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Benue governor says no more amnesty, negotiation with criminals
Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, says his administration will no longer negotiate with or grant amnesty to criminals under any guise in the state. Ortom stated this on Saturday in Anyiin, Logo Local Government Area of the state at the burial of Mr Terkura Suswam, the slain elder brother of former governor, Sen. Gabriel Suswam. Newsmen reports that Suswam was killed along with his aide, Mr Solomon Utanor on March 2, close to his residence in Anyiin. The governor condemned the crime rate in Logo, Ukum and Katsina-Ala, reiterating his determination to end all forms of criminalities in the state. “There is no more amnesty, no more negotiation with them, (criminals) except they come back like the prodigal son and plead for forgiveness,’’ he said. According to the governor, the State Security ...
ASUSS lauds Nigerian government over recognition as legal trade union
The Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) has commended the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity for granting recognition to the trade union in spite of an alleged deregistration plot against it by a rival union. ASUSS also saluted the Supreme Court of Nigeria for proving the judiciary as the last hope of the common man by upholding its appeal in a judgment delivered on January 15, where it held that ASUSS’ registration did not contravene the trade union statutes. This was contained in a statement entitled “A Woeful Cry; Agony Of A Loser” signed by ASUSS National Secretary Sola Adigun and made available to reporters in Ado-Ekiti on Saturday . Adigun, who doubles as the ASUSS Chairman in Ekiti, upbraided the national leadership of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) for m...
APC boycotts Delta local council elections
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State said it pulled out of the Saturday local council elections in the state. The APC spokesperson in the state, Sylvester Imonina, said this in a statement in Asaba on Saturday. Imonina said the party boycotted the election because the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC) and others “cheated the Delta people again.” “I told the people of Delta some days ago that there were evil machinations to deprive them of their right to choose who to lead them at the local government level. “Yesterday, March, 5, 2021 at DSIEC headquarters in Asaba, Delta APC representatives were not allowed to take statistics of the materials that it intended transporting to the different LGAs in the state. “This is despite the insistence of the party’s rep...
AfDB provides $400,000 grant for SEC
African Development Bank Group (AfDB) on Friday signed a $400,000 grant agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to strengthen securities market regulation and broaden market instruments. The funds, according to a statement from AfDB, will go towards strengthening the risk-based supervision framework, regulation of derivatives and green bonds, and build capacity for green finance. The grant will be sourced from the Capital Markets Development Trust Fund, a multi-donor fund administered by the Bank. “This collaboration further underscores our mutual goal to grow our markets and create viable avenues for sustainable economic development for Nigeria and the region,” said Lamido Yuguda, Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission at the virtual signing ceremon...
Ex-President Jonathan enlists colleagues to mitigate electoral crises in West Africa
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has enlisted the support of other ex-presidents and Prime Ministers in West Africa to mitigate elections-related conflicts to promote peace in the region. Mrs Ann Iyonu, Executive Director, Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF) announced this at a news conference in Yenagoa on Friday. Iyonu said that the former leaders’ group christened West African Elders Forum (WAEF) was inaugurated by Jonathan at a virtual meeting held on Thursday. She said that WAEF was an initiative of the GJF aimed at harnessing the goodwill, expertise and experiences of former leaders to promote peaceful elections and deepen democracy in West Africa. According to her, the forum comprises three former leaders of Nigeria, Ex-President Jonathan, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Retired Gen. A...
Rivers governor reacts as critics fault design of new bridge after truck accident
Critics are subjecting the Okoro-nu-Odu overhead bridge commissioned for use on Monday in Port Harcourt by Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike, to scrutiny after the fall of a heavy duty truck that was trying to make a turn under it. Also, critics have also observed that rather than help alleviate the traffic gridlock in the area, the bridge seemed to have worsened the traffic jam. While commenting on the gridlock around the bridge and the fall of the truck while trying to make a u-turn, one Kachi Welsley said: “basically an engineering design is to address serviceability and human problems, not to compound them. “At the beginning sides of the overhead bridge at Rumuokoro, there ought to be turning points to enable cars coming and trying to get back in opposite directions turn easily without firs...
Senator Saraki urges President Buhari to include opposition, others in fight against insecurity
A former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, on Tuesday, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to include opposition parties and the international community in the fight against insecurity in Nigeria. He spoke with newsmen shortly after he met with a former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, behind closed doors at his penthouse residence located within the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State. Saraki, who is the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Reconciliation and Strategy Committee, was joined in the meeting by former Governors, Ibrahim Dankwanbo (Gombe), Olagunsoye Oyinlola (Osun), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Ibrahim Shehu Sema (Katsina) and former Majority Leader, House of Representatives, Mulikat Akande Adeola. Speaking after about two hours c...
Chukwuma Soludo: Why I joined Anambra governorship race
Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, says he is in the governorship race of Anambra to make the South-East geopolitical zone an island of prosperity. Newsmen report that Soludo will run for the Nov. 6 poll on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). In an interaction with newsmen on Saturday in Awka, he said the South-East had become largely unlivable despite the solid foundation and infrastructure laid down by leaders for the region’s development. Soludo described the South-East as a “tiny poor place that must begin to turn into a Promised Land. “For you to create a livable society comparable to any other place, it requires a crusade for all and it must happen simultaneously in the South-East,” he said. He said Anambra had been relative...
Nigerian bank chief calls for review of educational reforms
The managing director/CEO of Sterling Bank Plc, Mr Abubakar Suleiman, has called for a review of Nigeria’s educational system so as to make it relevant to current and future human capital requirements in the country. Suleiman made the call while speaking as a panelist in a session on “Roadmap To Shared Prosperity – Ensuring Inclusive Human Capital Development” at the just concluded 8th Lagos Economic Summit, Ehingbeti 2021. He observed that Nigeria’s current educational system will continue to fail in its role of delivering the human resources needed by industry now and in the future unless the federal government redefines its commitment to the system. According to him, “The educational system that is operational in the country today appears to be only suitable for academia and not for inc...
Ekiti moves to reposition MSMEs for economic growth
Ekiti State Government has expressed its determination to enhance the growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to boost economic prosperity of the state. The government had before now reconstituted a 22-member Council to address the myriad of challenges confronting MSMEs in Ekiti , with intention to upscale industrial growth and development . The Commissioner for Investment, Trade and Industry, Mr Muyiwa Olumilua, stated this during a one-day sensitisation workshop with the theme: “Making Economy A Private Driven Economy” held in Ado Ekiti. He said the state government will partner federal government and corporate agencies to facilitate opportunities for business owners in the state. Olumilua at the event, which brought together medium and small scale business owners from acro...
How ICPC is combating corruption in MDAs, stopped diversion of N189 billion personnel cost
File Photo In the past few years, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other-Related Offences Commission, as part of its statutory mandate, has been conducting systems study and review of ministries and organisations in the federal public service. The overall objective of a system review is reform of the systems and procedures of public agencies with a view to identifying and eliminating, preventing, blocking and obstructing opportunities for corruption. To achieve this, the exercise targets detecting areas of vulnerabilities, actual weaknesses, leakages and corruption risks and to recommend ways of strengthening these systems and removing the discretionary gaps and such opportunities for both individual and institutional malfeasance on public resources. In addition, the review also targe...
How ICPC is combating corruption in MDAs, stopped diversion of N189 billion personnel cost
File Photo In the past few years, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other-Related Offences Commission, as part of its statutory mandate, has been conducting systems study and review of ministries and organisations in the federal public service. The overall objective of a system review is reform of the systems and procedures of public agencies with a view to identifying and eliminating, preventing, blocking and obstructing opportunities for corruption. To achieve this, the exercise targets detecting areas of vulnerabilities, actual weaknesses, leakages and corruption risks and to recommend ways of strengthening these systems and removing the discretionary gaps and such opportunities for both individual and institutional malfeasance on public resources. In addition, the review also targe...
