Reports
Police escort, driver of APC chieftain shot dead in Delta
The police escort and driver of an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Delta state, Chief Michael Johnny, were killed on Sunday by gunmen in an attempted kidnap attack at Airport Junction, Uvwie council area of Delta state. According to reports from sources, his wife was target of the attack, which occurred at about 11:12am. However, she was reportedly said to be attending a church service when the suspects struck. Acting Delta spokesman, DSP Bright Edafe, confirmed the incident and dismissed allegations that the woman was kidnapped. Witnesses claimed the hoodlums operated in a yellow Lexus SUV. “The Police escort was shot in the head, while the driver was shot in the belly,” a tricycle rider said. Recommended Stories You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates O...
Gunmen kill member of Edo vigilance group in Benin
A young man and member of the Edo State vigilance group simply identified as Endurance, better known as “DMX ” was on Saturday night shot and killed at Ugbowo area by unknown gunmen suspected to be members of a rival cult group in Benin City. Reports have it that the assailants trailed their victim from his house to a Lotto Betting Shop, where he was shot trice at close range, while other stakers at the Lotto Betting Shop scampered for safety. The incident which allegedly occurred at about 6 pm on Saturday on Ologbosere Street, off Benin Technical College road in Ugbowo Quarters, Egor Local Government Area threw residents of the area into panic and apprehension. It was gathered that the Vigilance group in the area, immediately after the incident, stormed the crime scene to rescue their col...
#EndSARS: VP Osinbajo urges States to send judicial panels’ progress reports
As plans for next year’s budget begins to gather pace, the National Economic Council (NEC) has endorsed the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) which was presented to it at an emergency meeting of the Council today. Besides the MTEF presentation, the NEC also updated its focus on the reports of the State Judicial Panels set up across the country after last year’s #EndSARS protests. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, urged States where the panels are still sitting to also send interim reports so as to measure progress. According to the Vice President, in a statement by his media aide Laolu Akande, the reports are now being received ahead of a Council meeting where presentations would be made on them, both for States where the panels have conclude...
PSG send contract offer to free agent Lionel Messi amid Barca talks
Lionel Messi has been a free agent since this Thursday after his contract at Barcelona came to an end. PSG have taken advantage of the situation to send an offer to Barca’s number 10, who is currently concentrating on the Copa America with Argentina. Since he became a free agent this Thursday after his previous contract at Barcelona terminated, meaning any team is free to sign Messi. According to reports the Argentine is yet to reach an agreement with his boyhood club, teams from around the round are looking to pry him away. Among his suitors is Paris Saint-Germain. ‘AS’ report suggest that the French side has taken advantage of the current situation to send an offer to the player. The Ligue 1 outfit are looking to build add to a set of strong summer reinforcements, as Donnarumma, Hakimi a...
Ondo assembly passes anti-open grazing, judicial autonomy bills into law
In a bid to regulate the activities of herdsmen and the rearing of livestock in the state, the Ondo State House of Assembly has passed into law the anti-open grazing bill. The House also passed into law the bill on the autonomy of the judiciary and the bill on violence against persons prohibition. The bills were passed after the chairmen of three committees submitted their reports on the bill. The plenary session of the Assembly, held on Thursday, was presided over by the Speaker, Mr Bamidele Oloyeloogun. Speaking on the bills at the session, the committee chairmen remarked that the bills were in the best interest of all citizens of Ondo State. On the anti-open grazing bill, Mr Taofik Mohammed of the House Committee on Agriculture explained that the bill was to regulate rearing and grazing...
Ethiopia urges Tigray rebels to join ceasefire, hostilities persist
Ethiopia’s government urged Tigrayan rebels to join a unilateral ceasefire in their conflict on Thursday as aid agencies struggled to reach hundreds of thousands of people facing famine. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the former rulers of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, said on Monday it was back in control of the regional capital Mekelle after nearly eight months of fighting. The government declared a unilateral ceasefire but the TPLF dismissed it as a joke. Hostilities persisted on Thursday and pressure built internationally for all sides to pull back. “Operations are under way … and the number of prisoners of war is increasing by the minute,” TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda told Reuters by satellite phone, with light artillery fire crackling in the background. “We are closing in on...
PIB: NNPC boss to meet Senate behind closed doors
Mr Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is expected to brief the Senate on Thursday on technical aspects of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) 2021. President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, disclosed this at Wednesday’s plenary. Lawan said the briefing was to educate senators on the technicalities and financial implications of certain provisions of the PIB. He said the briefing would take place behind closed doors and would last for about an hour. Lawan also said that Thursday’s plenary would be entirely devoted to the consideration of the report. “Before plenary tomorrow, the leadership of the Senate has decided to invite NNPC GMD to come and brief us in a closed session. “The opportunity is for those of us who are not members of the joint commi...
House speaker lauds Ebonyi lawmaker over democracy dividends
Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has applauded Chief Chinedu Ogah, representing Ezza South/Ikwo Federal Constituency, for delivering democracy dividends to his constituents. The Speaker made the commendation on Wednesday at Ekpelu community in Ikwo local government area while inaugurating constituency projects attracted by Ogah. The Speaker, represented by Mr Abdulkadir Babayali, said that the lawmaker has demonstrated uncommon love, uncommon will and uncommon wisdom in attracting the projects which he said would enhance the living conditions of the people. He added that the lawmaker had demonstrated effective representation through the provision of many life changing infrastructure and other development projects for the people. The Speaker urged the people to...
Ethiopia says army can re-enter seized Tigray capital Mekelle in weeks
The Ethiopian army could re-enter the seized Tigray regional capital of Mekelle within weeks if needed, a spokesman for a government task force said on Wednesday, adding that government-allied Eritrean forces had withdrawn from the region. It was the first public statement by a federal government official since Mekelle was taken by Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) forces this week in a major turn of events after eight months of conflict in which thousands of people have been killed. read more People in Mekelle, where communications were down on Wednesday, said on Monday incoming Tigrayan fighters had been greeted with cheers. There were similar scenes in the northern town of Shire on Wednesday, where Eritrean forces had pulled out and Tigrayan forces had entered, residents said. Peo...
Zamfara governor dumps PDP for APC
Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara has officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Matawalle announced his defection to APC in Gusau on Tuesday at a special grand rally to receive him to the party, organised by the National Caretaker Committee of the APC led by Governor Mai-Mala Buni of Yobe. “As from today, I Bello Matawallen Maradun, governor of Zamfara, I am happy to announce my defection from the PDP to the APC. “As from today, I am a full APC member and leader of APC in Zamfara. “I am calling on all APC stakeholders in the state to join hands with me to build the party and move the state forward,” Matawalle said. Earlier, Buni had described Matawalle’s defection as a welcome development to the APC not only in Zamfara but in Nige...
JAMB chief accuses institutions of awarding fake certificates
The Registrar, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has accused some higher institutions of mobilising and awarding IJMB/JUPEB certificates to individuals who did not attend their institutions. Oloyede alleged that some of the certificates issued by the Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) and Joint Universities Preliminary Examinations Board (JUPEB) centres for Direct Entry into universities were fakes He made the allegation in Abuja on Tuesday, at the 2021 Batch ‘B’ pre-mobilisation workshop of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on the theme ‘Sustainable Mobilisation Process: The Role Of Stakeholders’. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that IJMB and JUPEB are national educational programmes approved by the Federal Government. They are quali...
Gombe governor commends federal government’s agenda of creating 25 million jobs by 2025
Gov. Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State has commended the Federal Government’s agenda of generating 25 million jobs by the year 2025. He stated this in Gombe, on Monday, while launching a two-day technical meeting on the preparation of the Medium National Development Plan (MTND) for 2021 -2025, for the six states in the North East Zone. The Governor, who was represented by his Deputy, Manasseh Jatau, said: “It is worth noting that the Medium-Term National Development Plan aims to create 25 million jobs, lift 34 million people out of poverty. “I will like to also appreciate Federal Government for taking a new approach towards achieving a more inclusive and effective participation of states and Local governments at different stages. “Involving everyone in the ongoing process of developing and imple...
