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National park trains 1,200 officers on combat readiness
Dr. Ibrahim Goni, the Conservator-General of the National Park Service, says the agency has trained 1,200 officers on basic combat readiness paramilitary by the Nigeria Army. Goni, who disclosed this at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja, said that the training was to help the officers and men to meet the current and future conservation requirements. “Training and re-training of officers is key to achieving success in the implementation of the service mandate. “Therefore, manpower development as a human capital function is responsible for developing the skills, knowledge and competence of the service,” he said. Goni said that the agency would focus more on manpower development to help the officers and men achieve the mandate of the service. He said that in spite of its limited resources...
Edo Head of Service regains freedom from kidnappers
Mr Anthony Okungbowa, Edo state Head of Service (HoS), who was abducted on Saturday evening along Oza Road, in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of the state, has regained his freedom. The HoS was released by his abductors on Monday night according to a family source, who pleaded anonymity. The source said that Okungbowa was set free after payment of an undisclosed amount as ransom demanded by his kidnappers and that the HoS was hale and hearty since his release. The family source disclosed that the ransom was paid through a collaboration between the family and the State government. “We just want to thank God that our brother has been set free and in good health condition,” said the source. The source, however, lamented that the Police orderly attached to the HoS, who was shot during the pr...
National Assembly raises 2021 budget by N580 billion, approves N13.588 trillion
The two chambers of the National Assembly yesterday passed the 2021 Appropriation Bill, increasing the budget size from N13.08 trillion presented to them by President Muhamnadu Buhari 11 weeks ago to N13.588 trillion. The passage of the 2021 budget followed consideration and adoption of harmonised reports separately submitted to them by their Committees on Appropriation. The two chambers increased the 2021 budget by about N580 billion and pegged daily crude oil production at 1.86 million barrels per day, while oil benchmark price was fixed at $40 per barrel. They approved N379 to dollar as the official exchange rate while GDP growth rate was pegged at 3 per cent. Highlights of the report approved by the Senate showed aggregate expenditure to be N13,588,027,886,175, statutory transfer of N4...
Report highlights impact of coronavirus on graduates
The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted 47 per cent of graduates and their activities (including job search), a report has stated. Also 17 per cent of graduates lost their jobs due to the pandemic, a research by the Knowledge Exchange Centre (KEC) and BudgIT revealed. The Executive Secretary, KEC, Aghogho Akporido, disclosed this during the virtual graduation ceremony of 43 students in its Graduate Advancement Programme (GAP) network, recently. He said the programme was extended to three months as opposed to the previous six weeks. He also said during the selection process, training session, career counselling and mentoring session and even in some cases, the internship was done virtually (online). Akporido said for the first time there were participants from eight states and volunte...
Driver knocks down cyclist, passenger in Anambra
Two persons on Saturday afternoon sustained varying degrees of injury in a serious crash along Ugwuakpati Ozu road in Nnewi, Anambra state. The victims, a commercial motorcyclist and his passenger were on the motorcycle when they were knocked down by the driver who lost control of the vehicle while answering calls. Confirming the incident, Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Andrew Kumapayi said the injured were taken to St Felix Hospital, Otolo Nnewi by the FRSC rescue team from Nnewi command. He said, “The crash involved an unidentified male adult in a black Camry car with registration number JRV 184 AA and a black motorcycle with registration number NNE 369 QH. “According to an eyewitness, a total of 3 persons where onboard consisting of (2) male adults and (1) female ad...
NIMC insists on deadline for linking of NIN to mobile numbers
File Photo Despite criticisms from many Nigerians of the two-week ultimatum for the registration and linking of National Identity Number (NIN) to mobile numbers, the federal government has insisted on the deadline. The director-general of the National Identity Management Commission, (NIMC), Aliyu Abubakar, in an interview with newsmen on Friday said there was no extension for the announced deadline. “Right now, the way it is, there is no extension. We should not be complaining, rather we should see how it can be done,” he said. “It is until after 10 to 12 days then we will see how far it has gone before we beg the government for anything.” When the agency issued a two-week ultimatum for the enrolment, Nigerians took to social media platforms to kick against such a deadline. “In the whole o...
Wuhan’s coronavirus survivors share lessons one year on
In late 2019, Wuhan businesswoman Duan Ling and her surgeon husband Fang Yushun began to hear snippets in hospital chat groups about a disease emerging in the city’s respiratory wards. Duan didn’t pay much attention at first. Fang had that year returned from a stint studying in the United States, and the pair, both 36-years-old, were planning a family, starting a costly round of fertility treatments. “But as more and more news came, we began to realise this was something different from previous infectious diseases,” said Duan. In just over a month, Fang would become one of the first people in the world to contract what came to be known as COVID-19, which has since infected over 74 million worldwide and killed more than 1.5 million. During the early days of the outbreak, the city’s hospital...
Gombe governor declares Friday work-free day ahead of council poll
The Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya, has declared today (Friday) a work-free day to enable eligible voters to travel to their respective areas to exercise their franchise in Saturday’s local government election in the state. Yahaya disclosed this during a state-wide broadcast to highlight his administration’s preparedness to conduct free, fair and credible local government election in the state, adding that the election was not a do or die affair. He said, “As part of the measures to ensure a peaceful and successful election, government has declared Friday a work-free day in order to enable our people return to their various local government areas for the election. We are also putting restrictions on all non-essential movements on the election day in order to ensure enhanced security an...
Pinterest overhauls harassment policy following discrimination complaints
A five-month investigation into Pinterest’s company culture published on Wednesday recommends broad changes to how the firm handles workplace conflicts, including harassment and retaliation. Produced by the law firm WilmerHale, the report details how the company can improve its workplace conditions and prevent discrimination, specifically recommending the creation of an internal ombudsman’s office that can field employee complaints. The law firm spoke with 350 current and former Pinterest employees over the course of its five-month investigation. Pinterest’s board has already unanimously voted to adopt the recommendations, which were shared with employees on Wednesday and posted publicly on the company’s website. In recent months, a number of Pinterest employees have come forward with comp...
Justice Tsoho: Why court froze #EndSARS promoters’ bank accounts
The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, on Tuesday said that contrary to the belief in some quarters that the court intentionally froze the accounts of #Endsars promoters, it only played its part as an interpreter of the law. The CJ noted that the Central Bank of Nigeria had approached the court to ask for an order freezing certain accounts of corporate bodies and names of individuals over suspicion bordering on alleged money laundering. He however stated that the CBN did not attach any names to the applications. Justice Tsoho, spoke at the opening of the 2020/2021 legal year, Abuja on Tuesday. He noted that CBN’s request came about three months before the ENDSARS protest. The CJ was reacting to the speech by the chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olumid...
Police arraign kidnap kingpin, seven others for terrorism in Calabar
A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar has remanded 8 persons for kidnapping, terrorism and possession of illegal firearms at the Afokang Correctional Service centre. Five were arraigned by the Nigeria Police Force for kidnapping, terrorism and possession of illegal fire arms on a three count charge in Charge numbers FHC / CA / 94c / 2020 and three others on a two count charge of charges number: FHC /CA/95c / 2020 for three others. The Presiding Judge, Justice S.M Shaibu ordered that the 8 defendants be remanded at Calabar Correctional facility on a three count charge and two count charge respectively levelled against them by the police . He ordered that the 8 of them be remanded till 25 of February 2021 at the centre pending their trial at the Federal High Court 1 ,Calabar . Recall that ...
U.S. warns Pacific islands about Chinese bid for undersea cable project
The United States has warned Pacific island nations about security threats posed by a Chinese company’s cut-price bid to build an undersea internet cable, two sources told Reuters, part of an international development project in the region. Huawei Marine, which was recently divested from Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and is now majority-owned by another Chinese firm, submitted bids along with French-headquartered Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), part of Finland’s Nokia, and Japan’s NEC, for the $72.6 million project backed by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB), the sources with direct knowledge of the project details said. The project is designed to improve communications to the island nations of Nauru, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and Kiribati. Washington sent a diploma...