Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has urged local government chairmen in the state to upscale intelligence gathering in their respective council areas. A statement issued on Wednesday in Ibadan by Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Taiwo Adisa, quoted Makinde as stating this while closing a two-day retreat for local government chairmen, vice-chairmen and heads of local government administrations (HLAs), on Tuesday evening. Newsmen report that the retreat was held at Ilaji Hotel and Sports Complex, Akanran, Ibadan. The governor said that the local government chairmen needed step up their game on the issue of security and take responsibility for the security of their areas. Although he stated that security was the responsibility of everyone in the society, the governor, however, said tha...
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has observed that the dismissive statement by the Presidency that Nigerians should ‘wait on God’ for solutions to the insecurity in the country is a direct admission of failure by President Muhammadu Buhari. Making this assertion in a statement issued by Kola Ologbondiyan, National Publicity Secretary, in Abuja on Saturday, the party noted that the remark has “shown clearly that the Buhari administration is completely helpless and has come to its wits end in governance; a development, which validates the position of majority of Nigerians that President Buhari is grossly incompetent and should step aside.” The PDP maintained that the presidency’s statement further goes to confirm that the Buhari’s administration has “outlived its usefulness, if it had any,...
France will ensure free COVID-19 vaccinations for all who are in its social security system and has earmarked 1.5 billion euros of next year’s social security budget to cover the cost, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday. Castex said the vaccination campaign would begin in a matter of weeks, pending regulatory approval by the European Medicines Agency. The inoculation programme would be staggered over three categories of people, he said, commencing with the most vulnerable in nursing homes. “The vaccination will be free for all,” Castex told a press conference. France has ordered some 200 million doses from different pharmaceutical companies developing vaccines, Castex said, enough to inoculate 100 million people – more than France’s population. The COVID-19 vaccination will be vol...