Situation
JAMB: CBT centres must carry names of their examination towns
File Photo Ahead of the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and direct entry registration exercise, all Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres across the nation have been mandated to feature the name of the examination town in which they are located as part of their identity for easy recognition and accessibility. The registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, made this known recently at a meeting with the Board’s Zonal Directors and State Coordinators. The move is to enable candidates to have a good grasp of centres within their chosen examination towns. The registrar had called on the state coordinators to ensure that examination towns are well delineated for easy location by candidates and avoid any situation where candidates wo...
Cape Town fire ‘contained’ as firefighters battle windy conditions
A blaze advanced along South Africa’s iconic Table Mountain toward central Cape Town on Monday after ravaging university buildings, while firefighters battled strong winds in their efforts to control it and officials evacuated residential areas. The fire broke out Sunday morning in the foothills of the mountain and spread to the University of Cape Town (UCT), destroying buildings and part of a library housing a unique collection of African archives, while causing students to flee. The blaze had been largely contained on Monday, but firefighters were still battling to control it. Cape Town mayor Dan Plato said efforts were currently focused on the mountain above the Vredehoek suburb, with residents being evacuated “as a precautionary measure”. “Strong winds are placing pressure on firefight...
Teen stabs man to death over phone in Adamawa
A teenager stabbed to death his 21-year-old friend said to have stolen his N55,000 mobile phone, police in Adamawa said. The 18-year-old Abdulkarrm was arrested after he stabbed Ayuba Hassan in Mubi. Abdulkarim told journalists that he and two other friends had gone home to bed after a failed attempt to steal jerrycans of petrol from a filling station in Mubi. He said he realised his mobile phone was missing when he woke up at night, and his two friends told him only Ayuba visited the house while he was asleep. When he confronted Ayuba the next day, argument ensued and soon the situation degenerated into a heated argument. Then the duo accompanied by two of their friends agreed to go to the riverside and fight. Abdulkarim further stated that on their way to the riverside, Ayuba threw a sto...
Group advocates palliative for terrorism, banditry victims
A group under the auspices of Initiative for Conciliation and Right Protection has advocated for palliative for victims of terrorism and banditry to cushion the effect of the ugly trend. This is contained in a statement jointly signed by Mable Bremah, Godwin Ekoja and Halima Bukar, Assistant Secretary, PRO and Deputy Organising Secretary respectively in Birnin Kebbi on Saturday. It observed that victims of terrorism, banditry and oppressed deserved better treatment to enable such victims resettle and gradually recover from their trauma. The statement urged Nigerians irrespective of ethnic, religious and political affiliation to collectively join hands toward ending the insecurity bedevilling the country to pave way for a better Nigeria. It observed that Nigerians were living in an unpreced...
N60 billion mint: PDP demands sack of finance minister
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has called for the sack of Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed, over what it described as an attempt to mislead Nigerians. The call follows her denial of the revelations by the Edo state Governor, Godwin Obaseki, that N60 billion was printed in March to support federal allocation to states.” Edo State governor Godwin Obaseki had earlier in the week, lamented the sorry state of the nation’s economy, stressing that the federal government had to order the printing of currency to the tune of N60 billion to share among the tiers of government, a claim dismissed by the Finance, Budget and National Planning Minister, Zainab Ahmed. In a statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan, national publicity secretary of the party, the PDP maintained that “the admission by Central B...
Ohanaeze: No ‘no man’s land’ in Igbo land
The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, has warned non-Igbo indigenes residing in the South-East to erase ‘no man’s land’ from their minds. President General Of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Prof George Obiozor, stated this during a press briefing at the headquarters of Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide in Enugu on Thursday. He also welcomed the formation of South-East security outfit, Ebubeagu, while assuring the governors of the zone of his support. Obiozor said, “Once more, I state that there is no No Man’s land in Igbo land. Land is a very sensitive issue in Igbo land because land has owners including some Igbo Deities. Those encroaching on land in Alaigbo are provoking our people and our Deities.” Obiozor’s comment was a veiled reference to the herdsmen crisis rocking the nat...
Coronavirus: Nigeria has vaccinated over 1 million people – NPHCDA
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has announced that Nigeria had so far vaccinated over a million eligible people out of its target of 70 percent of the nation’s population. The NPHCDA disclosed this on its official Twitter handle, on Thursday. Newsmen report that for the country to achieve herd immunity against COVID-19, it had set an ambitious goal of vaccinating 40 per cent of its over 200 million population before the end of 2021, and 70 per cent by the end of 2022. The country kicked off vaccination on March 5, 2021, commencing with healthcare workers who are mostly at risk to the infections, being the first responders. It noted that the vaccine roll-out would be in four phases, starting with health workers, frontline workers, COVID-19 rapid response team, l...
Minister: Nigerian government worried about rising unemployment rate
Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has said the federal government is worried over the rising unemployment rate in the country. Speaking at the 2nd Shakeholders’ Meeting on Expatriate Quota Administration organized by the Citizenship and Business Department of the Ministry of Interior, the Minister said: “Anyone that is not worried about the unemployment rate in the country is not a patriot.” He lamented that the unemployment rate of 33 per cent released by the National Bureau of Statistics was indeed worrisome and a wake up call that something urgently needed to be done to keep Nigerians employed and drastically reduce the unemployment rate. The Minister, who called on all stakeholders at the meeting to ensure quality inputs were brought to the table that will lead to the produ...
UEFA confirms Rome as Euro 2020 host city
Rome’s Stadio Olimpico has been “fully confirmed” as a venue for Euro 2020 matches after the Italian government guaranteed the presence of at least 25 per cent of fans, UEFA announced on Wednesday. Rome was one of four of the 12 host cities threatened with having its matches removed because it could not give assurances that spectators would be allowed into grounds given the ongoing Covid-19 situation. “The authorities have guaranteed at least 25 per cent of the stadium’s capacity will be filled,” European football’s governing body said. “As a result, UEFA considers Rome to be fully confirmed as a venue for the tournament.” Three other cities — Munich, Bilbao and Dublin — have until April 19 to provide UEFA with additional information on their plans for spectators. Rome is set to host the o...
Analysts: Printing currency could hurt economy
Analysts have expressed concerns over a recent claim that the federal government resorted to printing money to augment the monthly allocation to the three tiers of government, warning that it could heighten inflationary pressure with dire consequences for the country’s exchange rate and economy. The analysts, in separate interviews with newsmen, warned that a sustained policy of printing the currency, if not well managed, would hurt the economy. The concern came on the heels of recent revelation by Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, that due to the dwindling revenue in the face of declining oil revenue arising from the growing sources of alternative sustainable energy, the federal government had to print money to augment the amount available for sharing by the federal, state and lo...
Mino Raiola wants Erling Haaland to be 1st £1 millon-a-week player
Mino Raiola is determined to make Erling Haaland the first £1 million-a-week player. Haaland has grown into one of the deadliest strikers in world football, having scored a ridiculous 49 goals in 52 appearances for Borussia Dortmund. The Norwegian sensation is attracting interest from all of Europe’s elite but according to The Mirror, super-agent Raiola wants any transfer to be a “once in a lifetime deal”. Raiola, along with Haaland’s father Alf-Inge, recently travelled to spain for meetings with both Barcelona and Real Madrid. It’s said the two Spanish giants were shocked at the finances it would take to secure the former Red Bull Salzburg man, while Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool are all aware how costly and complex a potential deal will be. Still only 20 but w...
OPC berates ex-COAS for equating group with Boko Haram
The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) yesterday berated a former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, for comparing the group with the terrorist organisation, Boko Haram. In a statement, the group’s newly-elected President, Mr. Wasiu Afolabi, said the former army chief displayed a dangerous level of mischief, prejudice and narrow-mindedness by equating what it termed a pro-democracy group like the OPC with a world-acclaimed terrorist organisation. Afolabi maintained that the comments by Dambazzau were an attempt to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it, insisting that the move will not work. “We shall not succumb to this cheap attempt at blackmail and negative profiling. OPC is not, has never been and will never be a terrorist organisation. Nobody should link us or lik...