Nigerian
President Buhari hails UFC champion Kamaru Usman
President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday congratulated Kamarudeen Usman on the successful defence of his Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title, saying his victory has lifted the spirits of Nigerians despite the gloom COVID-19 pandemic has brought. Buhari’s congratulatory message was contained in a statement made available to journalists by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina. The statement was titled “President Buhari congratulates Kamaru Usman for retaining UFC title”. Usman had earlier in the day retained the title with an emphatic win over Jorge Masvidal. With the victory, Buharu said Usman had reminded the world that good things and great people still come out of Nigeria. He added that the victory further proved that things will get better at the fullness o...
NGO: Make sex, reproductive health education compulsory in schools
The Nigeria Female Youth Organisation (NFYO), a non-governmental organisation, has urged appropriate authorities to make sex and reproductive health education compulsory in post primary schools. Mimi Peters, President, NFYO, made the call on Saturday while addressing newsmen in Abuja during a joint briefing with Michelle Youth Initiative (MYI). Peters said the roles of guardians and councilors in schools should be reintroduced and strengthened with emphasis on moral education. She also urged the ministry of education to create a monitoring team to evaluate the effort of heads of post primary schools in promoting good moral in educational institutions. She, however, commended the National Assembly for passing the bill on sexual harassment in tertiary institutions as it would redress such is...
Union Bank to provide potable water to six geo-political zones in Nigeria
File Photo Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) said on Friday that it would provide potable water to the six geo-political zones in the country as part of its support and Corporate Social Responsibility to Nigerians. Mrs Ogochukwu Ekezie-Ekaidem, Head, Strategic Corporate Communications and Marketing, UBN, made the disclosure at a Virtual Media briefing organised for Financial Correspondents in Lagos. According to her, citizenship is a key pillar of how we want to build up our brand and support Nigerians. “What we want to do for our employee volunteer year this year is with the token our employees will donate and the small donations which the bank will bring. “We want to give the gift of potable water to the six geo-political zones in the country. “We will be working with a non-governmental organi...
Governor Wike: Abdullahi Ganduje has exposed plot to rig Edo election
Rivers State Governor and Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Campaign Council for Edo Governorship Election, Nyesom Wike, has said the statement credited to Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, that he (Wike) will be quarantined, was an admission of the plot by the party to use security forces to rig the Edo State election come September 19. Wike who addressed party leaders and members of the 93-member campaign council said the alleged confession of Ganduje was a challenge to the Edo people who have the responsibility to make their choice as electorate on election day. The chairman of the campaign council said while the council members may not have right to vote in Edo State, the security agencies should work by their mandate as provided for in the law and not go outside ...
Rasheedat Ajibade hails CAF for introducing Women’s Champions League
Super Falcons and Norwegian Toppserien forward Rasheedat Ajibade has applauded the decision of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to introduce Women’s CAF Champions League. Speaking in a chat, Ajibade said CAF women’s champions league will encourage female football development in the continent and also benefit women clubs more as they would have something to play at the end of every league season. “I must tell tell you that it is a very good development. I personally applauded CAF for the initiative to introduce Champions League for Women. “It will help in increasing numbers of female participation in football and strengthened female club management. ” It will also bring out healthy competition among clubs and also attract foreign players both within and outside Africa. “Also the ...
Lagos, Abuja, Kano airports ready for operations
Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, says that Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, are ready for recommencement of domestic flights. The minister said during the daily Presidential Task Force briefing on Monday in Abuja that Lagos, Abuja and Kano airports would recommence domestic flights on Wednesday. He urged all passengers and crews to obey the COVID-19 protocols to ensure safety of the airports and airplanes against the virus. Sirika said that five countries in Africa and over one hundred countries across the globe have already started domestic air service. On the preparation on the airplanes, the minister stated that the last row of the aircraf...
Festus Keyamo to appear again in National Assembly over 774,000 jobs controversy
Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr Festus Keyamo, SAN, will appear before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Labour on Tuesday to defend the 774,000 job recruitment across the country. The Minister is going on the invitation of the Joint Committee after the earlier meeting ended in shouting match. But Keyamo has made it clear to the lawmakers that he was sending a written submission on issues surrounding the programme ahead of his appearance to avoid a repetition of what happened during the last sitting. He also expressed reservations that he might not get a fair hearing from the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Labour, alleging that the Committee Chairman was the one at the forefront of insisting on controlling and dictating the execution of the programme...
Christians, Muslims declare fasting, prayer against coronavirus
File Photo President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Samson Ayokunle, in conjunction with the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar Mohammadu III, have called for a three-day fasting and prayer (tagged NINEVEH) from July 3 to 5 throughout the country. The prayer is to seek total defeat of COVID-19 in Nigeria and all over the world. The Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) has been calling on all Christians and Muslims to take part in the national weekly prayer conducted online every Thursday in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary to Government of the Federation (OSGF) and other stakeholders. According to a statement issued by the General Secretary of CAN, Mr. Joseph Daramola: “The NIREC leadership appreciates the efforts of the Presidential Task Force on COVID...
Nigerian stocks down by N1.14 trillion in first half
Nigerian stocks closed the first half down with average loss of 8.80 per cent, equivalent to net capital depreciation of N1.14 trillion as investors struggled with a threesome of domestic macroeconomic uncertainties, global decline in crude oil price and trade wars and the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic. Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), which are generally regarded as sovereign equity indices for Nigeria, showed that Nigerian stocks swiveled through steep decline in first quarter and a major recovery in early months of the second quarter, closing the six-month period with net loss of N1.14 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI), a common value-based index that tracks all share prices at the Exchange, closed first half at 24,479.22 points as against 26,842.07 points recorded...
Police arrest 46 ‘criminals’, recover N1.5m in Nasarawa
The Nigerian Police Nasarawa State Command has arrested 46 suspected criminals and recovered 1.5 million naira from its operations recently. Commissioner of police in Nasarawa, Bola Longe, disclosed this known to newsmen today at the police headquarters in Lafia. According to the police chief, 46 suspected criminals have been apprehended by police personnel. “We have arrested 46 sophisticated criminals and their breakdown is as follows: 1. armed robbery suspects – 19, 2. kidnapping suspects -14, number of suspected cultists – 6, number of fire arms recovered 11, number of live ammunitions recovered – 63, money recovered N1, 486, 40, number of motorcycles recovered -1“ he said. The CP stated that an official complaint was filed at the police station in Garaku at about 10:50pm on 4/4/2020, f...
Navy seizes vessel, arrests five suspects for illegal bunkering in Akwa Ibom
Sundiata Post The Nigerian Navy Ship Jubilee (NNS) on Tuesday said that it has seized a vessel used for oil bunkering and arrested five suspects in Akwa Ibom. The Commander of NNS Jubilee, Commodore Majid Ibrahim, disclosed this to newsmen during the handing over of the vessel and suspects to officials of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Ikot Abasi. Ibrahim said that the vessel was seized during an anti illegal oil patrol by the Nigerian Navy along Uta-Ewa Creek on May 18. “In line with the Chief of Naval Staff’s strategic directive and the need to secure Nigeria’s maritime domain against all forms of illegalities, the Nigerian Navy Ship Jubilee on anti illegal oil patrol arrested MT PREYOR 1 on May 18, 2020 along Uta-Ewa Creek for suspected illegal oil bunkering activiti...
Nigerian government to engage 1,000 unskilled workers per local council between October, December
The Federal Government says it will recruit 1,000 itinerant, unskilled workers in each of the 774 Local Government Areas (LGA), in the country from October to December for roads rehabilitation, construction, sanitation, among others. Mr Festus Keyamo, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, said this during the inauguration of the States’ Selection Committees for the Extended Special Public Works Programme on Monday in Abuja. Keyamo said that the programme was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari and aimed principally at recruiting 774,000 itinerant and unskilled Nigerians. According to him, the 1,000 persons that the committee will recruit per LGA will be engaged by the Federal Government between October and December this year. “This is for the workers to carry out public works tha...
