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South-West PDP congress: Seyi Makinde, Ayo Fayose’s groups fight over 756 delegates
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and a former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, are to test their popularity with 756 delegates that will elect officials of the Peoples Democratic Party in the South-West on Monday. While Makinde is backing a former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Taofeek Arapaja, for the position of chairman, Fayose is mobilising for Dr Eddy Olafeso. Olafeso, who is from Ondo State, is a former occupant of the office. He resigned to contest the party’s governorship ticket in the last Ondo State election, which he lost to Eyitayo Jegede (SAN). Makinde had wanted the congress to hold in Ibadan, but the Fayose faction wanted it in another venue, saying the Oyo State capital was not safe for it and its supporters. However, two days ago, the National Working Committee of...
Ex-governor’s daughter: Why I had two abortions
Tito, daughter of former Oyo State Governor, Rashidi Ladoja, has disclosed on her Twitter page that she had two abortions and dealt with the shame for a long time. The ex-Governor’s daughter said this in a series of tweets on her Twitter handle. Tito, who is married to singer, Bez Idakula, stated that she had the abortions because she thought those were the only options available to her at the time. But when she was eventually ready to have kids and suffered a miscarriage, she said she thought it was God punishing her for her past. However, she said she was wrong because she didn’t understand the salvation she has in Christ. She explained that Christ’s death and resurrection took away the shame and guilt and advised those dealing with shame to look to Christ for redemption. She further sai...
Anambra governor: I will not abandon families of slain policemen
Governor of Anambra state, Willie Obiano, has assured the families of the policemen killed during an attack on Prof Charles Soludo that government would not abandon them. Obiano gave the assurance on Easter Sunday at a statewide broadcast to address the violent attacks in the state. “To the families of the slain Police officers, my heart once again, goes out to you. I share in your grief and mourn with you. While I pray for the repose of the souls of the deceased, please be assured that the State Government will not abandon you” he said . He prayed that the spirit of the season would permeate their hearts and engender love, peace and tranquility in their daily lives, now and in the future. The yet to be identified gunmen had on 31st of March 2021 invaded a town hall meeting at Isuofia with...
Nigerian government mulls TCN’s unbundling, partial concession to boost power supply
The federal government is considering the unbundling and partial concession of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to boost its efficiency in the government’s bid to improve power supply. Director, Energy, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Yunana Malo, said during the March edition of “the Electricity Hub” conversation series on power that the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) had directed that a proper strategy should be mapped out for the unbundling of TCN. He stated that the government believed that all the players in the energy value chain should be able to align with the needs of the power sector seamlessly, adding that the right environment is being created for the transmission component to match generation and distribution. Malo said data was key to making decision...
Zimbabwe president gets coronavirus vaccine dose, urges citizens not to hesitate
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa and some opposition politicians received China’s Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine in the tourist resort of Victoria Falls on Wednesday as part of efforts to encourage citizens to get inoculated. Zimbabwe has registered vaccines from China, India and Russia for emergency use but none so far from Western manufacturers. In a country where suspicion and scepticism often trump facts, Mnangagwa’s vaccination at a public event, together with opposition leaders, was meant to assure citizens that the vaccines were safe. The southern African nation had planned to administer the Sinopharm vaccine to 53 000 health workers and selected security forces when it rolled out the first phase of its programme on 18 February, but only 44 135 people had been vaccinated by Tuesday...
US state bans transgender athletes from women’s sports
Mississippi became the first US state on Thursday to ban transgender athletes from competing on girls or women’s sports teams, a move denounced as discriminatory by LGBTQ groups and likely to face legal challenges. Governor Tate Reeves said the “Mississippi Fairness Act” would “ensure young girls are not forced to compete against biological males.” The bill requires public schools in the conservative southern state to designate sports teams based on biological sex as for “Males,” “Females” or “Coed.” “Athletic teams or sports designated for ‘females,’ ‘women,’ or ‘girls,’ shall not be open to students of the male sex,” it states. Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a group which defends LGBTQ rights, described the bill as “discriminatory anti-transgender legislation” and said it would be challeng...
Controversy surrounds whereabouts of OPC men who arrested Iskilu Wakili
Controversy has surrounded the whereabouts of Oodua Peoples Congress operatives who arrested suspected Fulani warlord, Iskilu Wakili. While there are media reports that the men have been transferred to Abuja, some sources in the OPC said they do not know the whereabouts of the detained operatives. The OPC members were detained on Sunday after arresting suspected Fulani warlord, Iskilu Wakili, who was later handed over to the police. It was gathered that representatives of OPC and the Investigating Police Officer in charge of the case would meet at 1 pm on Tuesday (today). According to a media report, the OPC members involved in the arrest were first transferred from Oyo Police Command to Force CID in Alagbon, Lagos, from where they were taken to Abuja. However, sources in the Lagos State P...
RTEAN: Commercial buses strike illegal
Pool Photo The Lagos State Chapter of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) on Monday said the stay-off-road action by commercial buses on the Lagos-Badagry Road was unnecessary. The Secretary of the chapter, Abdulrahman Amusan, told newsmen that the N800 ticket imposed on commercial buses in the state was for tax purposes. Newsmen report that the commercial bus drivers had on March 1, embarked on what they called “Cease Commuter Operation” on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway – from Badagry to Mile 2 – following what they termed an unbearable increment in ticketing and brutality by RTEAN. The drivers were still off the expressway while passengers remained stranded at various bus stops. It is still not certain when they will return to the roads. They claim that both the RT...
OAU assures students will be mobilised for NYSC 2021 Batch A
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, has assured its students that they will be mobilised for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) 2021 Batch A. Mr Abiodun Olarewaju, the Public Relations Officer, gave the assurance in an interview with the newsmen on Thursday in Ile-Ife. He debunked rumours that only OAU had not submitted the names of its students for Batch A Corps members. According to him, no Federal University has submitted the names of their prospective students for NYSC scheme till date. “What we did was to travel to Abuja to effect some corrections and to bring back the corrected document for possible uploading for today or latest tomorrow. “Actually, there’s tendency that as I am speaking with you that their names must have been uploaded to NYSC portal today. “I am assurin...
Three injured as explosion rocks power infrastructure repair site in Maiduguri
Explosion on Saturday rocked the site where technicians were carrying out repair work on damaged power infrastructure in Maiduguri. Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram, has been in darkness for about a month now since suspected Boko Haram members damaged power lines along Maiduguri-Damaturu road. Technicians were subsequently deployed to the site and security was provided for them by a combined team of soldiers and men of the Borno State Rapid Response Team. Every day before the commencement of work by the technicians, soldiers scanned the entire area for any explosive drvice that might have been planted by Boko Haram. But on Saturday at about 10am, when technicians were getting ready to commence the day’s work, there was an explosion which destroyed a Hilux Toyota van and seriously in...
Minister: When Nigeria receives coronavirus vaccines doesn’t lie in our hands
Since the beginning of January 2021, Nigeria has been expecting the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, but nothing has happened to date. The World Health Organisation, WHO and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, CEPI, came up with the COVAX initiative to ensure that low and middle-income countries have access to vaccines. But COVAX has not given a precise date for when it will begin distributing the vaccines. Nigeria has put all its hopes on the COVAX Facility. The federal government is also expecting some vaccines from the Africa Union arrangement, expected to deploy from March. This development has attracted criticisms about the government’s readiness and commitment towards ensuring the timely vaccination of Nigerians against the dreaded pande...
Minister: When Nigeria receives coronavirus vaccines doesn’t lie in our hands
Since the beginning of January 2021, Nigeria has been expecting the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, but nothing has happened to date. The World Health Organisation, WHO and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, CEPI, came up with the COVAX initiative to ensure that low and middle-income countries have access to vaccines. But COVAX has not given a precise date for when it will begin distributing the vaccines. Nigeria has put all its hopes on the COVAX Facility. The federal government is also expecting some vaccines from the Africa Union arrangement, expected to deploy from March. This development has attracted criticisms about the government’s readiness and commitment towards ensuring the timely vaccination of Nigerians against the dreaded pande...
