Representatives
Niger governor: Incompetent leaders took over from military in 1999
Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger state has attributed the failures recorded in governance since the coming of democracy in 1999 to incompetent leaders who took over leadership of the country from military. The Governor spoke just as former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, blamed the nation’s educational system for the failure being recorded in leadership in the country, saying the system was not designed to produce leaders. Both men spoke at a youth summit organized by a member of the House of Representatives and Chairman Board of Trustees of Lead Generation Initiative (LGI), Shina Peller, in Abuja. The Niger governor said the that when the military decided to hand over power to civilians, a lot of competent people never believed in the process and therefore stood ba...
Donald Trump impeachment to be sent to Senate Monday – top lawmakers
Donald Trump will go on trial in the US Senate soon after an impeachment case against the former president is transmitted by the House of Representatives on Monday, top lawmakers announced. The House impeached the Republican leader for a historic second time on January 13, just one week before he left office, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi has yet to send the article of impeachment to the Senate. The step is necessary in order to launch the trial process. “I have spoken to Speaker Pelosi who informed me that the article will be delivered to the Senate on Monday,” Chuck Schumer, the new Democratic Senate majority leader, said in a floor speech Friday. “A trial will be held in the United States Senate and there will be a vote whether to convict the president,” Schumer told his colleagues. Trump wa...
Nigerian university staff to embark on indefinite strike
File Photo The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) have disclosed that they will be embarking on “an indefinite, comprehensive and total strike” from February 5th. The Joint Action Committee of both unions, disclosed this while addressing reporters in a press conference on Friday. The committee explained that it is giving the Government two weeks till February 5th to address its demands, else the industrial action will commence. The unions had embarked on a fourteen day warning strike between 5th and 19th of October 2020 in protest of a number of issues bordering on the welfare of their members. The warning strike culminated the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the 20t...
Court fixes date to hear suit seeking to oust ex-Speaker Dogara from House over defection to APC
Twitter The Federal High Court, Abuja, will, on February 4, hear a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) asking for the declaration of the seat of Rep Yakubu Dogara vacate on account of his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Justice Okon Abang fixed the date on the grounds that it was not convenient for the court to take the matter. Newsmen report that while the PDP and its Bauchi State Chairman, Hamza Akuyam, are the plaintiffs, Dogara, who was the immediate-past Speaker, House of Representatives; the speaker of the House; the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF); Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC are 1st to 5th defendants respectively in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1060/2020. NAN reports that Dogara, who represents Dass, Tafawa Bal...
Ex-Nigerian ambassador Bolere Ketebu passes on
Dr. Bolere Elizabeth Ketebu, former Nigerian Ambassador to Ireland is dead. She was 66 years old. Her death was made known by President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday. In a statement, Buhari condoled with the Ketebu family, the Bayelsa State government, as well as friends and professional colleagues of Dr Bolere Ketebu, The President said the former ambassador served her country creditably in several capacities. She was at one time President National Council of Women Societies, Secretary to Bayelsa State government and a member House of Representatives between 1992 and 1993. In September 2001, she was elected Advisor, Habitat to the International Council of Women (ICW). She was elected in 2003 as International Board Member to ICW, position she held till 2009. As a board member, she coordinated...
Presidency: Boko Haram weaker now than in 2015
As the country marks the 2021 Armed Forces Remembrance Day, Friday, the Presidency has declared that the activities of Boko Haram insurgents have been weakened compared to what obtained in 2015. This is even as it said that more than 2,403 criminals, including terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and criminals of other sorts, were reportedly eliminated by the Nigerian Armed Forces, in coordinated operations across the country between March 18 and December 30, 2020. The event is billed to hold in the early hours of the day at the National Arcade, opposite Eagles Square, Three Arms Zone, Abuja. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, in a statement titled “Security checklist, as Nigeria marks Armed Forces Remembrance Day, by Presidency” flaunted the Buhari admin...
Joe Biden receives second dose of coronavirus vaccine on camera
Joe Biden on Monday received the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on camera, as part of an effort by the President-elect’s incoming administration to reassure the country of the safety of the vaccines. Biden was administered the shot in his left arm by Ric Cuming, chief nurse executive at ChristianaCare’s Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware, according to Biden’s transition team. The President-elect said he would be announcing his plan to “get the entire Covid operation up and running,” including the necessary costs, on Thursday. Biden said he had a meeting with members of his team later Monday afternoon. Biden said he was “not afraid of taking the oath outside,” and that his team has been getting briefed, when asked if he had any fears about taking the oath of office...
Republican senator: Donald Trump must ‘go away as soon as possible’
A second Republican senator in the United States has called on Donald Trump to step down after some of the president’s supporters overran the Capitol building in Washington, DC this week in a deadly riot. In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press news programme on Sunday, Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey said Trump should resign for the good of the country. “I think the best way for our country is for the president to resign and go away as soon as possible,” he said. Toomey said president’s resignation is the “best path forward, the best way to get this person in the rear-view mirror for us”, but added that he did not believe Trump would step down before his term ends on January 20. He also said the president’s role encouraging the riot was an “impeachable offence”. Momentum has been buildi...
Senator lauds President Buhari for signing Modibbo Adama University bill into law
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed (Binani), on Friday commended President Muhammadu Buhari for signing the Modibbo Adama University bill into law. Binani, who initiated the bill in the 7th National Assembly, said the university can now run all approved academic programmes like any other conventional University. She said the bill will also create more placements for youths seeking admission into the university. Binani, who made her feelings known in a statement in Abuja, said the assent of the President was heart-warming. She said: “It is heartwarming to note the gracious assent by Mr. President to this bill. Precisely on the 6th of January, 2021, Mr. President assented to the bill converting MAUTECH to a Conventional Univers...
Donald Trump allies in Congress to challenge his loss to Joe Biden
A band of President Donald Trump’s Republican allies planned a last-ditch effort on Wednesday to undo his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, a bid almost certain to fail that comes on the same day their party is poised to lose its majority in the Senate. The Republican-led Senate and Democratic-controlled House of Representatives were due to meet to formally certify Biden’s victory in the Nov. 3 election in proceedings that could stretch past midnight. In a joint session of Congress, Trump’s allies plan to challenge the results from a handful of states won by Biden. Thousands of pro-Trump protesters converged on Washington ahead of the session at his urging. Some clashed with police overnight. Biden won the election by a 306-232 count in the state-by-state Electoral College and by a marg...
One dead, three injured as cocoa house elevator crashes in Ibadan
A middle aged man was Wednesday confirmed dead after an elevator crashed at the Cocoa House building in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. Newsmen learnt that three other people were also injured when the elevator at the high rise building in the ancient city crashed. The Cocoa House was said to have been built with proceeds from cocoa by the then government of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who was the Premier of the Western Region. The building as at now is being managed by the Odua Investment Company Limited, which is owned by the six states of the South-west. It was gathered that the elevator was being repaired Wednesday before it crashed and fell on people working on it. The Head of Corporate Affairs, Odua Investment Company Limited, Mr. Victor Ayetoro, while confirming the death of one pers...
FCT chief judge bows out service
The Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Justice Ishaq Usman Bello, on Tuesday bowed out of service on the attainment of 65 years of age. This is even as he declared in his speech at a valedictory court session held in his honour that the greatest strength of the judiciary remained the trust, reliance and faith of the people in it. Bello, who became the FCT CJ on May 28, 2015, said that in a democratic set up like Nigeria’s, the judiciary had to be impartiality. “I solemnly accept as true the saying that the greatest strength of the judiciary is the trust, reliance and faith of the people in it. “In several cases, I have seen the court take decisions against the state as well for the achievement of the ends of justice. I know this well because I have delivered some myself,” ...
