Months
House seeks refund of N308 million wrongly paid to resident doctors
The House of Representatives committee on health care services has directed the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to return N308 million in salaries wrongly paid to its members in the past four months. Chairman of the committee, Rep. Tanko Sununu said the N308 million had been with NARD and they are in touch with relevant organs of government to make sure that the money is paid back to government treasury. He however said, the monies were not refunded because the account into which the refund to be made was not given to them. He disclosed this after a closed-door meeting with NARD members on Friday. “At this meeting, we resolved and the account number was forwarded to the President of the Resident Doctors for onward transmission to the members so that the money can be paid ba...
NNPC to partner Borno government to establish gas power plant
The Group Managing Director, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Alhaji Mele Kyari has said that the corporation will partner with Borno State Government to establish a Gas Power Plant following the vandalization of the national grid by insurgents which put the state almost three months into total blackout. Kyari who led a powerful delegation on a courtesy call on Governor Babagana Umara Zulum on Friday said, the Federal Government will not fold its arms and neglect the state which is been ravaged by insurgents, especially cut off from the national grid, as power is a source of income to the teaming people of the state. “We are here with my colleagues, the Head of Gas and Power Business, Engineer Yusuf Usman, Representatives of Greensville Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), which is a...
Gunmen attack another Imo police station, kidnap one, injure others
Fear continues to pervade the atmosphere in Imo State as gunmen in the early hours of Thursday attacked the Mbieri Divisional Police Headquarters situated in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state. Our correspondent gathered from an indigene of Mbieri that the fleeing gunmen struck around 1am and immediately released the suspects in custody in the police facility. The gunmen also took away the phones belonging to suspects and the police operatives at the Division. But a police source at Division told our correspondent that the gunmen were repelled by the policemen on duty. The police source said “We resisted them but they overpowered us. They had more sophisticated weapons. They took all the phones they saw, released the suspects when they gained access and vandalised the police b...
U.K. to open first LGBT+ retirement home as market grows
Britain’s first LGBT+ retirement home is set to open in mid-2021, the housing association behind the London riverside apartments said, highlighting a growing market of older people who do not want to be forced back in the closet. There is a critical need for housing for older LGBT+ people, said Anna Kear, Chief Executive of Tonic Housing, as many say it would be “terrifying” to live in a predominantly straight home where other residents did not accept them. “People say that if they get to that stage, they would rather (die by) suicide than go into a heterosexual care home or sheltered housing environment, which is just awful,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. With an ageing population, the demand for specialist housing for older people is growing, with private retirement units acco...
Amaju Pinnick faults Ayiri Emami’s position on emergence of new Warri monarch
President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mr. Amaju Pinnick, yesterday faulted the position of the Ologbotsere of Warri Kingdom, Chief Ayiri Emami, on the emergence of new Olu of Warri, who succeeded the late monarch, Ogiame Ikenwoli. Some kingmakers had a few days ago selected Prince Tsola Emiko as the Olu of Warri-designate, a development that did not go down well with the rival group led by Emami, who insisted that picking him was a breach of the rules. The announcement made by the Iyatsere of Warri Kingdom and acting Chairman of Olu’s Advisory Council, Chief Johnson Atserunleghe, at a traditional ceremony in Ode Itsekiri, had since divided the kingdom into factions. Pinnick insisted that the 1979 edict which purportedly states that whoever must be the king must either be full...
Report: US says ex-Egypt premier had diplomatic immunity from lawsuit
The Biden administration has said a lawsuit seeking to hold former Egyptian Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi accountable for alleged involvement in torture against an Egyptian-American activist should be thrown out because he held diplomatic immunity, the Washington Post reported on Monday. In a submission to the US District Court in Washington, DC, shared by the Post, lawyers for the US Justice Department said “El Beblawi held diplomatic status at the time when the suit was commenced” and the court should dismiss “claims falling with the scope of his immunity”. El-Beblawi had served as Egypt’s representative to the International Monetary Fund, but quit and left the US in late October, the Post reported. The department said in its court filing that it was not making any judgements on the me...
Anambra governor: I will not abandon families of slain policemen
Governor of Anambra state, Willie Obiano, has assured the families of the policemen killed during an attack on Prof Charles Soludo that government would not abandon them. Obiano gave the assurance on Easter Sunday at a statewide broadcast to address the violent attacks in the state. “To the families of the slain Police officers, my heart once again, goes out to you. I share in your grief and mourn with you. While I pray for the repose of the souls of the deceased, please be assured that the State Government will not abandon you” he said . He prayed that the spirit of the season would permeate their hearts and engender love, peace and tranquility in their daily lives, now and in the future. The yet to be identified gunmen had on 31st of March 2021 invaded a town hall meeting at Isuofia with...
Juan Mata set for Manchester United contract extension
Getty Images Spanish international Juan Mata looks set to be offered a shock contract extension at Manchester United. The 32-year old has seen his first team role steadily reduced under boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with the former Chelsea star only making four Premier League starts in 2020/21. However, Solskjaer is keen to retain his experience at Old Trafford and the club will enter into talks over a new deal this summer. According to reports from the Daily Star, Mata’s current contract ends in July, but United will activate their rolling option to extend it by a further 12 months ahead of the 2021/22 campaign. Solskjaer is unlikely to offer anything more than an additional year to the ex Valencia schemer with Mata rumoured to be open to staying in England for another season. He has been li...
Bayelsa: We won’t retrench workforce amid dwindling revenues – official
The Bayelsa state government has assured civil servants in the state that it had no plans to downsize the workforce, amidst dwindling revenue. The government said on Thursday that although it was contending with an unwieldy wage bill, it would seek alternative sources of revenue to shore up its finances. The Commissioner for Finance, Maxwell Ebibai, gave the assurance at the transparency briefing for the months of January and February 2021, in Yenagoa, the state capital. Newsmen report that under the state’s Bayelsa Transparency Law, it had become mandatory for the government to make public its income and expenditures on a monthly basis. Ebibai, said the state government received N6.8 billion for February, 2021, as net receipts from the Federation Account, after first line deductions, as a...
Kassim Afegbua: No need for reconciliation with Governor Obaseki
Prince Kassim Afegbua, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Commissioner for Information in the state, has said he has no need to reconcile with Governor Godwin Obaseki on his purported suspension from the party. Speaking in an interview, Afegbua also said he remained a member of the PDP despite his public endorsement of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last governorship election in Edo state. He said: “There is nothing to reconcile with the state Governor. I am older than him at the party. He only came because he needed a platform to contest the election. After his second term inauguration, can you name the PDP members in his administration, five months after? “Yes, I was purportedly suspended for one month by my ward...
Rivers governor speaks against travelling abroad for medical check-up
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State says he doesn’t have any reason to travel abroad for a medical check-up because the State Government House Clinic is equipped with everything he needs for medical examination. The governor said this on Wednesday, March 31, 2021, when a delegation of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Port Harcourt. Wike’s comment came at a time President Muhammadu Buhari left the country for a medical check-up in London. In a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Kelvin Ebiri. Wike urged the council not to play politics with the approved quota for medical and dental schools in Nigeria. Wike was quoted as saying, “The health care system in Nigeria requires very serious attention. It is unfortunate wh...
AFCONQ: CAF confirms new date for Sierra Leone vs Benin clash
The Confederation of African Football has announced the postponed Africa Cup of Nations qualification encounter between Sierra Leone and Benin Republic will now take place during the June international window. The Group L fixture initially billed for Tuesday, March 30, at the National Stadium, Freetown did not take place owing to a Covid-19 controversy. However, both teams will now square up against one another in three months’ time – a game that will determine the last team to secure a place for Cameroon 2022. “The Africa Cup of Nations organizing committee has decided to postpone the above-mentioned match to the next Fifa international window scheduled for June 2021. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and understanding,” a post from Benin Football Federation Facebook page read....
