In his bid to take the dividends of democracy to the doorsteps of the people at the grassroots, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has given an account of his administration’s developmental projects in the Oyo zone in the last one year. The governor, who spoke through his Special Assistant (Community Relations), Hon. Olufemi Josiah, at a Town Hall meeting held in Atiba Local Government, Oyo, said the present administration in the state will continue to give account of its stewardship to the people at the grassroots. He said: “Government, to us, is about efficient allocation of scarce resources. The resources we are talking about belong to the people. So. we must always engage them in whatever the present administration intends to do for the grassroots.” While speaking on the purpose of the To...
The Police Command in Katsina State has killed 15 bandits and arrested 50 suspected kidnappers, bandits and cattle rustlers terrorising the people of the state. Mr Sanusi Buba, the Commissioner of Police in the state, disclosed this during a press briefing on Thursday in Katsina. Buba said that the suspects were arrested in variou ambush operations carried out by the command in different locations. He said that the police recovered nine AK 47 rifles, 20 dane guns, 20 motorcycles and two vehicles from the suspects. The police commissioner said that the command was also able to recover 220 rustled cows and N680,000 from the suspects. “The command in its encounter with bandits, successfully eliminated 15 bandits and rescued 20 kidnapped victims,” the commissioner said. He also said that based...
Gov. Dapo Abiodun of Ogun has approved the immediate payment of Special Productivity Bonus for all categories of health workers in the state public service. Mr Kunle Somorin, Chief Press Secretary to the governor, said this in a statement on Friday, in Abeokuta. Somorin said the bonus, which was a one-time payment was applicable to all health workers in the state who were on active service as at the end of August. According to him, it is in recognition of the understanding, maturity, and dedication with which they continued to discharge their duties and responsibilities. “The bonus will be calculated as 10 per cent of the respective monthly gross pay of the beneficiaries. “We are proud that the vast majority of our health workers place service to the citizens over and above any other consi...
Executive Director, African Network for the Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, Rev David Ugolor, has said the controversial Water Resources Bill had nothing to do with tribe or religion. He alleged that the bill was the brainchild of the Nigerian elites that live on rent from crude oil money, but are now looking for an alternative cash cow since oil money was declining. According to Ugolor, “it will be wrong for people to continue to give tribal and religious colouration to every attempt by the Nigerian elite to continue to look for ways to sustain their access to rent collection. “Once you introduce tribal or religious or regional sentiments, you undermine the whole debate. What has happened with the water bill thing is not about the North or South or East or West. “It is about elit...
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has handed over some finished blocks of duplexes to accommodate Judges in the state. Governor Wike also announced that N150 million has also been handed to Judges who opted for cash payments to build their own houses. The Governor made the announcement during the commissioning of the judges’ apartment in GRA, Port Harcourt. He said the building is in fulfilment of the promise made by his administration in 2015, in a move that is necessary to improve on the living conditions of the judges who contribute to the dispensation of justice in the country. “The Rivers State government now bears full responsibility to provide befitting accommodation for all Judicial officers of Rivers state origin beyond your service years for life. “Judges have a choice to receive...
United Talent Agency CEO Jeremy Zimmer told staff Wednesday of impending increases in pay for hourly employees. In a memo to staff on Wednesday, United Talent Agency CEO Jeremy Zimmer delivered both “positive” and “difficult” news, writing that the agency would be reinstating full pay to its employees in the next two weeks, but would also be laying off 50 staffers. UTA is the first of the major agencies that cut salaries at the beginning of the pandemic to offer to reinstate full pay. The layoffs will affect both current and some furloughed employees across several divisions, at both the assistant and agent level. (The agency will cover the COBRA health insurance payments of that laid off for an indeterminate period of time.) In May, UTA, which employs more than 1,1...
The Endless Summer series isn’t quite over: Gary Clark Jr., Tones and I, Oli Benz and Blackillac will take the stage this weekend. This weekend, The Surf Lodge will close out its summer programming schedule with a two-night concert event. In partnership with Bumble and The Governors Ball, the virtual celebration will feature Australian breakthrough artist Tones and I on Saturday evening with opener Oli Benz at 7:30 p.m. EST. On Sunday night, Gary Clark Jr. will close out the weekend with opener Blackillac, also at 7:30 p.m. EST. One of Clark’s previous performances at The Surf Lodge has been viewed 5.6 million times on YouTube. The events serve as fundraisers for Bryan Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative, an organization that works to end mass incarceration, excessive punishme...
Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has called for a parliamentary system of government as a more cost-effective democratic alternative for Nigeria. While inaugurating the State Constitution Review Committee in Markudi, Ortom said, the parliamentary system provides opportunities for power-sharing such that smaller parties also participate in governance, stressing that it is more accountable and considerably less complex. According to the Governor, the current system of federalism where the Federal Government has constitutional powers in nearly 100 per cent performance while states and local governments only function 30 per cent or less is a distortion of the spirit and practice of federalism. He said that Nigeria needed a constitution that sets out a system in which the various tiers could s...