President
South Africa minister reprimanded for party’s trip on airforce jet
South Africa’s defence minister has been reprimanded and will lose three months of salary after ruling party officials took an air force plane to Zimbabwe earlier this month, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday. The African National Congress (ANC) delegation’s presence aboard the flight sparked widespread criticism over the use of state resources for party business. Their trip to Harare was for crisis talks with Zimbabwe’s Zanu-PF ruling party aimed at helping tackle the country’s political and economic woes. But they tagged along aboard Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s plane, rather than travelling privately. She had a scheduled meeting in Zimbabwe to discuss regional issues following a recent summit of the Southern African Development Community bloc. Mapisa-Nqakula will no...
Airline operators dissociates from unions’ strike
Few hours to the commencement of the nationwide strike over the increase in pump price and hike in electricity tariff, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has disassociated themselves from the action. Alhaji Abdulmunaf Yunusa, the President of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) in a statement said that the association would not join the strike called by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC). Abdulmunaf noted that airlines had suffered huge losses for over three months during the COVID-19 lockdown and were forced due to no fault of theirs to even lay off staff and significantly reduce the salaries of those that were retained. He said: “It would be very insensitive therefore and a show of lack of understanding and compassion for Nigerian aviation workers who ha...
Governor Bagudu: President Buhari’s policies yielding fruitful results
Gov. Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi State says President Muhammadu Buhari’s policies have began to yield the desired results in the country. The governor made this known during a visit to a private rice mill, owned by a business mogul, Alhaji Sahabi Lolo in Kamba, Dandi Local Government Area (LGA) of the state on Sunday. Newsmen report that Bagudu was accompanied by Gov. Muhammed Badaru of Jigawa on the visit. He expressed delight that the policies of the administration were putting the country on a more formidable economic footing. According to Bagudu, the investment derive of the president in the rice value chain in the last few years is also bearing fruits on the economy. ”What you saw here today is one of the so many that have come-up in the last few years under president Muhammad Buhari’s r...
Plateau government denies taking $359 million loan from AfDB
Plateau State government has denied the allegation of taking $350m African Development Bank, AfDB loan saying such allegation is frivolous as the government only took $11.2 million of which, 70% of the amount is being committed to infrastructure, 20% to capacity building and 10% for project management. A former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, last Thursday at a webinar discussing why Plateau State lost its relevance at the national stage, accused the Governor, Simon Lalong of non-performance despite taking loans that have no impact on the lives of citizens. Dalung said, “$350 million (N140 billion) was approved for the Plateau State governemnt by the Federal Executive Council for the purpose of the potato value chain. I was a serving Minister at the time, so I was part of tha...
President Buhari condemns attack on Governor Zulum’s convoy
President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the ambush on entourage of Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno, which led to the death of security men and some operatives of Civilian-JTF. The President made the condemnation in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Saturday. He described the attack, on Maiduguri-Baga route, as an orchestrated sabotage against long planned return of displaced persons to their local communities. Buhari noted, with deep sympathy, the loss of lives of security men on the convoy, ahead of the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), commiserating with their families and loved ones. The president advised the government of Borno, working with security and intelligence agencies, to remain firm in their determinat...
US Republican senators confront Netflix over Chinese sci-fi show
Five Republican US senators have confronted Netflix over the streaming giant’s plan to adapt a Chinese sci-fi book trilogy, expressing concern over the original author’s comments about claims of forced labor in Xinjiang. Liu Cixin’s bestselling “The Three-Body Problem,” which tells the story of humanity’s first contact with aliens, is set to become a major Netflix series co-written by the creators of “Game of Thrones.” In a letter to content boss Ted Sarandos, the senators accused Liu of “parroting dangerous [Communist Party] propaganda” and suggested Netflix was “providing a platform to Mr Liu in producing this project.” They highlighted a New Yorker article from last year in which Liu is quoted defending mass internment in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, where activists say more th...
Nigeria@60: Aisha Buhari calls for prayers
The First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has called on Nigerians to continue praying to witness the end of COVID-19 Pandemic as Nigeria prepares to mark her 60th independence anniversary. The First Lady during a Public Lecture to mark Nigeria’s 60th Independence anniversary at the National Mosque, Abuja, urged Nigerians to offer special prayers for peace, progress and sustainable development of the country. “We need to pray for forgiveness and a special prayer for forgiveness. The world is no longer the same as a result of the pandemic, and the pandemic is a sign that almighty God is not happy with us. I think we have no choice than to continue asking for forgiveness from Almighty Allah”, she said. Aisha urged leaders to always do the needful by ensuring justice for all. She, later joined other Musli...
APC nullifies Governor Fayemi’s ‘suspension’
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has nullified the purported suspension of Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State by the party’s state chapter. Mr Yekini Nabena, APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, made this known in a statement on Friday in Abuja, while reacting to the development. “The attention of the APC national secretariat has been drawn to a purported and widely reported suspension of Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, as well as an earlier reported indefinite suspension of some other party members in the state. “The actions are a nullity as the party’s national secretariat is yet to receive communication from the state chapter on the purported suspensions,” he said. Nabena, therefore, advised all members of the party to adhere to its Constitution, adding that Fayemi remains the ...
36 states sue federal government, demand funding of state courts
The 36 states governors, through their respective Attorneys General and Commissioners for Justice, have dragged the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, before the Supreme Court over the failure of the Federal Government to fund the courts in the country with recurrent expenditure since May 5, 2009. It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari, had in May 2020, signed Executive Order 10, which gave financial autonomy to the legislature and judiciary at the state level. The state governors argued that the Federal Government should also fund state courts if the president must make such order. The plaintiffs in the suit against the AGF, through their counsel, Mr Augustine Alegeh, SAN, are contending that the respondent refused to fun...
Why APC ‘suspended’ Ekiti governor
The State Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has suspended Governor Kayode Fayemi. Fayemi was accused of holding meetings and fraternising with PDP members like Femi Fani-Kayode (FFK), Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike. According the statement, Fayemi was suspended due to “his numerous anti-party activities, especially his role in the recently concluded governorship election in Edo State which is contrary to the provisions of Article 21 (A) (ii) of the APC constitution.” The Ekiti chapter of the APC claims that five days before the Edo election, Fayemi hosted FFK in government house Ekiti. “For five days prior to the Edo election, Gov Fayemi hosted PDP big wig Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode in the government house in Ado Ekit...
Thomas Bach urges organisers to ignore Tokyo 2020 doubters
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, Thomas Bach, has urged organisers to focus on the preparations for next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo as a virtual Coordination Commission meeting got underway. The Coordination Commission, chaired by IOC vice-president John Coates, is set to discuss ways to stage Tokyo 2020 during the pandemic with Tokyo city, Government officials and members of the Organising Committee. Virtual meetings held in two days are expected to focus on simplification measures to reduce the cost of the postponed Games and coronavirus countermeasures. Bach addressed organisers over a video conference call. “Nobody can expect from us that we know already, exactly what needs to be done in 10 month from now to ensure a safe environment for everybody,” he...
AGF: Why I’ll not testify before Justice Salami panel
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, on Thursday, gave reasons why he would not appear as a witness in the ongoing probe of the suspended Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, by the Justice Ayo Salami-led panel of inquiry. In a statement that was signed by his media aide, Dr. Jibrilu Gwandu, the AGF, maintained that his refusal to testify before the panel was “purely constitutional and not based on any ulterior motive”. Malami contended that as an AGF, his appearance or otherwise as a witness in any investigation should be a constitutional matter. “In establishing propriety or otherwise of the presence of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice whose responsibility is...
