Power
EKSU: SSANU urges Ekiti governor to intervene over proscription of staff unions
File Photo The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Western Zone, has called on the Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, to as a matter of urgency, intervene in the crisis rocking the Ekiti State University, following the proscription of staff unions by the Governing Council of the university led by Prof. Tale Omole. Staff unions proscribed by the Governing Council are the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) of the university. While addressing journalists at a press conference on Monday at the University of Ibadan, the National Vice President of SSANU, ...
Chad rebels ready for ceasefire; opposition presses for civilian rule
Rebels in northern Chad are ready to observe a ceasefire and to discuss a political settlement after the battlefield death of President Idriss Deby last week, a rebel spokesman said on Sunday. The rebels, known as the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), came over the northern border from Libya on April 11 calling for an end to Deby’s 30-year rule. They came as close as 200-300 km (125-185 miles) from the capital N’Djamena before being pushed back by the army. Deby was killed on Monday while visiting troops at the front, just after he won an election. His death shocked the Central African country, which has long been a Western ally against Islamist militants. The air force has since bombarded rebel positions, the military and rebels said. The military said on Saturday it had “annih...
Bill seeking pay-as-you-go for cable TV passes second reading in House
The Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Communication, Hon Idem Unyime, on Friday assured that Nigerians will soon get pay-as-you-go services for digital satellite television. Unyime gave the assurance as a Bill for an Act to amend the National Broadcasting Commission Act, co-sponsored by himself, Hon Odebunmi Olusegun and Hon Dachung Musa Bagos, scaled second reading. Unyime while appealing to Nigerians to be patient as the Bill will soon be passed into law, said when passed, it will also give the NBC the power to fix prices for digital television. He expressed optimism that the proposed legislation would be passed into law as quickly as possible to assuage the inconvenience Nigerians have so far endured as far as cable television is concerned. The Bill, he said, ...
European Super League shelved as more clubs withdraw
The European Super League collapsed on Wednesday as eight of the 12 founding members from England, Italy and Spain abandoned the breakaway project. The project collapsed after it came under massive pressure from fans, politicians, football officials and even the British royals. Founder and Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli told Reuters he was reluctantly calling time on the new league. This was after six English clubs withdrew on Tuesday, with Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid following suit and AC Milan indicating they would too. “The voices and the concerns of fans around the world have clearly been expressed about the Super League, and AC Milan must be sensitive to the voice of those who love this wonderful sport,” the Italian club said in a statement. Agnelli said he still believed in the...
US: Chad rebels heading towards capital from north
The United States said rebel fighters in Chad appeared to be moving towards the capital N’Djamena and ordered non-essential staff to leave, warning of possible violence. A spokesman for the rebel Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) said its fighters had “liberated” the province of Kanem, some 220 km (136 miles) from the capital N’Djamena, but the government denied this. “The authors of these false statements are not even on the ground, but somewhere in Europe,” the government said in a message posted to Facebook. A day earlier the British government urged its citizens to leave Chad because of information that two rebel convoys on the move, one near the town of Faya, some 770 km (478 miles) northeast of N’Djamena, and another by the town of Mao, the provincial capital of Kanem. On S...
South West PDP lauds Ayo Fayose group over decision to unite party
The South West Zone of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has commended former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose over his decision and that of his Eddy Olafeso group to unite aggrieved party men and women in the region, and for prevailing on Dr Eddy Olafeso and other candidates that contested in the just concluded PDP South West Congress held in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, from challenging the outcome of the congress in court. The party’s zonal Publicity Secretary, Sanya Atofarati, in a press release he signed on Saturday and made available to journalists in Ado-Ekiti, praised the ex-Governor Fayose for his maturity by yielding to calls and appeals from PDP stakeholders. ‘The outcome of the meeting held by the Fayose group in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on Friday, was a good o...
CDQ: NDLEA found no drug in my house, beat me up
Popular Nigerian rapper, Sodiq Yusuf, aka CDQ, has dared the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDEA) to show the world the Indian hemp found in his place. He said he had CCTV footage of the visit, unknown to the raiders. Newsmen had earlier reported that the rapper was picked up following an intelligence report that there were hard drugs in his house. However, speaking with newsmen on Saturday, the rapper stated that Indian hemp wasn’t found on him, saying that he had CCTV footage to back up his claim. He said, “Men of the NDLEA came to my house yesterday evening (Wednesday). They threatened me with a pistol to my chest and beat me black and blue in my own apartment. They said they got information that I deal in drugs. They searched everywhere and turned my house upside down. All they ...
Navy’s newest offshore survey vessel begins homeward voyage to Nigeria
The Nigerian Navy (NN), says its newest offshore survey vessel, NNS LANA, has began her homeward journey to the country. This is contained in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja by the Director of Information, Naval Headquarters, Commodore Suleman Dahun. He, however, said the ship will visit ports in Lisbon, Las Palmas, Banjul and Tema-Ghana, before heading to Nigeria on May 17. According to Dahun, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Adm. Awwal Gambo, had addressed the ship’s company. The CNS noted that the foremost desire of every littoral state is to have a fleet with the right mix of platforms to meet its operational objectives. Gambo acknowledged that the homebound voyage of NNS LANA was another milestone in the NN’s fleet recapitalisation efforts. He added that the induction of N...
N60 billion mint: PDP demands sack of finance minister
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has called for the sack of Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed, over what it described as an attempt to mislead Nigerians. The call follows her denial of the revelations by the Edo state Governor, Godwin Obaseki, that N60 billion was printed in March to support federal allocation to states.” Edo State governor Godwin Obaseki had earlier in the week, lamented the sorry state of the nation’s economy, stressing that the federal government had to order the printing of currency to the tune of N60 billion to share among the tiers of government, a claim dismissed by the Finance, Budget and National Planning Minister, Zainab Ahmed. In a statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, national publicity secretary of the party, the PDP maintained that “the admission by Central B...
Mexico president backs extension of supreme court head’s term, sparks backlash
Mexico’s Senate on Thursday voted to extend the term of the president of the Supreme Court for an extra two years, a move criticized by opposition lawmakers who called it a bid by the ruling party to strengthen its hold on the country’s institutions. Arturo Zaldivar, who has been publicly supportive of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, was appointed in January 2019 with a term slated to end on Dec. 31, 2022. If the modification to extend his term passes in the lower house of Congress, he would hold his position until Nov. 30, 2024. Lawmakers approved the proposal by a wide majority, the Senate said in a statement. Both houses of Congress are controlled by the ruling party MORENA and its allies. The Federal Judiciary Board, whose president is Zaldivar, said it was not involved with the...
Ogun governor: Our council chairmen will be elected, not selected
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has assured the people of the state that the forthcoming local government election will be free and fair. He added that the next council chairmen would not be appointed, but elected by the people. Prince Abiodun who made this known in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital while welcoming new members into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), urged the new members to continue to work hard towards the continued development of the party and the state. “Very soon, the time table for the election will be released, we will not appoint chairmen for you at all, the Chairmanship will not be by appointment, it will be by election, everyone should continue to work hard,” he said. Abiodun while noting that his administration would continue to adopt the bottom...
Governor Wike: Nobody can undermine Rivers in quest for Nigeria’s presidency
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has said that anybody jostling to be president of Nigeria would also need to secure votes in Rivers to combine with either Kano or Lagos to emerge victorious. Wike said such pivotal position establishes the importance of Rivers State in the political scheme of the country, stating that nobody would be allowed to undermine it. He made the assertion at the grand finale of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Local Government Election Campaign that held at Ulakwo in Etche Local Government Area, yesterday. The governor said: “I keep telling the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), that no state has given more votes to the party than Rivers. “And it is only in Rivers, in the whole of South-South, that the All Progressives Congress (APC) didn’t get 25 per cent votes...