and keying into the reform agenda of his administration, President Buhari said: “I am particularly pleased to note the cordial relationship between the NDDC and the National Assembly and hope that this relationship will be strengthened further for the benefit of the people of the Niger Delta region.” He said: “I, therefore, use this opportunity to ...
2,700 Akwa Ibom women benefit from federal government’s special grant
The minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, has advised Nigerian women not to regard the N20, 000 special grant given to the rural woman by the federal government as the fabled national cake. She has rather charged the beneficiaries to judiciously use the grant to improve their living standard by utilizing it as seed capital do boost their trades and businesses for greater income. Speaking through Bashir Nura Alkali, the permanent secretary of the ministry, at the flag off of the Grant for Rural Women Project and the symbolic disbursement of the grant to 2700 women of Akwa Ibom state, in Uyo, on Thursday, Farouq explained that the Grant for Rural Women Programme was introduced in 2020 to sustain the social inclusion agenda of Presid...
Police promotion: PSC insists no zone is marginalised
File Photo The Police Service Commission has reiterated that no part of Nigeria has been deliberately shortchanged in the promotion of officers of the Nigeria Police Force. This was disclosed in a statement on Wednesday by Ikechukwu Ani, Head, Press and Public Relations of the commission. He said the Commission was aware that promotion in the Police Force is guided by defined rules and regulations that have nothing to do with ethnic or religious considerations. The statement read in part, “The Commission wishes to state that it has since sanitized the processes of recruitment, promotion and discipline in the Force and has ensured that these processes are also governed by established rules and regulations. “It is on record that the Commission has contributed in ensuring sanity in the recrui...
Northern elders restate total support for President Buhari, APC
Northern elders have restated their unflinching support to President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress, APC-led federal administration in the country. They have also appealed to Nigerians to be patient and believe in the Buhari government, saying the president was taking steps to addressing the current challenges especially insecurity confronting Nigeria. This came as they berated stakeholders in the region over what they described as their long silence in the face of unbearable criminal acts by herdsmen across the country thereby denting the image of the region. The elders under the umbrella of Coalition of Northern Elders for Peace and Development, in a statement on Saturday, however, commended renowned Islamic Scholar and preacher, Sheik Abubakar Gumi for taking bold st...
Rivers United defeat Bloemfontein Celtics in CAF Confederation qualifier
Rivers United are through to the final playoff round of the CAF Confederation Cup after they again defeated South Africa’s Bloemfontein Celtics on Saturday. Despite playing at a neutral ground, at the Charles De Gaulles Stadium in Port Novo, Benin Republic, Rivers United posted a 3-0 win over Celtics to progress on 5-0 aggregate scoreline. The Pride of Rivers had registered a 2-0 win when they played the first leg in South Africa in December and despite the uncertainties that postponed and rescheduled the second leg, Stanley Eguma’s men delivered yet another flawless performance. Just as it was in the first leg, the duo of Fortune Omoniwari and Godwin Aguda were again the goal scorers for Rivers United on Saturday with the latter scoring twice this time. Rivers United now have their work w...
Minister tasks NAPTIP on domestication of trafficking act
Twitter Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, has urged the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to ensure domestication of the Act in all states. Farouq gave the advice when the Director-General of NAPTIP, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim paid her a courtesy visit in Abuja on Monday. She said NAPTIP should focus on the domestication of Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act (TIPPEA), 2015 and Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP), 2015 in all states of the federation. According to Farouq, focusing on the domestication will ease some of the problems currently faced by NAPTIP in the implementation of key interventions and programmes. “I urge you to make use...
Coronavirus: Nigeria now at tipping point – PTF
The Federal Government, yesterday, took stock of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic vis-a-vis the attitude of Nigerians to embracing safety precautions, and concluded that the country was now at a tipping point. This came as government announced its decision to establish oxygen plants in all states of the federation as part of measures to resolve the “oxygen crisis” that had engulfed some of the isolation and treatment centres in the country. Meanwhile, Edo State has recorded 28 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 270, as the state government cautions residents to abide by the precautionary health and safety guidelines. Vanguard, meanwhile, gathered that former vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe and th...
NIMC insists on deadline for linking of NIN to mobile numbers
File Photo Despite criticisms from many Nigerians of the two-week ultimatum for the registration and linking of National Identity Number (NIN) to mobile numbers, the federal government has insisted on the deadline. The director-general of the National Identity Management Commission, (NIMC), Aliyu Abubakar, in an interview with newsmen on Friday said there was no extension for the announced deadline. “Right now, the way it is, there is no extension. We should not be complaining, rather we should see how it can be done,” he said. “It is until after 10 to 12 days then we will see how far it has gone before we beg the government for anything.” When the agency issued a two-week ultimatum for the enrolment, Nigerians took to social media platforms to kick against such a deadline. “In the whole o...
