President
Sheik Gumi: Shoot-on-sight order hindering rescue of abducted Kaduna students
Renowned Islamic Scholar, Sheik Ahmad Gumi, has said the shoot-on-sight order of President Muhammdu Buhari is hindering the efforts to negotiate the release of the kidnapped students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Kaduna. Earlier in the month, Buhari had asked security operatives to gun down those carrying arms illegally in the forests. Speaking with Daily Trust on Thursday, the cleric said some of the bandits he met in the forest during his peace meetings have assisted in identifying the leader of the gang responsible for the abduction of the students. Gumi said despite identifying the leader of the gang, he has been unable to reach out to him because of the shoot-on-sight order of the president. The cleric added that during his previous tours to the bandits’ dens, he m...
Group urges service chiefs to fish out criminal elements
Following the activities of armed bandits in the country, group has charged the new service chiefs to address the current Insecurity situation in the North East, particularly Maiduguri, which they noted,was the epicenter of insecurity in the country. By way of appeal the group urge the new security heads adopt a new strategy, hit the ground running by relocating to the theatre of the war against terrorists for at least six months in the first instance and not national tour. In a statement, Wednesday, the experts operating under the aegis of Coalition of Concerned Nigeria Security Experts noted that two months after the current security chiefs assumed office, insecurity was assuming a new dimension. In the statement by its National Coordinator, Prof. Otedola Adekunle and National Secretary,...
Minister: Nigerian government to establish micro enterprises in 774 local council areas
Dr George Akume, the Minister of Special Duties and Inter Governmental Affairs, on Wednesday said that micro enterprises will be established in the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the country. The Minister disclosed this in Abuja at the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) General Assembly with the Theme: Strategic Positioning for the Future: A New Era. “As a ministry, we have proposed the establishment of Micro, Small and Medium enterprises in the 774 local governments in Nigeria based on economic corridors. “We believe that this will create jobs and ensure improvement in the well-being of the local populace,’’Akume said. The minister, who was represented by Mr Simon Tyungu, Deputy Director, Office of the Minister, said that the establishment of the micro enterprise wa...
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...
Senator Tinubu donates N50 million to victims of Katsina market inferno
The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has donated N50 million to victims of Katsina Central Market fire incident and called for the reopening of the market to enable traders resume commercial activities. The former Lagos State governor, who announced the donation while addressing the affected traders at the ravaged market Wednesday, said he would continue to support the state government and the traders to rebuild the affected shops. Tinubu, who was accompanied to the scene by Governor Aminu Bello Masari; his Deputy, Mannir Yakubu and the Secretary to the State Government, Mustapha Inuwa, expressed shock over the fire disaster. He said the immediate reopening of the market would enable the victims to ascertain the number of properties lost and kickst...
TUC opposes sale of Port Harcourt refinery
File Photo The Trade Union Congress (TUC) is opposed to the sale of the Port Harcourt Refinery as canvassed by many Nigerians, its secretary-general, Musa Lawan, has said. The Federal Executive Council last week approved $1.5 billion (about N600 billion) for the rehabilitation of the 210,000 barrels per day refinery. The FEC approved the amount at its virtual meeting presided by President Muhammadu Buhari. The approval came amidst a controversial price increase in the pump price of petrol that was later reversed. Although Nigeria has four refineries, all government-owned, it currently imports virtually all its refined petroleum products. The approval for the Port Harcourt Refinery was greeted with mixed feelings as the country in the past spent billions of dollars on refinery maintenance w...
Lagos governor: We are ready to domesticate AfCFTA agreement
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, says the state is ready to domesticate the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. Sanwo-Olu said this on Tuesday when he received the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Niyi Adebayo, on a courtesy visit at the Lagos House, Ikeja. The minister led members of the National Action Committee on nationwide sensitisation on African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which the nation entered into to deepen economic integration among African countries. He said that Lagos had observed the processes leading to the adoption of the continental trade agreement and positioned itself for market expansion across areas of collaboration. The governor said the state was ready to take advantage of the AfCFTA for growth, as a local ac...
Senate considers bill to unbundle NIPOST
The Senate has commenced moves to unbundle the Nigerian Postal Service with the consideration of a bill to repeal and re-enact the Nigerian Postal Service Act 2004. The bill which scaled second reading on Tuesday was sponsored by Senator Oluremi Tinubu (APC, Lagos Central). Leading the debate on the general principles of the bill, Tinubu said the piece of legislation seeks a reform of the Postal Industry and to make Comprehensive Provisions for the Development and Regulation of Postal Services in Nigeria. According to the lawmaker, the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) which dates as far back as 1852, evolved from an exigency of the colonial administration to a Collection Office of the United Kingdom and eventually, to the NIPOST. She recalled that as at 1st of October, 1960, when Nigeria g...
Niger Delta agitators urges South South governors to work with Senator Akpabio to develop region
A coalition of Niger Delta agitators, weekend, called on governors of South South to work with Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to develop Niger Delta region and its people. The group meanwhile, called out governors of Niger Delta states, saying recent revelation by Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, that they (governors) collected N100 million each as Covid-19 palliative has exposed their hypocrisy. Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Senator Patrick Ayo Akinyelure, last week, told reporters in Abuja that NDDC officials told the committee that each of the nine governors of the Niger Delta states got N100 million as Covid-19 palliatives. Coordinator of the 21st Century Youths of Niger Delta and Agitators with Conscience, 2...
Ebonyi governor: South East benefited more from APC government than PDP’s 16 years
Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State and Chairman of South East Governors’ Forum weekend, said the South East benefitted more from the Buhari-led All Progressives Congress, APC, federal government than from Peoples Democratic Party’s sixteen years of governance. Speaking to newsmen in Lagos through his Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji, Umahi said the Igbo have had a fair-play under Buhari’s administration in terms of economic and infrastructure development. According to him, the N10Billion Airport rehabilitation, the 2nd Niger Bridge, the Enugu-Port-Harcourt Expressway and other infrastructures are pointers to the benefits the South East States are getting from the Buhari administration. “These are indications that this administration is helping t...
CDS hailed over free medical treatment in Kano
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Leo Irabor, has received commendation for the recently concluded two-day free medical treatment in Bichi Local Government Area of Kano State. About 1000 persons benefitted from the programme which had as theme: “The Role of Diet in the Management of Hypertension and Diabetes.” Commending the CDS for the Initiative, the Nigeria Youth Alliance (NYA), said the programme was designed to sensitise communities on preventive and curative measures of the diseases. The CDS who was represented by Col. Vincent Abu, the Commandant, Armed Forces Specialist Hospital, Kano, at the inauguration of the programme, said that the exercise was aimed at improving the health status of people at the grassroots. NYA in a press release signed by the President, Atanda Mojeed and Secr...
Polls open in Congo as main opposition party boycotts election
Polls have opened in the Republic of Congo’s presidential election that is boycotted by the main opposition party and attacked by critics as tilted toward veteran leader Denis Sassou Nguesso. Voting centres opened at 07:00 (06:00 GMT) and will close at 17:00 (16:00 GMT). More than 2.5 million voters have registered to take part in the election which Nguesso, 77, is widely expected to win against six contenders. The list of contenders is led by economist and 2016 presidential runner-up Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, who was hospitalised on Saturday. Kolelas’ campaign did not say what illness had struck the 60-year-old but a family member told the Associated Press he had been diagnosed with coronavirus. Nguesso, a former paratrooper, first rose to power in 1979 and has since accumulated 36 years...
