Pillars
Anambra election: We’ve no hand in APGA triple candidates woes – APC
Anambra State All Progressive Congress (APC) has denied any hand in the triple candidates scenario in All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state as alleged by Governor Willie Obiano of the state. The party said that was rather too busy with the self-purification and organizational process to bother about parties that were hijacked from their original goals. The State APC Publicity Secretary Okelo Madukaife in a statement said that Governor Obiano had alleged that APC and PDP were responsible for the crisis in APGA and in fact tried to stop one of the three factional candidates from emerging. “APC has nothing do with such infradig affair. PDP will speak for itself. One thing is however clear. Every leader in the place of Governor Obiano today would be ashamed of what has become of ...
Sallah: Lagos governor seeks peaceful co-existence among citizens
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has urged Muslims in the state and across the country to continue on the path of spirituality and peaceful co-existence. Sanwo-Olu, in his Sallah message yesterday, expressed felicitation with Nigerians, especially Muslim faithful as they celebrate Eid-el-fitri, which marks end of the month-long Ramadan fasting and prayers. He said the occasion of Eid-el-fitri is very significant to Muslims across the world as one of the major pillars of Islam, which teaches abstinence from worldly pleasures, steadfastness in prayers and total submission to the will of Allah in accordance with the Quranic injunctions. Sanwo-Olu, urged the Muslim Ummah to continue to offer more prayers for continued peace and stability in Nigeria, adding that all hands must be on...
NCDMB sets up $20 million loan support for women in business
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has announced the setting up of a $20million loan scheme to support women in business especially in the oil and gas sector. Executive Secretary of the Board, Engr. Simbi Wabote, stated this at a virtual roundtable by the Diversity Sectoral Working Group (SWG) of the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum (NCCF). In his remarks, Wabote stated that the mandate of the Board has always been the need to promote local content in every sphere of the oil and gas sector. Quoting Section 57 of the NCDMB Act, he said the role of the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum is to provide a platform for information sharing and support in order to chart way for local content development in Nigeria. According to Wabote, “The basic aim of the NCCF is t...
Saudi Arabia announces Ramadan starts Tuesday
Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest shrines, announced that the holy fasting month of Ramadan will start on Tuesday, as Muslims worldwide face coronavirus curbs. “Tomorrow, Tuesday… is the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan this year,” the kingdom’s supreme court said in a royal court statement. Other Muslim countries, including Sunni-majority Egypt and Lebanon, have also announced that Tuesday marks the start of Ramadan, while Shiite-majority countries like Iran are expected to start a day later. The daytime fasting month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. Observant Muslims refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, and traditionally gather with family and friends to break their fast in the evening. It is also a time of prayers, during which Muslims typicall...
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...
Kaduna governor: Bandits have lost rights to life, must be wiped out
Gov. Nasir El-rufai of Kaduna State says bandits terrorising Nigeria have lost their rights to life under the constitution and must be wiped out. El-rufai made this known during a town hall meeting on national security organised by the Ministry of Information and Culture held in Kaduna with theme:”Setting Benchmark for Enhanced and National Unity in Nigeria”. ”The bandits are at war with Nigeria and there is no other way to approach the current insurgency but for security forces to take the war to the bandits and recover forests where they are occupying. “The security agencies mostly react to cases of banditry and abduction, we are in a war with these terrorist challenging the sovereignty of the Nigerian state. “Our security forces must collaborate to take the war to the bandits and terror...
Umahi urges women to maintain priorities as mothers
File Photo The wife of the governor of Ebonyi State, Rachael Umahi, has urged women faithful to maintain their priorities as mothers and stick to God’s word for a better family. Mrs Umahi made the call on Sunday at the 2021 Mother’s Day celebration at the Christ Embassy Church, Abakaliki. The governor’s wife encouraged the women to also remain committed in the faces of challenges and continue to dwell in the word of God for a better life as well. “We must be excellent women in action, pillars of blessings and develop ourselves with God’s word for development. “We must also learn to tell our husbands bitter truth base on the words of God for the well-being of family and society. “Live out dreams in you every day, train your children to love and share,” Umahi said. Speaking, the Pastor in ch...
AfDB approves $1.3 million grants for women’s access to digital finance
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved two grants of $1.3 million for research aimed to increase African women’s access to a range of digital financial services, including loans and micro-insurance. According to a statement from the AfDB on Monday, the grants for $1 million and $300,000 respectively, will be disbursed through the Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility (ADFI). ADFI is a pan-African initiative designed to accelerate digital financial inclusion throughout Africa. It is a blended finance facility of AfDB with two financial technology firms; Pula Advisors Kenya Ltd. and M-KOPA Kenya Ltd. Pula Advisors will use the $1 million for research of social, cultural and economic factors that impact women farmers’ access to micro-insurance in Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia. Mor...
Sudan announces new cabinet with ex-rebels as ministers
Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok announced Monday a new cabinet bringing in seven ex-rebel chiefs as ministers, following a peace deal in October aimed to end decades of war. Veteran rebel leader and economist Gibril Ibrahim, of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) – which played a major role in the Darfur conflict – was appointed as Sudan’s new finance minister. “We have reached consensus on over 25 ministries,” Hamdok said, during a press conference in Khartoum. “This line up aims to preserve this country from collapse… we know there will be challenges but we are certain that we will move forward.” Hamdok dissolved the previous cabinet on Sunday to make way for a more inclusive line up in government. Two ministers were selected from the military, with the remaining coming from th...
eGovernment: NITDA begins capacity building for ministries, agencies
Commonwealth of Nations The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) on Wednesday began a two-day virtual strategic capacity building workshop for federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). The exercise is being carried out to hasten the implementation of the National e-Government Masterplan and inculcate the use of Information Technology in government activities. The training is in three phases for directors of ICT and heads of procurement, network administrators and domain managers, while the third batch is for the NITDA team driving the digital transformation agenda. The Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Abdullahi, who was represented by the Director e-Government Development and Regulation, Vincent Olatunji, in his opening remarks said the training aims at e...
#EndSARS: PDP asks Lagos governor to resign
The Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Lagos State chapter, has asked Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to resign as he no longer enjoys the confidence of the people. Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, Taofik Gani, on Sunday, said Gov Sanwo-Olu can no longer be trusted in the wake of the Nigerian Army’s disclosure that it was the governor that invited them to quell and disperse the #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Toll-Gate, where an unspecified number of people were either killed or injured. He said, “The PDP is of the view that it is more expedient for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to step aside now that the Nigerian Army has revealed him as the person who invited the soldiers to go quell the Lekki protests which have led to unfortunate fatalities and grievous injuries. Obviously, Lag...
UN lauds Nigeria for implementing programmes on women
The United Nations (UN) has commended the Federal Government on the implementation of its (UN) Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) 1325 programmes on women, peace and security in Nigeria. Ms Comfort Lamptey, UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria, gave the commendation during the launch of activities to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the UNSCR 1325 in Abuja. Lamptey who is also the UN Women Country Representative to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), noted that government had implemented the resolutions of the UNSCR by mainstreaming gender perspective in its programmes. She noted that this had been achieved by promoting women participation, peace keeping mission across Africa and inclusiveness on security issues, particularly in traditional settings. Accordin...
