Nigeria
Sokoto governor rejects honorary degree by Sudanese university
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State has rejected the honorary degree offered to him by a Sudanese University on the ground of the insecurity in the country. Nahda International University College (NIUC), Khartoum, Sudan, proposed to confer on the governor, who was attending the graduation ceremony of the 38 students of Sokoto who bagged degrees in Medicine among other related courses in the institution and Ibn Sina University. A statement signed by the spokesman of the governor, Muhammad Bello, said Tamuwal informed the management of the two universities that he would not accept the offer because of the prevailing security situation in Nigeria. “I won’t be able to oblige your humble request because of the condition in which my country finds itself at this time,” he said. “But yo...
Edo PDP factional chairman calls for unity, backs Governor Obaseki
File Photo The factional Chairman of the Edo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Harrison Omagbon, has said that his main task is to unite the party which is currently embroiled in a leadership crisis. Omagbon became a factional chairman penultimate week, when the substantive chairman, Tony Aziegbemi was suspended over alleged misconduct, which has polarised the party. Aizegbemi, however, rejected his suspension. In a press statement issued at the end of the Omagbon’s faction’s State Working Committee meeting on Tuesday, and endorsed by the party’s state Publicity Secretary, Chris Nehikhare, the chairman harped on cooperation among members of the party while advocating for total commitment, loyalty and oneness. He said: “My task as acting chairman is to unite our party. There must be coo...
Nigerian minister accuses entertainers of promoting abuse of women’s bodies
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Pauline Tallen, has accused entertainers of promoting abuse of women’s bodies by employing vulgar lyrics and depicting female dancers in a most disdainful manner. Tallen said this while speaking on the theme “My Body is My Own: Claiming the Right to Autonomy and Self-Determination,” at the launch of the State of the World Population 2021 report in Abuja on Tuesday. According to Tallen, entertainers are frustrating the government’s efforts which include tackling the fear and stigma of survivors of violence, weak community and facility referral systems, lack of counselling services for women and girls and the communities as well as seeking justice for victims. “It is almost disheartening to note that while we are confronting these obstacl...
Nigerian government asks judiciary, parliamentary staff to call off strike
The Federal Government has directed members of the striking Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) and the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) to “urgently” call off their over-two-month-old strike. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, gave the directive in a statement on Tuesday, threatening that the government might be forced to invoke “sections of the Trade Disputes Acts” if the strike persisted longer. The threat is a government’s familiar warning of possible introduction of “no-work-no-pay” policy to break adamant striking workers. “The ministry will not be happy to be pushed into invoking sections of the Trade Disputes Acts capable of eroding all the gains made so far in the negotiations since May 6, 2021,” the statement signed by the ministry of Labou...
JUSUN strike: How we decongested our cells – Police
The police in Lagos say they have devised means to decongest their cells amidst the prolonged strike by the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN). The police spokesperson in the state, Muyiwa Adejobi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday that the decongestion was carried out in collaboration with the office of the Chief Judge and Attorney-General of the state. NAN reports that JUSUN, on April 6, directed its members to shut down all courts across the country, demanding the implementation of the law granting financial autonomy to the Judiciary. “The command had been managing the situation in collaboration with the office of the state chief judge,” Mr Adejobi said. He, however, did not give the number of suspects that had been granted bail. “We work with the office of the CJ an...
President Buhari holds emergency security meeting
President Muhammadu Buhari is this Tuesday holding an emergency National Security Meeting at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja. The meeting is expected to review the current state of insecurity across the country. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN); Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha; Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari and National Security Adviser (NSA), Major-General Babagana Monguno (Rtd), are in attendance. Also in attendance are: Ministers of Defence, Major-General Bashir Magashi (Rtd) and Foreign Affairs, Geoffery Onyema. Also in the meeting are the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Amoo; and the new Chief of Army Staff, M...
Paul Onuachu wins Ebony Shoe Award for Best African Player in Belgium
Paul Onuachu has won the Ebony Shoe award for the Best African player In Belgium for the 2020/21 season, reports Completesports.com. The Nigeria international succeeded Antwerp and Congo Democratic Republic forward Dieurmaci Mbokani as the winner of this year’s award. The 27-year-old was top scorer in the Belgian Pro-League with 29 goals in 33 appearances. He scored four times in five games in the Jupiler Pro League PlayOff and once in the Beker van Belgie to bring his total tally to 35 in 41 games. The striker is the fifth Nigerian to win the award after Daniel Amiokachi (1992,1994), Victor Ikpeba (1993), Godwin Okapara (1995) and Celestine Babayaro (1996). Onuachu beats his Genk teammate Théo Bongonda who scored 18 goals and bagged six appearances in 39 games in all competitions; RSC And...
Exam malpractices: Lagos fines 27 schools N13.5 million
The Lagos State Government has fined a total of 27 private schools N13.5 million as part of punishments for being involved in examination malpractices during the 2020 Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) which was conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). Each of the affected schools is to pay N500,000. This decision was contained in a statement issued on Monday by the Office of the Education Quality Assurance (OEQA) of the state’s ministry of education. The statement, which was signed by the spokesman for the OEQA, Emmanuel Olaniran, noted that the decision followed a report by the regional examination body which indicted the concerned private secondary schools. According to Mr Olaniran, WAEC officials, who monitored the conduct of the examination across the stat...
Nigeria orders broadcasters not to use Twitter to gather information
Nigerian television and radio stations should not use Twitter to gather information and have to de-activate their accounts, the broadcast authority said following the move to suspend the US social media giant in Africa’s most populous country. Nigeria’s government on Friday said it had suspended Twitter’s activities, two days after the platform removed a tweet by President Muhammadu Buhari that threatened to punish secessionists. Nigerian telecoms firms have since blocked access to Twitter. International diplomats responded with a joint statement in support of “free expression and access to information as a pillar of democracy in Nigeria”. Buhari, who was Nigeria’s military ruler in the 1980s, has previously been accused of cracking down on freedom of expression, though his government has ...
Rivals say Boko Haram chief dead as jihadists battle for control
When Nigeria’s military claimed Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau had been badly wounded in an air strike 2016, the jihadist chief soon appeared in a video to deny another of the many reports of his impending death. Over the weekend, it was an audio from a rival jihadist group finally claiming Shekau had died, detonating explosives to kill himself rather than surrender after a raid on his forest stronghold by his Islamic State-allied enemies. The Boko Haram warlord’s death marks a major shift in Nigeria’s conflict, potentially allowing ISIS jihadists to consolidate and further challenge an already stretched army in their long war. In the audio obtained by AFP, a voice apparently of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) commander Abu Musab Al-Barnawi confirmed Shekau killed himself whi...
Sultan: What Nigeria needs now is excellent leadership
The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, says what the country needs at this time is excellent and purposeful leadership. Abubakar said this during the inauguration of an ultramodern camp for Muslim and Christians pilgrims in Bauchi state. He called on leaders to strive to ensure that they fulfill the purpose for which they were elected to their various positions. “Leaders should always strive to do what the people want, because it is the main reason they were voted into power by the people. “What the country needs now is excellent and purposeful leadership. Leadership has been bestowed on us by Allah. We should know that one day, we will all give account of our stewardship in the hereafter. “It is incumbent on us as leaders to discharge our responsibilities to the best of our ability. The fo...
Shehu Sani: A submissive legislature will enable dictatorship
CNN Former senator representing Kaduna central, Shehu Sani, says having a subservient legislature leads to dictatorship. Speaking at the 2021 national conference of the Nigerian Progressives’ Coalition in Abuja, Sani said that a submissive legislative will only enable a governance style in which the whole nation will bow to the whims of one person. Although he made no mention of the current national assembly, the comments come amid the criticism against the leadership of the legislature which has remained silent on the government’s decision to suspend Twitter’s operations in Nigeria. At the conference held over the weekend, Sani spoke against a legislature that is “afraid to speak truth to power.” “The legislature is supposed to have the duty of oversight on the activities of the executive...