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AKA: I’m not a suspect in my fiancée’s murder investigation
Superstar South African rapper, Kiernan Forbes, has stated that he is not a suspect in the ongoing investigation into the death of his fiancée, Nellie Tembe, by the South African Police. Fondly referred to as Anele, it was reported that the rapper’s fiancée fell from one of the upper floors of the hotel to the intersection of Loop and Bloom streets in the Cape Town central business districts. AKA and Anele had gotten engaged in February this year. In March, he paid ‘lobola’ to her family, describing her as ‘the love of his life’ when he announced their engagement on social media. The rap artiste revealed that some people whom he and his late fiancée trusted with their deepest troubles now use them as weapons against him. He said, “It is a sad day when I find myself having to speak to the n...
NNPC begins work on Port Harcourt refinery
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has kicked off construction work in the Port Harcourt Refinery rehabilitation project with a firm commitment not to fail Nigerians. A statement on Friday by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Dr Kennie Obateru, quoted the NNPC Chief Operating Officer, Refineries & Petrochemicals, Engr Mustapha Yakubu, as saying that everything was being done to ensure that the project is delivered hitch-free and on schedule. Speaking at the Technical Kick-off Meeting for the project held at the Port Harcourt Refinery Complex, Alesa Eleme, Rivers State, Engr Yakubu said everything about the project had been carefully worked out to ensure that the target of at least 90% refining capacity is achieved when operational. “I...
CBN governor vows to block maize importation
Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele on Thursday vowed to resist importation of maize as Nigerians have the capacity and capability to grow the crop locally to meet consumption demand. On that note, he has urged youths across the country to embrace agriculture, declaring the bank’s readiness to support those ready to venture into it. Emefiele made the declaration in Katsina at the unveiling of the first maize pyramid and flag-off of the 2021 maize wet season farming under the CBN-Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN) Anchor Borrowers’ Programme. He averred that Nigerian youths could leverage their talents, along with technological tools to improve farm productivity and delivery of agricultural produce to markets. While noting that agriculture offered significant benefi...
May Day: Governor Masari lists gains of Katsina workers
Apart from various housing schemes for civil servants in the area, Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari, on Saturday listed various other programmes designed for workers. As part of measures to reduce accommodation problems of workers, Governor Masari said that government had entered into partnership with some private developers through public private partnership with a view to providing affordable houses to workers. The governor spoke in a message he sent at a symposium as part of activities marking the 2021 May Day celebrations in Katsina. According to him, ‘under the owner-occupier housing scheme, government has identified 503 of the state houses accommodating serving civil servants and those who retired and approved the sale of the houses to them at subsidised and affordable rates...
May Day: Minister donates bus to staff union
The Minister of State for Science and Technology, Mr Mohammed Abdullahi, on Saturday, donated a 28- seater bus to the ministry’s staff union. The gesture was in commemoration of the 2021 Workers’ Day. Abdullahi disclosed this in a message he posted on his Twitter handle, @MohdHAbdullahi. He said the gesture was meant to show appreciation for the workers’ dedication and to ease their movement to and from work. He wrote, “As part of our modest efforts in supporting our dedicated staff, I just provided a 28-seater bus to the staff union to ease their mobility to and from work amongst other efforts. “I wish them a happy Workers’ Day.” The minister also promised that his ministry will continue to promote labour-friendly policies to make the workplace conducive for workers. He also vowed to ensu...
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...
Registration: JAMB introduces USSD code
File Photo The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) says the board will introduce the use of USSD code as an option to the SMS process of generating a profile code for registration. This, it said, was part of measures it had put in place to address some challenges experienced by candidates of its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). The Registrar of the board, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, disclosed this during a news briefing at the board’s headquarters in Bwari, Abuja, on Monday. Oloyede said the use of the USSD code would commence from Friday, April 30. He said the board had received complaints especially from parents of candidates who had tried to register their children and wards but had been unsuccessful. He said that service providers had, however, continued to ext...
Minister: Nigeria needs N1.89 trillion to eradicate malaria
The federal government has said that it will require N1.89 trillion to successfully implement the new five-year strategic plan aimed at eradicating malaria in Nigeria. It said that about N352 billion out of the amount is required for the year 2021 programme implementation. In his address to mark this year’s World Malaria Day, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said the target set out in the National Malaria Strategic Plan of 2021 to 2025 is to achieve less than 10 per cent parasite prevalence and reduction in mortality attributable to malaria to less than 50 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2025. He said: “The implementation of the New Strategic Plan will cost N1.89 trillion. About 63.1% of the total amount will be used to support Chemoprevention, diagnosis and treatment, while 35....
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...
Robert Whittaker’s Saturday victory brightens rematch with Nigeria’s Israel Adesanya
In the main event of Saturday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Vegas 24, Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker, the New Zealand-born Australian professional mixed martial artist, scored a convincing 50-45 win on all three judges’ scorecards against Kelvin Gastelum, American professional mixed martial artist in the Middleweight division at the Apex facility in Las Vegas. In the early exchanges, Gastelum was aggressive and took control of the center of the Octagon. It was not what Whittaker wanted, so he quickly countered Gastelum, sending a message with a strong head kick that landed squarely. From then on, Whittaker established some of his dominance in the clash. Not long after, he showed he actually held the wrestling advantage as he took down the former collegiate wrestler and held him dow...
CDQ: NDLEA found no drug in my house, beat me up
Popular Nigerian rapper, Sodiq Yusuf, aka CDQ, has dared the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDEA) to show the world the Indian hemp found in his place. He said he had CCTV footage of the visit, unknown to the raiders. Newsmen had earlier reported that the rapper was picked up following an intelligence report that there were hard drugs in his house. However, speaking with newsmen on Saturday, the rapper stated that Indian hemp wasn’t found on him, saying that he had CCTV footage to back up his claim. He said, “Men of the NDLEA came to my house yesterday evening (Wednesday). They threatened me with a pistol to my chest and beat me black and blue in my own apartment. They said they got information that I deal in drugs. They searched everywhere and turned my house upside down. All they ...
Minister: Nigerian government worried about rising unemployment rate
Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has said the federal government is worried over the rising unemployment rate in the country. Speaking at the 2nd Shakeholders’ Meeting on Expatriate Quota Administration organized by the Citizenship and Business Department of the Ministry of Interior, the Minister said: “Anyone that is not worried about the unemployment rate in the country is not a patriot.” He lamented that the unemployment rate of 33 per cent released by the National Bureau of Statistics was indeed worrisome and a wake up call that something urgently needed to be done to keep Nigerians employed and drastically reduce the unemployment rate. The Minister, who called on all stakeholders at the meeting to ensure quality inputs were brought to the table that will lead to the produ...
