Mr. President
Group urges service chiefs to fish out criminal elements
Following the activities of armed bandits in the country, group has charged the new service chiefs to address the current Insecurity situation in the North East, particularly Maiduguri, which they noted,was the epicenter of insecurity in the country. By way of appeal the group urge the new security heads adopt a new strategy, hit the ground running by relocating to the theatre of the war against terrorists for at least six months in the first instance and not national tour. In a statement, Wednesday, the experts operating under the aegis of Coalition of Concerned Nigeria Security Experts noted that two months after the current security chiefs assumed office, insecurity was assuming a new dimension. In the statement by its National Coordinator, Prof. Otedola Adekunle and National Secretary,...
Minister: Nigerian government to establish micro enterprises in 774 local council areas
Dr George Akume, the Minister of Special Duties and Inter Governmental Affairs, on Wednesday said that micro enterprises will be established in the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the country. The Minister disclosed this in Abuja at the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) General Assembly with the Theme: Strategic Positioning for the Future: A New Era. “As a ministry, we have proposed the establishment of Micro, Small and Medium enterprises in the 774 local governments in Nigeria based on economic corridors. “We believe that this will create jobs and ensure improvement in the well-being of the local populace,’’Akume said. The minister, who was represented by Mr Simon Tyungu, Deputy Director, Office of the Minister, said that the establishment of the micro enterprise wa...
President Buhari appoints Adedeji Zacch as NSDC scribe
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Mr Adedeji Zacch as the Executive Secretary of National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) for an initial term of four years. Buhari made the announcement in a statement on Thursday by Mr Willie Bassey, Director of Information, office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. The statement said that Zacch’s appointment was in accordance with the provision of Section 5 (1) of the National Sugar Development Council (Establishment Act, 1993). Newsmen report that Zacch holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management and Accounting and Masters degree in Accounting from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun. He also holds Executive Certificate in Economic Development from Harvard, Kennedy School of Government, Boston, ...
PDP advises federal government against increasing pump price of petrol
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday advised the Federal Government against increasing pump price of petrol. The party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, in Abuja said any contemplation to increase pump price of petrol to N212 would worsen the economic and social situations of Nigerians. This was in reaction to a debunk report that the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulation Agency (PPPRA) on Thursday night released a template that a litre of fuel would now be sold for prices ranging from N209 to N212 per litre for March. Ologbondiyan said that the N212 per liter reportedly contemplated in the March pricing template was not in the best interest of Nigerians. “It is a barefaced fact that there is no way that Nigerians can survive such hike in fue...
CDS Irabor: Nigeria will have peace again
Chief of Defense Staff General Lucky Irabor has said that the Nigerian Armed Forces will never in any way leave the peace and security of the nation in the hands of the terrorists. General Irabor, who spoke with State House correspondents after being decorated with his new rank by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja said the Armed Forces will determine the peace and will not leave it in the hands of the terrorists. He was before his appointment as CDS a Major General. Fielding question on the role played by the Nigerian military in the recent negotiations that led to the release of the school children from their abductors, he said that the security agencies built bridges across various divides. According to him, “Peace and security is not just the s...
PDP accuses APC of plot to take over Zamfara
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of plotting a forceful take over of Zamfara State because of the security challenges confronting the state. The party levelled the accusation in a statement on Wednesday by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan. The North-west state is governed by a PDP governor, Bello Matawalle. Hundreds of students were abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, Zamfara State by some bandits on Friday last week. They were, however, released in the early hours of Tuesday. On the same day, the APC-led the federal government declared the state a ‘no-fly-zone’ just as it again banned mining activities in the state to curb the rising insecurity. Before the Zamfara incident, at least 27 male students were abduct...
President Buhari directs security chiefs to recover areas being occupied by criminals
President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the nation’s security chiefs to recover all areas being occupied by insurgents, bandits and kidnappers across the country. The National Security Adviser (NSA), retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno, told State House correspondents that the president gave the order during the just concluded meeting of the National Security Council. The meeting was presided by Buhari at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday. According to him, no sovereign nation will allow a group of non-state actors to bring it down to its knees and render the state in state of panic, apprehension, mistrust and disorder. “Therefore, both the defence and intelligence organisations have been charged that while we look forward to having a peaceful, non-kinetic reso...
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...
PTF: Nigeria has over 100 molecular laboratories
Nigeria can now boast of over 100 molecular laboratories for the testing of COVID-19 in the country, the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF), Boss Mustapha, has said. This is just as the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, flayed the non challant attitude of people in his home state, Kwara, to the pandemic. The SGF who spoke Tuesday at the commissioning of State House Clinic Special Care Centre (COVID-19 Isolation Centre) stated that the number of molecular laboratories grew from two last year to more than 100 as at today and are spread across the 36 states of the federation. His words: ‘‘From just two molecular laboratories for the testing of COVID-19 in Nigeria, we now have over 100 molecular laboratories, public and private, across the 36 States of the Feder...
PDP accuses President Buhari of violating coronavirus law
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed dismay over President Muhammadu Buhari’s alleged violation of his executive regulation on COVID-19, which prescribes 6-month jail term for defaulters. The party said it’s a huge national embarrassment and gross failure of leadership that President Buhari, who ought to lead by example, is being reported to have publicly violated the COVID-19 regulation, which he signed just about a week ago. In a statement on Sunday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party said it’s scandalous that while Nigerians are striving to obey the COVID-19 regulation, which stipulates the compulsory wearing of nose mask and physical distancing in the public, the President and some of his party men flouted the rule during his visit to his Daura countr...
Senator lauds President Buhari for signing Modibbo Adama University bill into law
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed (Binani), on Friday commended President Muhammadu Buhari for signing the Modibbo Adama University bill into law. Binani, who initiated the bill in the 7th National Assembly, said the university can now run all approved academic programmes like any other conventional University. She said the bill will also create more placements for youths seeking admission into the university. Binani, who made her feelings known in a statement in Abuja, said the assent of the President was heart-warming. She said: “It is heartwarming to note the gracious assent by Mr. President to this bill. Precisely on the 6th of January, 2021, Mr. President assented to the bill converting MAUTECH to a Conventional Univers...
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...
