Statements
BUA increases price of cement
BUA Cement Plc has increased the ex-factory price of its cement product by N200 per bag. The cement manufacturer, it was reliably gathered, unveiled its new price increase from N2,800 to N3,000 per bag over the weekend. The price increase by BUA is contrary to what he has repeatedly asserted that his company does not have any justification to increase the price of cement as it is currently making enough returns. It would be recalled that BUA Cement, in various statements issued between April 24 and June 18 this year, had refuted any claims of increase in the ex-factory price of its cement products by N300 per bag, stating that, “the company had no plans to increase prices of its cement now or in the near future.” According to a statement issued on April 24, 2021, the company stated that, “...
Chris Alao-Akala, Sunday Dare applaud Senator Ajimobi’s legacies
Former Gov. Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo State and Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Akin Dare, have applauded the late former Governor of the state, Sen. Abiola Ajimobi’s legacies. The duo, in their separate statements made available to newsmen on Friday, described the late former governor as a focused and committed statesman. Newsmen report that Ajimobi died on June 25, 2020, following reported complications arising from COVID-19 infection. Ajimobi, who died at the age of 70, was the first civilian governor to rule the state for two consecutive terms. NAN also reports that the late Ajimobi was, until his death, the Aare of Ibadanland and Deputy National Chairman (South) of APC. Alao-Akala, in a statement signed by his Media Aide, Tolu Mustapha, said that he now...
House speaker: APC must be committed to its manifesto to succeed
The speaker of the house of representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, says the All Progressives Congress (APC) must be committed to its manifesto for it to succeed in governance. Gbajabiamila said members of the party must also not forget that they will answer for “what we have done with our time in government”. A statement from Lanre Lasisi, the speaker’s spokesman, quoted him as saying this at the progressives youth conference organised by the APC in Abuja on Monday. He described manifestoes as “statements of vision and vision is the foundation of all achievements.” “For a nation such as ours to succeed, we must first define a common vision that will inspire us, bring us together, and provide the focus that allows us to persevere through the inevitable difficult times,” the speaker said. “As i...
PANDEF: President Buhari lacks power to impose open grazing on states
The Pan-Niger Delta Forum has again warned the Federal Government and groups such as the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, against conduct and utterances capable of making the already bad security situation in Nigeria worse than it is. Elder statesman and leader of PANDEF, Chief Edwin Clark, gave the warning at a media briefing in Abuja, on Monday. He said President Muhammadu Buhari lacked the power to impose open grazing on state governments. He said the people of the Niger Delta have watched with restrained patience the reckless and irresponsible utterances of a group of jihadists who have over the years threatened other Nigerians over grazing routes and rights. Clark noted that the latest being the threat issued by a group of faceless anarchists who issued a warning to the Delt...
PANDEF: President Buhari lacks power to impose open grazing on states
The Pan-Niger Delta Forum has again warned the Federal Government and groups such as the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, against conduct and utterances capable of making the already bad security situation in Nigeria worse than it is. Elder statesman and leader of PANDEF, Chief Edwin Clark, gave the warning at a media briefing in Abuja, on Monday. He said President Muhammadu Buhari lacked the power to impose open grazing on state governments. He said the people of the Niger Delta have watched with restrained patience the reckless and irresponsible utterances of a group of jihadists who have over the years threatened other Nigerians over grazing routes and rights. Clark noted that the latest being the threat issued by a group of faceless anarchists who issued a warning to the Delt...
Senator calls for removal of AGF over remarks on herdsmen
Senator representing Osun Central Senatorial District, Dr. Ajibola Basiru, has called for the immediate removal from office of the Attorney General of the Federation, Alhaji Abubakar Malami, SAN, over his argument, equating open grazing with Southerners’ selling spare parts in the North. Dr. Basiru, who spoke in his personal capacity as a patriot and Senator said that, “anyone who cannot rise above primordial sentiments and pursuit of parochial ethnic agenda need not occupy position of trust especially at this time of sectional agitations. It was not dignifying of the status of the nation’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice to make such remarks. The Senator said that equating the activities of nomadic herdsmen, destroying people’s means of livelihood with others, legitimately carryi...
Sheikh Gumi: Nigerians’ll regret it if Isa Pantami is removed
Renowned Islamic Scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, says Nigerians will regret it if embattled Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, is removed from office. Gumi, who recently met with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and recommended special courts to try bandits and kidnappers, also said the country needed more people like Pantami in government. The controversial cleric spoke on Monday in an interview with Roots TV monitored by newsmen. He said, “All his (Pantami’s) actions, one hundred percent, shows he is not a terrorist. Those who are terrorists are after his life. The minister should continue. His presence there is fighting the terrorist ideology. “Show me one person he has killed. He has not killed anybody. He has not ordered the killing of anybody. The man is stabi...
LASIEC unveils guidelines for forthcoming council election
The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) has unveiled guidelines for the forthcoming local government election scheduled for July 24. LASIEC Chairman, Retired Justice Ayotunde Philips, in the guidelines issued on Saturday, said the commission had fixed N150, 000, N100, 000 and N75, 000 as nomination forms fees for the chairmanship, vice-chairmanship and councillorship candidates, respectively. “Political parties are required to obtain the following LASIEC Forms: LASIEC 001, LASIEC 002, and LASIEC 008 for their candidates as from May 4. This ends at 12 noon, May 5 at the commission’s headquarters, Sabo-Yaba, Lagos. “LASIEC form 001 must be completed and returned to the commission by the political parties not later than June 4,” Philips said. She said that each candidate was...
US: Chad rebels heading towards capital from north
The United States said rebel fighters in Chad appeared to be moving towards the capital N’Djamena and ordered non-essential staff to leave, warning of possible violence. A spokesman for the rebel Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) said its fighters had “liberated” the province of Kanem, some 220 km (136 miles) from the capital N’Djamena, but the government denied this. “The authors of these false statements are not even on the ground, but somewhere in Europe,” the government said in a message posted to Facebook. A day earlier the British government urged its citizens to leave Chad because of information that two rebel convoys on the move, one near the town of Faya, some 770 km (478 miles) northeast of N’Djamena, and another by the town of Mao, the provincial capital of Kanem. On S...
Nigerian faces 10 years in jail for obtaining U.S. citizenship using fake identity
The United States authorities have charged 48-year old Modestus Nwagubwu Ifemembi to court over fraudulent claims he provided to obtain the US citizenship 10 years back. Ifemembi, who secured his US citizenship in 2001, has worked as a Federal providers’ officer with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for seven years. According to a report by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Ifemembi, originally of Nigeria, was arrested in Maryland on Wednesday, April 7, 2020, on a federal charge that he obtained U.S. citizenship under a false name. It added that he made false statements to acquire U.S. citizenship, in addition to employment with USCIS. The report disclosed that Ifemembi was charged under the false name of Karl Nwabugwu Odike Ifemembi. His arrest followed investigatio...
Senate summons insurance firms over failure to remit N17.4 billion pension fund
The Senate Public Accounts Committee, on Monday, summoned NICON Insurance Plc, AIICO Insurance and other insurance companies over alleged failure to remit N17.4 billion fund to Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD). The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Dr Chioma Ejikeme, had told the panel that PTAD took over the assets and liabilities of defunct pension offices without a formal handing over. She said, “On taking over, the Directorate wrote all underwriters to make returns and remit whatever amount is in their custody into a CBN dedicated account. Some of the underwriters responded to the request while some did not. “The bank certificate of balances, accounting statements, 3 years financial statements and policy files requested by the Federal Auditor were not handed over to PTAD ...
South East leaders decry injustice against Igbo
Pool Photo A leading Igbo social-political group, Nzuko Umuna, says that Nigeria, particularly the South East, is witnessing insecurity because of injustice, inequalities and lack of governance. Addressing reporters in Abuja on Monday, Sam Amadi, chairman of the legal committee of the think tank, said the unfair and unequal treatment of citizens have compounded the insecurity crisis. Amadi said the South East used to be the ‘safest region in Nigeria, but has become a site of organised criminality.’ ‘Nzuko Umuna recognises that Nigeria has descended into a depth of insecurity partly because of the failure of governance across the country and particularly because of inequities and injustices of political leadership in Nigeria,’ the former chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commi...