Nigeria
Head of Service warns of fake Facebook, LinkedIn accounts
The Head of Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, has warned the general public to be aware of Fake Facebook and LinkedIn Accounts opened in her name by fraudsters. The statement released by the media office titled “Fake Facebook and LinkedIn Accounts”, read thus: “The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation wishes to draw the attention of the public to fake Facebook and LinkedIn accounts setup using names similar to those of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, alongside her photographs, and which are being promoted with the purpose of deceiving and defrauding unsuspecting individuals. “Unfortunately, despite frequent warnings and disclaimers and in some cases, the apprehending and parading of some of these devious elements...
NSITF raises N180 billion from employers’ enrollment in 10 years
The Managing Director of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Dr. Michael Akabogu, has revealed that the agency has raised N180 billion from employers’ enrollment from July 2011-May 30, 2021. He also said that plans were afoot to plug revenue leakages, even as he warned the public to be wary of fraudsters masquerading as agents of NSITF. At an interactive session with Finance Journalists in Abuja on Thursday, Akabogu also stated that the scheme has registered almost 200,000 employers. Out of this number, 170,000 employers are actively involved in the scheme by making their contributions steadfastly. He added: “We have collected both from the private sector who have contributed about 80% of the total revenue and we have collected from the government and all other agencies, so we...
Senate screens Lauretta Onochie, others for INEC position
The Senate on Thursday started the screening of nominees for appointment as National Commissioners for the Independent National Electoral Commission. The nominees, including one of the aides of President Muhammadu Buhari, Lauretta Onochie, are already in the Senate for the exercise. Onochie arrived at the Senate wing of the National Assembly about 11 am; accompanied by the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Babajide Omoworare. She was immediately ushered into the office of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Kabri Gaya. Onochie is currently waiting for her turn to be screened by the Senate panel. The nomination of Onochie, who currently serves as Senior Special Assistant on New Media to President Buhari, has provoked serious public outcry with ...
Nigerian lawmakers approve $2.4 bn funds for security, coronavirus vaccines
Nigerian lawmakers on Wednesday approved some 982.7 billion naira ($2.4 billon) additional budget funds to help the government buy COVID-19 vaccines, and equipment for its security forces. Africa’s top oil producer, Nigeria is struggling with the economic impact of the pandemic and a slump in crude prices as well as surging violence from criminal gangs and its grinding jihadist insurgency. The approved amount is $216.8 million higher than President Muhammadu Buhari’s request made to the lawmakers in June and is expected to be sourced through international and local borrowing. Most of the funds – around 722 billion naira ($1.8 billion) would go towards the procurement of additional equipment for security forces, Senator Barau Jibrin, chair of the senate appropriation committee, said. Around...
Mass defection: House member asks PDP national chairman to resign
Rep Rimamnde Shawulu (PDP-Taraba), has urged the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Uche Secondus, to resign following mass defection from the party to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Shawulu said this a letter addressed to the chairman and made available to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday. He decried the rate at which the party was losing members to the ruling APC in recent times. Shawulu also urged members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to resign. “Today, unexpectedly, four members of the House of Representatives from Zamfara defected from the PDP to APC,” he said. He said unlike before, when leaders of the party at the House usually put up a form of protest, not a whisper was heard or a hand raised in protest against the defection. “Dear...
NEMA: Why we held simulated terror attack on Abuja stadium
The National Emergency Management Agency says the simulated terrorists attack on the Moshood Abiola National stadium, Abuja is to prepare relevant agencies for coordinated emergency response. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the exercise held on Wednesday. Mustapha Ahmed, the Director-General of NEMA said this in an interview with newsmen at the event organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) with planning and assistance from the U.S. and UK. NAN reports that the exercise code named “Idahun Kankan’’ Yoruba words meaning (Quick Response) saw a simulated bomb attack and marauding gunfire in the stadium while a match was going on. The simulated attacks left many spectators feigned maimed, wounded and others scampering for safety and escape. Following notification, ...
Colonel Umar: Blame President Buhari for separatist agitations
Former Military Administrator of Kaduna State Colonel Abubakar Umar (rtd) has blamed President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government for separatist agitations threatening national unity. The current administration, he said, has failed to unite the country. Umar also lambasted the government for what he described as undue attention to threats of separatist movements in contrast to the more daunting threats posed by bandits, kidnappers and insurgents in the North West, some parts of North Central and North East. In a statement on Wednesday titled: ‘Nigeria; A Nation Challenged,‘ the former MILAD said the best way to unite a diverse and fragile nation like Nigeria is through justice, fairness and equity. He stated the current administration has so far exhibited poor skills management of...
PDP vice chairman: Electronic transfer of results, a must for free, fair polls
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-south has called on the National Assembly to retain electronic transmission of results in the Electoral Act The National Vice Chairman, South-south of the party, Dan Orbih, made the call on Wednesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin. He was reacting to the purported removal of the provision for the electronic transfer of result provision from the proposed amendment Act currently being debated by the National Assembly. “Nigerians should resist the removal of electronic transmission of election results during elections from the Electoral Act because it is an invitation to unending electoral fraud,” Mr Orbih said. The introduction of electronic transmission of election results from the polling units to collation cen...
School feeding programme: Nigerian government to enroll 67,307 pupils in Ebonyi – NOA
The National Orientation Agency (NOA) says Federal Government will enrol 67,307 primary school pupils into the National Homegrown School Feeding Programme in Ebonyi. The Director of NOA in the state, Dr Desmond Onwo, said this on Wednesday during his visit to the Traditional Rulers Council in Abakaliki. Onwo said the programme would capture 561 public primary schools in the 13 local government areas of the state. He urged the traditional rulers to key into the programme and support NOA’s campaign to ensure that the people participated actively. “The programme is going to commence across communities in the state with an enumeration in order to identify the children. “It is going to cover from primary one to three in public primary schools. “This is not for all states in the country but Ebon...
Moderna starts human trials of an mRNA-based flu shot
Moderna gave its mRNA-based seasonal flu vaccine to the first set of volunteers in a clinical trial, the pharmaceutical company announced today. The start of the trial marks the next stage of the company’s work on this type of vaccine technology after the overwhelming success of its COVID-19 vaccine, which was built using the same strategy. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, mRNA vaccines were still largely experimental, even as they were heralded as the future of vaccine development. People who get an mRNA vaccine are injected with tiny snippets of genetic material from the target virus. Their cells use that genetic information to build bits of the virus, which the body’s immune system learns to fight against. The high efficacy of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTec...
NNPC commits to ensuring energy sufficiency, wealth creation for Nigerians
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has reiterated its commitment to ensuring effective stewardship of the nation’s hydrocarbon resources to guarantee energy security and drive wealth creation in Nigeria. The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, made this assertion while delivering the keynote address at the 2021 Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition (NOG 2021) on Tuesday in Abuja. Speaking on the topic: “Vision and Priorities for Nigeria’s Energy Transformation,” Mallam Kyari stated that for a nation with a teeming youth and a developing economy, Nigeria needed the right policies to unlock its huge economic potential, stressing that NNPC was working towards bridging the energy gap to multiply wealth for its varied stakeholders. “We see a nation that m...
NLC urges National Assembly to transform NNPC to public liability company
The Nigeria Labour Congress has cautioned the National Assembly to handle with utmost care what it described as the very sensitive issue of the unbundling of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation. It urged the lawmakers to transform the NNPC to a public liability company as part of the reforms of the oil and gas sector captured in the Petroleum Industry Bill. The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, said this on Tuesday, in a statement lauding the passage of the PIB titled, ‘Congress commends the national assembly for passing the petroleum industry bill – demands that the NNPC be transformed into a public liability company.’ It stated, “We know that the process of making the PIB a law has not been completely consummated as the passed bill would still need to be harmonized by a conference of th...
