TIME
House speaker: Local council autonomy not for National Assembly to address
Speaker of House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said that the issue of local government autonomy is not for the National Assembly to address. Gbajabiamila said this during a two-day leadership capacity training, organised by the Minority Leader of the House, Mr Ndudi Elumelu, for ward councillors from Delta, on Monday in Abuja. He said that since the process of constitutional amendment was ongoing and the areas of possible amendments thrown open, it was for Nigerians to decide whether to have local government autonomy or not. “We did it the last time but when we went back to the states, we could not get the required two-thirds. So it is a process and we have followed the process. “While we were working on constitutional amendment, two-thirds of the states did not agree with us....
How love affair gone bad led to imprisonment of Prophet Israel Oladele
When the Lagos State Court of Appeal granted the Senior Shepherd-in-Charge of the Celestial Church of Christ, Genesis Global, Prophet Israel Oladele Ogundipe, a post-conviction bail last week, on grounds of failing health, quite a number of people, particularly members of his congregation, were very happy with the news. This is because the televangelist’s previous bail applications were all turned down. Oladele was arraigned on seven counts bordering on obtaining by stealing, inducing delivery of money by false pretences, unlawful conversion of property and forgery, fraudulently collected N14m and £12,000 in various tranches from the complainant between August 30, 2002 and 2005. He was found guilty on two counts of stealing and unlawful conversion of property not delivered. And on November...
Joe Aribo scores in Rangers’ home win vs Hibernian
Joe Aribo was on target as Rangers beat Hibernian 2-1 to maintain their 100 percent Scottish Premiership home record. Aribo put Steven Gerrard’s side ahead in the 19th minute after he was set up by Kemar Roofe. The 24-year-old has now scored eight goals in 28 league appearances for the Gers this season. The Nigeria international was replaced by Scott Arfield 18 minutes from time. Ryan Kent scored Rangers’ second in the 62nd minute. Kevin Nisbet reduced the deficit for Hibernian 12 minutes from time. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos,...
Prince Charles pays tribute to ‘my dear papa’ Philip for devoted service
Britain’s Prince Charles paid a personal tribute on Saturday to his “dear papa” Prince Philip, saying the royal family missed him emormously and that the 99-year-old would have been amazed at the touching reaction across the world to his death. Philip, the husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth who had been at her side throughout her record-breaking 69-year reign, died at Windsor Castle on Friday. “As you can imagine, my family and I miss my father enormously,” Charles, the couple’s eldest son and heir to the throne, said outside his Highgrove House home in west England. “My dear papa was a very special person who I think above all else would have been amazed by the reaction and the touching things that have been said about him and from that point of view we are, my family, deeply grateful f...
Pep Guardiola: Why I respect Marcelo Bielsa’s coaching ideas
Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola, has said the best way to judge Marcelo Bielsa is how he makes players and teams better. City meet Bielsa’s Leeds this weekend. “His teams are always better than before his arrival. You see his influence. he doesn’t need much time to realise his own team, it belongs absolutely to him and for world football it is a joy,” Guardiola said. “A guy who respects the opponent, who plays for the fans, who just wants to play for a victory home or away and convinces the players to follow him. I recognise the best because people say he doesn’t win titles but give him Manchester City and he will win titles. “It depends on the players you have but the players he has are always better players. That is the best proof of when a manager is good.” Get more stories like thi...
NNPC to partner Borno government to establish gas power plant
The Group Managing Director, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Alhaji Mele Kyari has said that the corporation will partner with Borno State Government to establish a Gas Power Plant following the vandalization of the national grid by insurgents which put the state almost three months into total blackout. Kyari who led a powerful delegation on a courtesy call on Governor Babagana Umara Zulum on Friday said, the Federal Government will not fold its arms and neglect the state which is been ravaged by insurgents, especially cut off from the national grid, as power is a source of income to the teaming people of the state. “We are here with my colleagues, the Head of Gas and Power Business, Engineer Yusuf Usman, Representatives of Greensville Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), which is a...
Nigerian government receives stolen Ile-Ife artefact from Mexico
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Geoffrey Onyeama, on Thursday in Abuja received a stolen Ile-Ife artefact recovered from Mexico. Receiving the artefact, he called for a more secured border to prevent future occurrence of theft. Onyeama collected the artefact from Dr Yakubu Dadu, Charge d’Affaires of the Nigerian Mission in Mexico. The minister hailed the Embassy’s efforts in recovering the artefact. He said that the interventions of Nigerian Envoys in recovering stolen possessions of the country shows the important works they were doing as against negative reports of Nigerian missions on social media. Onyeama also appreciated the government of Mexico for its cooperation in ensuring that the artefact was duly returned to Nigeria. He however stressed the need for sensitising Customs o...
Missing Nigerian student found dead in UK pond
A Nigerian student at Oxford Brookes University, Richard Okorogheye, has been found dead after two weeks of searching. According to his mum, Evidence Joel, the 19-year-old left home on March 22 and was reported missing two days after. Mrs Joel had repeatedly pleaded for information on her son’s whereabouts. “All he said to me was ‘mummy, I’m going to see my friend’. I trusted him, I had no doubt or no reason to ask him further questions. “It’s my baby, it’s my treasure. He’s my oxygen, he’s my crown. He’s everything to me, he’s the reason I live, the reason I exist. Right now I’m empty, there is nothing to look forward to. He’s taken my breath away from me,” she told Sky News. But on Wednesday, the Metropolitan police, in a statement, confirmed that a corpse found in a pond Monday has been...
House leaders demand full autonomy for local councils
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Wase; and Minority Leader of the House, Ndudi Elumelu, have called for full autonomy for local governments in Nigeria, stating that it is the only way dividends of democracy can get to the people at the grass roots. Wase and Elumelu made the call in Abuja on Thursday, at a leadership training sponsored by the Minority Leader for chairmen and councillors of Local Government Areas in Delta State. The Deputy Speaker, while answering questions from journalists, recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had signed an Executive Order to declare financial autonomy for LGs. Buhari had signed Executive Order 10 in May 2020. Wase said, “As for me, first as a member of parliament representing my constituency and my people, I think I am on the s...
Senator Mark urges Nigerians to bury religious, ethnic differences
News Agency of Nigeria A former President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, has charged Nigerians to bury their religious and ethnic differences and come together to establish a common front against forces threatening the peaceful coexistence of the people. Mark said it was time for all men and women of good conscience to rise to the occasion and proffer lasting solutions to the lingering insecurity that has enveloped the entire country. The former Senate President stated this at a mass on Thursday to mark his 73rd birthday at St. Mulumba Catholic Chaplaincy, Apo, Abuja. According to him, Nigerians can no longer deny the current level of insecurity and disharmony rocking the nation. He said: “Though we have different reasons to celebrate at different times, we cannot shy away from the pre...
IMF, World Bank advocate flexible fiscal support, debt relief
Against the backdrop of a pandemic impacted global and national economies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank have urged fiscal authorities to execute flexible and supportive fiscal policies to support economic recovery and cushion the long-term impact of the pandemic. In a paper that was titled: ‘Tailoring Government Support’, IMF staff said until the pandemic is brought under control, fiscal policy will have to remain flexible and supportive. It advised governments to prioritize certain policy measures that include targeted support to vulnerable households, investment in health system and more focused support to viable firms, warning that if the pandemic persists, widespread corporate insolvencies could result, destroying millions of jobs, particularly in contact-intens...
CAN seeks support for new acting police chief
File Photo The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Kaduna State Chapter, has called for support of Nigerians for the newly appointed Acting Inspector-General of Police (I-G), Mr Usman Baba. The Chairman of CAN, Rev. Joseph Hayab, who made the appeal in a statement on Wednesday in Kaduna, also commended the appointment. Newsmen report that President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday approved the appointment of Baba as the new Acting 1-G of police. “l call on Nigerians to cooperate with the new I-G so that, together, we could attain the peace we once enjoyed in the land,” he said. Hayab said the task ahead of the new I-G calls for support of Nigerians, irrespective of any differences to enable him tackle the security challenges in the country. The chairman said that the association can testify...
