Process
CDD: Monitoring and evaluation vital in tracking fight against corruption
The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) says monitoring and evaluation is vital in tracking the fight against corruption in Nigeria. Speaking at a three-day monitoring and evaluation capacity-building workshop for Anti-Corruption Agencies (ACAs) on Monday in Calabar, Idayat Hassan, CDD director, said monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is a process that helps track the progress in the fight against corruption in the country. The workshop was organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in partnership with the Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-corruption Reform (TUGAR). It also had support from the MacArthur Foundation. Represented by Emmanuel Akomaye, the centre’s project consultant on anti-corruption, Hassan said the CDD believes that it is important to bring all...
Anambra governor resolves airport land matter
The social media was agog recently that some purported women from Umueri in Anambra-East local government area protested half naked at the construction site of the International Cargo Airport over what they termed forceful land-grabbing by government to build the airport. Reports also had it that the said protesting women from Umueri had accused the state government of encroaching into areas the community didn’t release to them. But the traditional ruler of Umueri His Royal Majesty Igwe Sir Ben Izuchukwu Emeka stated unequivocally that such reports were malicious and economical with the truth because nobody protested naked and that his subjects were not known for such amoral behaviour. Igwe Emeka stated that Umueri was grateful to the government and people of Anambra state that the Interna...
Nigerian monarchs demand roles in constitutional review
The National Traditional Council of Nigeria has called on the National Assembly Joint Committee on the review of the 1999 constitution to ensure a constitutional provision is made with a view to creating roles for traditional rulers in matters involving religion, culture, security, justice and other ancillary matters. The council also accused the regimes of Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi, Gen. Yakubu Gowon and Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo of relegating the traditional institution to the background with no constitutional role. The Chairman of the council and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, said late Gen. Ironsi’s 1966 Unitary Government Decree, Gen. Gowon’s and Gen. Obasanjo’s 1967 and 1976 Local Government Reforms Decrees respectively, stripped traditional rulers of their powers an...
AAC disowns Omoyele Sowore as its chair
The leadership of the African Action Congress (AAC) on Wednesday said that the party’s presidential candidate in the 2019 election, Omoyele Sowore has been expelled by the party’s highest decision making organ and he is therefore presently unknown to the party. The party also in a petition to the Inspector General of Police claimed that the convener of the Revolution Now’s utterances and behavior have become a security risk and should be investigated by the security agencies before he plugs the country into crisis. Addressing journalists in Abuja, the National Chairman of AAC, Dr. Leonard Nzenwa said the letter by Sowore to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, claiming to be the Chairman of the party amounted to impersonation. Dr. Nzenwa, who is also the National Chairman o...
Senator Okorocha meets VP Osinbajo over feud with Governor Uzodinma
Rochas Foundation The former Governor of Imo State and Senator representing Imo West Senatorial District, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, Wednesday took the feud between him and Governor Hope Uzodinma to the Presidency. Senator Okorocha after meeting behind closed doors with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo told State House correspondents that he would not want an escalation of the conflict arising from the government’s sealing of some of his property in Owerri, the Imo State capital, insisting that he wants peace to reign in the state. The proponent of ‘Iberiberism’ doctrine also said that becoming governor was a sacrifice for him. According to him, “The whole thing to me sounds like a movie, a joke, a dream that does not reflect any practical reality, but I am a father, I’m a leader of that state an...
Femi Fani-Kayode: Old man arrested is not ‘wanted’ Isikilu Wakili
A septuagenarian arrested by members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) is not the “wanted Wakili”, according to former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode. Some members of the OPC in Oyo State had, on Sunday, razed a Fulani settlement at Kajola in Ibarapa area of Oyo State before arresting the elderly blind man. In the process, newsmen gathered Wakili’s daughter-n-law was killed. In a series of tweets on Tuesday, Fani-Kayode said the old man arrested is not the prime suspect. His tweet read, “One Isikilu Wakili, a foreign terrorist who operates in the Ibarapa area, is the most notorious, dangerous and bloodthirsty terrorist in the South-West today. He killed even more people yesterday. He is even worse than Abu and the old man that is in police custody in Ibadan. “The Isikilu Wakili t...
Nigerian government coronavirus vaccine has mild side effect
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, has pointed out that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has a mild side effect. Ehanire explained that those vaccinated may experience “small pain” in the area it was injected. He disclosed this after the vaccination of President Muhammadu Buhari and his Vice, Yemi Osinbajo, at the State House, yesterday. Ehanire, however, stated that the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be painless. He said: “The process itself is simple. We are using a narrow gauge syringe, which will be very painless, and it is a small quantity that is injected into the muscle of your upper arm. “The after-effects, as we know so far, are mild. There can be a small pain in the area where it was injected.” Meanwhile, Buhari after receiving the vaccine, had urged N...
Lagos agency pledges orderly, liveable communities
The Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA), has put in motion plans to create orderly and livable communities in the state. To achieve this and also in concert with the new developmental realities in the state, the agency evolved a new mission statement “Making Lagos an heritage for orderly, spatial planning and development for economic and livable community” In a chat in his office at Ikeja, LASPPPA, General Manager, Funmi Osifuye, said the new mission statement is as a result of the new resolve of LASPPPA to conform with present realities of Lagos as a smart city. He said henceforth, the Monitoring and Compliance Unit of the Agency will be zoned into 5 operational and enforcement locations according to the five Divisions of the State. While noting the need to focus on t...
Lobbyist says Myanmar junta wants to improve relations with the West, spurn China
An Israeli-Canadian lobbyist hired by Myanmar’s junta said on Saturday that the generals are keen to leave politics after their coup and seek to improve relations with the United States and distance themselves from China. Ari Ben-Menashe, a former Israeli military intelligence official who has previously represented Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and Sudan’s military rulers, said Myanmar’s generals also want to repatriate Rohingya Muslims who fled to neighboring Bangladesh. The United Nations says more than 50 demonstrators have been killed since the Feb. 1 coup when the military overthrew and detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy party won polls in November by a landslide. On Friday, a U.N. special envoy urged the Security Council to take action against t...
Osun governor seeks government-citizens parley on security
Osun State governor Adegboyega Oyetola has urged the citizens to rally support for the government to protect the state against any form of security challenge. This was made known today while the Special Adviser to the Governor on civic engagement, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, visited Isale – Agbe community in continuation of the community engagement tour organized by the government. Speaking on behalf of the Governor, Oyintiloye reiterated that the only way by which insecurity could be defeated is through collective efforts of all communities in the state. “It’s generally believed that insecurity has become a topical issue in the national discourse, hence the need to pursue it as a common cause and work towards a society that is free of threat and violence. “As we are all aware, Osun remains on...
Senator Dickson: Why I am staying off Bayelsa government events
File Photo A former Governor of Bayelsa, Seriake Dickson, says he has no rift with his predecessor, Douye Diri, who took over from him on February 14, 2020. Dickson said his noticeable absence from government functions was deliberate and in consonance with his values and principles of non interference. In a statement issued on Thursday, Dickson, who is now a senator representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District of the state, said he remained supportive of Diri’s administration. He said he had no hand in the media attacks against Diri’s administration by some of his former aides. Dickson’s explanation came on the heels of claims by John Idumange, a former general manager of the Bayelsa Broadcasting Corporation, alleging diversion of N3 billion agricultural loan obtained by Dickson’s adminis...
Labour issues strike notice in Ekiti over sack of 21 workers
Industrial crisis is looming in Ekiti over sack of 21 workers of the State House of Assembly recruited under the tenure of former Governor Ayodele Fayose. The workers were sacked in January 2020 over claims that their recruitment by the Fayose administration did not follow due process and was therefore illegal, according to News Agency of Nigeria. But the labour unions disagreed with the sack of the workers and had asked the leadership of the Ekiti State House Assembly to recall the 21 sacked workers, a request that has not been acceded to . On Wednesday, the unions gave notice to Speaker, Funminiyi Afuye, indicating their readiness to embark on statewide strike in seven days if the workers were not recalled. In the notice, the labour unions asked the Speaker to cause the immediate reinsta...
