Nigerians
Katsina approves 5,000 hectares of land for ranching
The Katsina State Government has approved 5,000 hectares of arable farmland for ranching as part of efforts to curb the herders and farmers’ clashes in farming villages and communities across the state. Governor Aminu Bello Masari, who disclosed this during the 46th annual conference of the Nigerian Society for Animal Production held at the Federal University Dutsin-ma (FUDMA), Katsina, said ranching system will enable the children of herders to have qualitative education. He said that the only solution to the herdsmen and farmers crisis bedevilling some parts of the country is the establishment of ranches in the states, hence the provision of the 5,000 hectares of land. Masari, represented by his Special Adviser on Livestock and Grazing Reserve, Dr. Lawal Bagiwa, explained that apart from...
Justice Onnoghen: Why I was sacked as CJN
The Leader Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, on Friday, stressed that Nigeria as a nation may not record any meaningful achievement in life until they are able to free the nation’s judiciary from the stronghold of politicians. Onnoghen who spoke publicly for the first time since his removal from office two years ago, attributed his sack to political manuevre. The former CJN, who was speaking at the unveiling of a book titled ‘Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009, Practice, Procedure, Forms and Precedents’, by a legal luminary, Chief Ogwu James Onoja (SAN), attributed his sack to political intrigues. Onnoghen revealed that prior to his removal, he was accused by the executive of having met with former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in Dubai, United A...
DPR allays fears of fuel scarcity during easter
File Photo Ahead of the Easter festival coming up by the end of March, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has reassured Nigerians that there will be no fuel scarcity, urging them to desist from panic buying. It also stated that government has put a formidable policy in place to ensure free flowing supply and distribution of petroleum products during the festivity. Addressing journalists after going round on routine surveillance to monitor and ensure that all retail outlets are complying with the recommended price of between N162 to N165 per litre, the Jos office Operations Controller of DPR, Mr. Stanley Ngene, said: “I can assure you that every necessary precaution is being taken by the government to ensure that we do not go back to the days of fuel scarcity.” Ngene said that the ...
NECA decries increase in Nigeria’s unemployment rate
Dr Timothy Olawale, Director-General, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) has expressed concern of the association, at the growing unemployment rate, as released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Olawale told newsmen on Wednesday, in Lagos, that the recently released data by the NBS was worrisome. NAN also reports that a recently released Labour force report, published by the NBS shows that Nigeria’s unemployment rate as of the end of 2020, rose to 33.3 per cent from 27.1 per cent recorded as of Q2 2020. The report indicated that about 23,187,389 (23.2 million) Nigerians remained unemployed. “While the figure shows that the unemployment crisis is worsening at an alarming rate, it is also instructive to note that the socio-economic factors that increased the figure t...
2023: PDP panel throws presidential tickets open
File Photo Amidst thinking from many stakeholders that North-East and South-East geo-political zones that have had the shortest stints at the Presidency, should be given special consideration, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) panel has thrown open the 2023 presidential ticket. The governor of Bauchi state and Chairman, PDP 2019 election review committee, Bala Mohammed, gave this recommendation on Wednesday while submitting the report of the committee to the party leadership. The Governor said: “In line with certain unwritten conventions of the nation’s history, many people think that, for fairness and equity, the North East and South East geo-political zones that have had the shortest stints at the Presidency, should be given special consideration, in choosing the presidential flagbearer...
Senate president receives first dose of coronavirus vaccine, calls for more sensitisation
The President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan, took the lead at the National Assembly on Tuesday when he received the first jab of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine was administered on him in his fourth floor office by his personal physician, Dr Muhammad Usman, while the vaccination card was presented to him by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary), Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe. Speaking shortly after receiving the jab, Lawan called for more advocacy and sensitization on the vaccine, appealing to Nigerians to make themselves available for the vaccination. He congratulated the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 for working so hard to ensure that the vaccine is available for Nigerians. While urging the PTF to get more of the vaccine and variety of it in ...
Reps deputy speaker: Nigerians living abroad can’t submit petitions
The deputy speaker of the house of representatives, Idris Wase, has questioned the eligibility of Nigerians living abroad to submit petitions. Wase, who presided over plenary on Thursday, rejected a petition from “Mutual Union of the Tiv in America,” saying Nigerians in the diaspora do not “really know” the situation in Nigeria and thus are not eligible to file petitions. The petition, presented by Mark Terseer Gbillah, lawmaker representing Benue Gwer east/Gwer west federal constituency, accused the federal government of not resettling the Tiv people displaced from their ancestral land through various attacks. Thousands of Nigerians were reportedly displaced in the north-central region as a result of the farmer-herders crises. “I have a petition from the mutual union of the Tiv in America...
Nigerian government distributes N20,000 each to 2,900 women in Benue
The Federal Government has disbursed N20,000 each to 2,900 women in Benue to improve their living standards. Mrs Sadiya Farouq, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, said this on Saturday in Makurdi during the inauguration of the grant for rural women project. Farouq, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Bashir Alkali, said that a cash of N20,000 would also be disbursed to about 125,000 poor women across the 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory. “Our target in Benue is to disburse the grant to about 2,900 beneficiaries across all local government councils. “The grant is expected to increase income and productive assets of target beneficiaries. “It is our hope that the beneficiaries of this programme will make ...
Nigerian government’s special cash grant for rural women launched in Yobe
Federal government has on Friday Flag-off Special Cash Grant for Rural Women in Damaturu, Yobe State capital. Launching the programme, the Minister of Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq said that “we gather to provide support to citizens of our beloved country. I am delighted to have you all converge on this venue for purpose of flagging off the Federal Government’s cash grant for rural women, which is a significant social protection programme of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, aimed at uplifting the most vulnerable groups out of poverty”. According to her, since the inception of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration in 2015, Government has paid more attention to protecting and promoting the plight of the poor and vulnerable in the country. This s...
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...
Rivers governor: Labour can’t reverse APC’s anti-people policies
The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has said that the labour movement in Nigeria is dead, adding that it cannot reverse the anti-people policies of the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government. Wike who wrote on Twitter lamented the silence of labour in the face of insecurity and hike in fuel price and electricity tariff in the country. According to him, labour which used to be alive under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan died since the inception of the present government. He said, “Labour movement in the country is dead because it has lost its force of engagement with government and hardly can achieve anything good for the generality of the workforce and Nigerians. “The leadership of labour has left substance to pursue shadows and hardly can speak in...
Price of garri soars in Enugu
ArewaLife Price of cassava flakes popularly called garri and regularly consumed by Nigerians have continued to increase in Enugu State, according to newsmen. NAN correspondent, who conducted a market survey in Enugu on Friday, reported that the price of the staple food has increased by 20 per cent between January and March, 2021. NAN reports that a 4.5 liter bucket of the food item now sells for between N1,100 and N1,400 as against between N900 and N1,000 sold in January, depending on the type. A visit to some markets in the state capital showed that a 4.5 liter paint bucket of white garri sold for N900 in January now went for between N1,100 and N1200. At the Ogbete, Garki and New Markets, a paint bucket of white garri is sold for N1,100 while the yellow garri of the same bucket goes for N...
