Yesterday
APC boycotts Delta local council elections
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State said it pulled out of the Saturday local council elections in the state. The APC spokesperson in the state, Sylvester Imonina, said this in a statement in Asaba on Saturday. Imonina said the party boycotted the election because the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC) and others “cheated the Delta people again.” “I told the people of Delta some days ago that there were evil machinations to deprive them of their right to choose who to lead them at the local government level. “Yesterday, March, 5, 2021 at DSIEC headquarters in Asaba, Delta APC representatives were not allowed to take statistics of the materials that it intended transporting to the different LGAs in the state. “This is despite the insistence of the party’s rep...
NPHCDA: States yet to meet conditions won’t get coronavirus vaccines
National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, said, yesterday, that states yet to meet the criteria for COVID-19 vaccines would not get a share of the 3.92 million AstraZeneca vaccines received by the country on Tuesday. Executive Director of the agency, Dr Faisal Shuaib, who disclosed this at a State House briefing in Abuja, also said President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo would be vaccinated publicly tomorrow, while members of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, would have theirs on Monday. He said: “After we are able to get our strategic leaders to publicly demonstrate that these vaccines are safe, the plan is to now go to the state level to start the launch at the treatment centres of the states and also get strategic leaders, such as governors, to publi...
OAU assures students will be mobilised for NYSC 2021 Batch A
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, has assured its students that they will be mobilised for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) 2021 Batch A. Mr Abiodun Olarewaju, the Public Relations Officer, gave the assurance in an interview with the newsmen on Thursday in Ile-Ife. He debunked rumours that only OAU had not submitted the names of its students for Batch A Corps members. According to him, no Federal University has submitted the names of their prospective students for NYSC scheme till date. “What we did was to travel to Abuja to effect some corrections and to bring back the corrected document for possible uploading for today or latest tomorrow. “Actually, there’s tendency that as I am speaking with you that their names must have been uploaded to NYSC portal today. “I am assurin...
Yoruba group: Ban on Zamfara mining activities a double-edged sword
The Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum yesterday raised the alarm that the ban on mining activities in Zamfara State by the national security council and the declaration of the state a no-fly zone area order are double-edged sword for peace. In a statement issued by the President of the group, Mr. Akin Malaolu, the group recalled that between 2006 and 2007 the then governor Sani Yerima displaced a large population of Fulanis from many mining sites and replaced them with Hausa youths to take charge. The statement noted that the displacement at that time caused both discomfort and death on the Fulani youths who then took to banditry. “If the government is placing ban, we hope they won’t cause new displacement that could re-enact same security challenges we are yet to surmount. “Our candid advice i...
Nigerian telecoms’ workers issue 14-day ultimatum to Huawei
The Private Telecommunications and Communications Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PTECSSAN) has issued a 14-day ultimatum to Huawei Technologies Nigeria Limited to halt what it described as disregard and denial of workers’ fundamental rights to freedom of association as enshrined in Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution. Speaking to journalists in Lagos, yesterday, the General Secretary of PTECSSAN, Okonu Abdullahi, said all efforts in the past to address all the labour-related issues confronting the workers in the company have been rebuffed by its management. According to him, “All our efforts in the past to address all the labour-related issues confronting the workers in the company have been rebuffed by its management. Ultimate of which is gross disregard and denial of workers th...
OPC nabs four ‘kidnappers’ in Ibarapa
The Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, in Oyo State said yesterday that it arrested four suspected Kidnappers in the Ibarapa, area of the state. The group, under the supervision of its state coordinator, Mr Rotimi Olumo, said it made huge progress with the arrest of the second in command to the dreaded kidnapper, Wakilu, Isiaka Muhammadu was also arrested. The arrest was made around 1 pm on Friday, while the OPC was on a search mission for the dreaded Wakilu that had been terrorising the entire area. Muhammadu, who was arrested around 5 pm, had given vital information that might lead to the arrest of the kingpin. Olumo stated that suspected kidnappers had been a thorn in the flesh of the residents of the community. According to him, the four suspects have been handed over to the police and they ...
Bauchi deputy speaker asks Benue governor to apologise to Bauchi people
Following the statement by the Governor of Benue State, Mr. Samuel Ortom describing his counterpart in Bauchi State, Senator Bala Mohammed as a terrorist, the Deputy Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly (BAHA), Hon. Danlami Ahmed Kawule, who is also representing Zungur/Galambi Constituency has urged Ortom to apologise to the people of Bauchi State for making the alleged derogatory statement. The Deputy Speaker who stated this yesterday during an interview with journalists in Bauchi, said that the citizens of the state as well as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state are not happy over the strain in relationship between the two PDP governors who are supposed to be working towards the unity of the nation. He maintained that leaders in the country should refrain from making...
Abia government reacts to attack on police station, places N1 million bounty on information leading to recovery of arms
Abia State Government has reacted to yesterday’s attack on Abayi police station in which two policemen were killed and arms carted away by gunmen. The state government is also placing a N1m bounty on anybody who will give infornation to the recovery of arms looted by the hoodlums. To further checkmate criminal activities in the state, Government imposes a ban on Keke/Okada operations between 7pm and 7am in all major cities of the state starting from yesterday. A statement by the commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi-Kalu said her attention was “drawn to a mindless and cowardly attack on a police station in Aba by yet to be identified armed hoodlums in the early hours of today (Tuesday), leading to loss of precious lives and carting away of arms and ammunition. “We wish to assure m...
Minister: When Nigeria receives coronavirus vaccines doesn’t lie in our hands
Since the beginning of January 2021, Nigeria has been expecting the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, but nothing has happened to date. The World Health Organisation, WHO and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, CEPI, came up with the COVAX initiative to ensure that low and middle-income countries have access to vaccines. But COVAX has not given a precise date for when it will begin distributing the vaccines. Nigeria has put all its hopes on the COVAX Facility. The federal government is also expecting some vaccines from the Africa Union arrangement, expected to deploy from March. This development has attracted criticisms about the government’s readiness and commitment towards ensuring the timely vaccination of Nigerians against the dreaded pande...
Minister: When Nigeria receives coronavirus vaccines doesn’t lie in our hands
Since the beginning of January 2021, Nigeria has been expecting the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, but nothing has happened to date. The World Health Organisation, WHO and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, CEPI, came up with the COVAX initiative to ensure that low and middle-income countries have access to vaccines. But COVAX has not given a precise date for when it will begin distributing the vaccines. Nigeria has put all its hopes on the COVAX Facility. The federal government is also expecting some vaccines from the Africa Union arrangement, expected to deploy from March. This development has attracted criticisms about the government’s readiness and commitment towards ensuring the timely vaccination of Nigerians against the dreaded pande...
Gombe governor suspends Mai Tangale selection process
Gombe State governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has suspended all proceedings leading to the selection of a new traditional ruler of Tangale Chiefdom until peace is fully restored to the troubled area which has seen days of violent protests. This follows confirmation by the state’s commissioner of Police, Maikudi Shehu confirmed that three persons have been killed during the crises. The police commissioner who spoke when the governor led some members of the government on assessment tour of the destruction of lives and property in Billiri local council area said: “So far we have arrested 10 suspects and we are still counting. About three people died during the cause of incident.” Meanwhile, governor Inuwa Yahaya during statewide broadcast yesterday shortly after returning from Billiri that th...
Legendary highlife singer singer Chris Ajilo passes on
Legendary highlife singer, Pa Chris Ajilo, who composed and sang what has become the Lagos anthem, “Eko O Gba Gbere,” has died at the age of 92. David Ekanem, the singer’s caregiver, said Pa Ajilo had been battling malaria since last week. He died in a hospital this morning at 10:30 am Ekanem said, “What happened is that he had malaria last week, so, we gave him malaria medication. The malaria persisted, and as there was no improvement after three days, we rushed him to a hospital at Ilesha, but there was no bed space. “I took him to two hospitals at Ile-Ife as well, but there were no bed spaces there; so, I had to take him back home. A doctor was attending to him at home. Yesterday, I noticed that there was no improvement, so, I had to rush him to another hospital at Ilesha. I was there w...
