Saturday
Speaker Gbajabiamila: Constitution review to address Nigeria’s foundational deficiencies
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has called for collaboration between the National Assembly and the 36 state Houses of Assembly to make the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution successful. Gbajabiamila, who spoke at a meeting of the Conference of Presiding Officers of Nigerian Legislatures in Abuja at the weekend, noted that the constitutional amendments are to address Nigeria’s foundational problems. The Speaker also stated that the legislature remained the most important arm of government in any democratic setting, according to a statement issued on Saturday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, titled ‘Constitution review: Gbajabiamila Seeks Collaboration Between NASS, State Assemblies…Says Legislature Remains Most Important Arm o...
IMN: Sheikh El-Zakzaky is not an enemy of Nigeria
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) says that its leader, Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, is not an enemy of Nigeria. The Islamic group also says that the message of El-Zakzaky differs from the struggle by leader, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, and the secessionist, Sunday Igboho. The Coordinator, Resource Forum of IMN, Prof. Abdullahi Danladi, gave the clarification on Saturday, following the recent social media pictures of El-Zakzaky, Kanu and Igboho displayed side-by-side. “Recently, the social media went awash with the pictures of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky framed on both sides with the pictures of Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Igboho. “Beneath the pictures is the caption: ‘Buhari is respecting Federal Character in the fight against the enemies of Nigeria’ was posted. “First, Shei...
Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia suspends UAE flights
Saudi Arabia has suspended flights to three countries, including the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, to protect against a coronavirus variant, the interior ministry said Saturday. The move comes seven weeks after the oil-rich kingdom permitted fully immunised citizens to travel abroad, after a ban on foreign trips that lasted more than a year. The UAE, and especially Dubai, is a key leisure destination for Saudis. Flights to and from the UAE, alongside those to Ethiopia and Vietnam, will be suspended from Sunday, an interior ministry official said, quoted by the state news agency SPA. Saudi citizens and residents returning from these countries will be required to quarantine for 14 days, it added. Citizens would be banned “from travelling directly or indirectly, without obtaining prior p...
Myanmar protesters burn junta leader’s images on his birthday
Protesters burned mock coffins and pictures of Myanmar’s army ruler Min Aung Hlaing on Saturday in the latest demonstrations against the coup over five months ago that has plunged the Southeast Asian country into chaos. “May you not rest in peace” and “may your birthday and deathday be the same,” read the messages on funeral wreaths in Theinzayet township in eastern Mon state. Similar protests took place in many parts of Myanmar. “We are burning this as a curse,” said one protester in the second city of Mandalay, setting ablaze a small pile of picture of the general, 65. A spokesman for the military authorities did not respond to requests for comment. Min Aung Hlaing took power on Feb. 1, overthrowing elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and cutting short a decade of democratic reforms that had...
Euro 2020: Italy bars travelling England fans from Rome stadium
Fans travelling from the UK to Italy for England’s Euro 2020 quarterfinal clash with Ukraine on Saturday will not be allowed to enter the stadium in Rome, even if they have a ticket, due to coronavirus curbs, the Italian Embassy in London said on Thursday. England’s victory over Germany on Tuesday set up the last-eight clash at the Stadio Olimpico, but fans looking to make the journey to Italy from the UK cannot attend the match. “Anybody who has been in the UK in the previous 14 days, irrespective of their nationality or residency, will not be admitted to the stadium, even if they have a ticket,” a statement read. “Only those who can prove that they have arrived in Italy at least six days previously, have observed five days of quarantine, and have taken a post-quarantine Covid-19 test wit...
Tanzania to spend $470 million on vaccines, coronavirus-damaged economy
Tanzania will spend $470 million buying vaccines and supporting economic sectors hit hard by the coronavirus, President Samia Suluhu Hassan said on Monday. Since Hassan took office after the death of then-president John Magufuli in March, the government has changed tack from playing down the pandemic to calling for social distancing and emphasising mask wearing in public. Issuing the first data on infections since May 2020, Hassan said there were more than 100 Covid-19 patients in Tanzania as of last Saturday, with 70 of them being provided oxygen. Half of the cash will be spent on vaccines, protective gear and other medical equipment, Hassan said, with the rest going to stimulate sectors that are reeling from the crisis. She did not give details about the sectors but tourism, one of the t...
2021 UTME results: Candidates, parents decry low scores
File Photo Reactions have continued to follow the recently released results of the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Some candidates and parents who spoke in separate interviews with newsmen on Monday in Bwari, Abuja, expressed their displeasure. NAN recalls that the board on Friday, June 25, released the first batch of results of candidates who sat for the examination between Saturday, June 19, and Tuesday, June 22. While some candidates expressed satisfaction with their scores, others expressed disappointment on the results. Oluwakemi Moses, a candidate, who said that she wanted to study medicine, said she scored 167, a score she explained, was not only too low but also below her first attempt of t...
Nigerian army chief charges troops to be decisive against terrorists
The Chief of Army Staff, Major General Faruk Yahaya, has charged troops of Operation Hadin Kai to be decisive and alert in the fight against the Islamic State West Africa Province and Boko Haram terrorists in North East Nigeria. The COAS, according to a statement by the Director Army Public Relations, Onyema Nwachukwu, on Sunday stated this while addressing troops of Sector 3 Operation Hadin Kai/Multinational Joint Task Force, Monguno. He was said to have embarked on his maiden operational tour of the sector on Saturday. The statement was titled ‘Be decisive and alert in countering insurgency – COAS tells Sector 3 OPHK/MNJTF troops.’ It read, “General Faruk Yahaya lauded the level of discipline and commitment to duty exhibited by troops of the Sector. He, however, admonished them to be apo...
Ogun council poll: OGSIEC cancels nomination fees for chairmanship, councillorship candidates
Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) has cancelled the nomination fee deposit for Chairmanship and Councillorship candidates in the forthcoming local government elections in the state for all political parties. OGSIEC’s Chairman, Babatunde Osibodu, made this known while fielding questions from newsmen in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on Saturday. He explained that though, OGSIEC had in the guidelines released earlier, stipulated the payment of non-refundable deposit of N200,000 and N100,000 by intending candidates nominated and cleared to contest the chairmanship and councillorship elections in the LG poll, the fees have now been cancelled by the electoral body. “You will recall that we had earlier asked male Chairmanship and Councillorship candidates to make a non-refu...
‘Armed robbers’ involved in ghastly motor accident in Ogun
Three suspected armed robbers on Saturday were involved a ghastly motor accident at Ode-Remo, Ogun State, while escaping with a car they allegedly snatched at gunpoint. Abimbola Oyeyemi, the Ogun police spokesperson, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday. Oyeyemi said the suspects were escaping with a Toyota Camry car which they snatched at gunpoint in Ondo state. One of the suspects died while receiving treatment at the hospital, the police said. “The suspects were coming from Ondo state, heading towards Lagos, but on getting to a point at Ode-Remo, due to dangerous driving, the vehicle hit a culvert and somersaulted. “The three occupants, sustained varying degrees of injuries and they were rushed to hospital by the policemen from Ode Remo divisional headquarters,” Mr Oyeyemi said. T...
Private polytechnic owners set to clamp down on illegal operators
The National President of the Association of Private Polytechnic Founders/Rectors in Nigeria, Pastor Bassey James, has said that illegal school operators across the country would soon run out of business. He stated this in Uyo while briefing newsmen as part of the activities marking the maiden matriculation of Southern Atlantic Polytechnic, scheduled for Saturday, June 26, 2021. James mentioned that a total of 300 students would partake in the maiden matriculation ceremony of the Southern Atlantic Polytechnic, even as admissions were still ongoing in the institution. According to him, the association had written to both the national and state assemblies to inform them of the ugly incident even as he had met with some of the perpetrators of the illegal business and had given them a timeline...
