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NANS: Nigerian government’s 2021 budget for education worst in 10 years
The President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Com. Sunday Asefon, has frowned at the 2021 budgetary provision for education under President Muhammadu Buhari, describing it as the worst in the last ten years in the country. Disturbed by the neglect of the education sector, which was apportioned with a paltry of 5.6 percent in the 2021 budget and the high level of insecurity in the country, NANS has planned to organise a Security and Education Summit to partner stakeholders on how to arrest the drift in the two critical sectors Asefon said this in Ado-Ekiti, on Thursday, during a courtesy visit to the office of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Correspondents’ Chapel, Ekiti chapter. He said: “I condemn totally, the federal government’s 2021 budgetary provision to edu...
US Democrat Senate wins push stocks higher despite Capitol chaos
Clean sweep by Democrats allows them to enact big-spending policies likely to benefit the economy, investors say. Global stock markets rose and bonds nursed losses on Thursday in anticipation of a big-borrowing and big-spending Democratic administration driving growth, following runoff elections that gave the party control of both houses of the United States Congress. On Wednesday, US Treasury bonds had suffered their steepest selloff in months after Democratic Party victories in two races in the state of Georgia handed them narrow control of the Senate and the power to pass their agenda. US S&P 500 futures rose 0.6 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.9 percent as markets seemed to shake off a late fade that pulled Wall Street indexes back from fresh record peaks when chaotic protest...
Nigeria: 1,375 irregular migrants arrested during border closure
The Federal Government said on Monday that no fewer than 1,375 irregular migrants were arrested while the border drill code-named, ”Exercise Swift Response,” lasted. Newsmen report that the border drill held between Aug. 20, 2019 and Dec. 17, 2020. Speaking at a new year media briefing in Lagos on Monday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the border drill was a huge success. The minister said the seizures so far during the period included 157,511 – 50kg bags of parboiled foreign rice, 10,447 bags of NPK fertiliser used for making explosives and 18,630 jerry cans of vegetable oil. The total monetary value of the seized items, according to him, is about ₦12.362 billion. Newsmen recall that ”Exercise Swift Response” was launched as part of efforts to secure th...
Chelsea boss admits to facing ‘reality check’ after Manchester City drubbing
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard acknowledged that he was given a sharp jolt of reality as the Blues capitulated at home to Manchester City on Sunday. Lampard’s charges have been in torrid form since the start of December, following up a run of nine unbeaten Premier League games with four defeats in their last six outings. The latest, a 3-1 reverse at Stamford Bridge at the hands of City, was concerning not just for the result but also the subdued display offered by the hosts. Chelsea mustered just two shots on target to give debutant goalkeeper Zack Steffen a quiet afternoon between the posts, and only troubled the scorers late into injury time through Callum Hudson-Odoi when the game was already out of reach. And with the Blues having slipped down to eighth as a result of their recent woes,...
Frank Lampard under serious threat of being sacked as Chelsea boss
According to a damning on-the-whistle report from The Athletic, Frank Lampard’s job at Chelsea is under serious threat after the 3-1 defeat to Manchester City. The loss to Pep Guardiola’s side marked Chelsea’s fourth in their last six Premier League games, the Blues have won just once over this period – against West Ham – who they are now level on points with. It’s not just the results though, the Blues have lost to sides that are firmly contenders for European competition like Wolves and Everton – whilst they were stunned by rivals Arsenal on Boxing Day. The Athletic report that the west London outfit have now begun to ‘explore alternative plans’ in regards to the team’s future, with the consideration that Lampard will be sacked if this run continues. Chelsea now sit eighth in the Premier...
PDP: Nigerians fed up with President Buhari’s government
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Sunday, maintained that Nigerians have become fed up with the Muhammadu Buhari administration and are now rallying under the main opposition party. In a statement issued in Abuja by its national spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP described the recent attack on it by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, “as a feeble kick of a weak horse, in another failed attempt to beguile Nigerians.” Recall that the presidential spokesman had described the PDP as “a university of lies.” The PDP said it is not surprised that “the Buhari Presidency is rattled by the bitter truth that Nigerians are fed up with President Muhammadu Buhari as well as his All Progressives Congress (APC) and are rallying on our platform to rescue our nation from misrule.” The party noted:...
PDP: Nigerians fed up with President Buhari’s government
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Sunday, maintained that Nigerians have become fed up with the Muhammadu Buhari administration and are now rallying under the main opposition party. In a statement issued in Abuja by its national spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP described the recent attack on it by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, “as a feeble kick of a weak horse, in another failed attempt to beguile Nigerians.” Recall that the presidential spokesman had described the PDP as “a university of lies.” The PDP said it is not surprised that “the Buhari Presidency is rattled by the bitter truth that Nigerians are fed up with President Muhammadu Buhari as well as his All Progressives Congress (APC) and are rallying on our platform to rescue our nation from misrule.” The party noted:...
Coronavirus: FCT threatens to shut markets, malls
The FCT Administration has told shop owners to choose between complying with COVID-19 guidelines or having their business premises shut as part of measures to contain the pandemic. Head, Media and Public Enlightenment of the FCT Ministerial Enforcement Task team on COVID-19 Regulations, Ikharo Attah, issued the warning while monitoring the level of compliance in some shopping malls and business premises across the city. He said the administration will “not hesitate to shut down shopping malls, Maitama farmers’ market and business premises in the city that fail to comply with the COVID-19 protocols and guidelines. “From what we observed, there is high compliance by costumers and visitors to these malls and business premises, sadly, same cannot be said of the workers and operators of shops a...
House of Reps member petitions army over ‘unlawful dismissal’ of soldiers from Ebonyi
The member representing Ezza South/Ikwo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Chinedu Ogah, has petitioned the Nigerian Army over the ‘unjust’ dismissal of soldiers from Ebonyi state . Ogah said that the soldiers were sacked unjustly from the military and that a petition has been submitted against their dismissal , expressing confidence that they would be reinstated very soon. The federal Lawmaker disclosed this while addressing thousands of members of his constituency who paid him Christmas visit at his Amagu country home, Ikwo in Ikwo local government area of Ebonyi state Ogah however, used the occasion to intimate them on his activities for the one year he has been in office as their representative in the National Assembly, saying that he had submitted petition agai...
UK needs tighter coronavirus rules to avert catastrophe – epidemiologist
Britain’s government needs to bring in tighter coronavirus lockdown rules to avert a fresh wave of deaths from a new strain of the disease, a leading epidemiologist and government adviser warns. Britain reported 41,385 new COVID cases on Monday, the highest number since testing became widely available in the middle of 2020, and English hospitals say they have more COVID patients than during the first wave of the pandemic in April. “We are entering a very dangerous new phase of the pandemic, and we’re going to need decisive early national action to prevent a catastrophe in January and February,” said Andrew Hayward, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at University College London, on Tuesday. More than 71,000 people in Britain have died within 28 days of a positive test for the dis...
Nigerian government borrows over N2 trillion from bond investors in 2020
Leveraging on excess liquidity that persisted in the banking system and the near zero yields on treasury bills (TBs), the Federal Government, through the Debt Management Office (DMO), raised N2.1 trillion from investors in its monthly bond issuance programme in 2020. This represents 33 percent, year-on-year, (y/y) increase when compared with the N1.58 trillion raised by the DMO in 2019. The N2.1 trillion raised in 2020 also represents 31 percent more than the N1.6 trillion funding target for the DMO under the Revised 2020 Budget. Meanwhile, the monthly bond auctions conducted by the DMO in 2020 recorded 275 percent oversubscription, reflecting scramble for the high yielding FGN bonds by investors. Newsmen report on monthly bond auction results show that the DMO offered N1.825 trillion wort...
Yuletide: FRSC decries violations of coronavirus protocols, speed by motorists
Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has decried high level of speed and COVID-19 violations by motorists across the country during the yuletide. Zonal Commanding Officer RS9, Enugu, Mr Owoimaha Odoma, disclosed this to newsmen on Friday in Owerri. He said the issue became worrisome as over speeding often led to road crashes, while violation of COVID-19 protocol by motorists could also escalate the dreaded virus in various communities. Udoma, who is the zonal inspection head on FRSC ‘Operation Zero Tolerance to Road Traffic Violation’, warned motorists against over speeding. “We embarked on road monitoring in the states under the zone and we have observed that violations of speed and COVID-19 guidelines were the major challenges on the road during this period. “We started this road inspection ...
