Abuja
NDLEA seizes 200kg of hard drugs at Lagos, Abuja, Kano airports
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) simultaneously seized 200 kilograms of illicit substances at the Lagos, Kano and Abuja airports last week. Its Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, made this known in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja. He stated that a 41-year-old Adewuyi Olayinka was arrested while trying to export 650 grams of cocaine to the United Kingdom. The drugs were wrapped in two parcels arranged to be taken through the Skyway Aviation Handling Company export shed at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. “The drugs were concealed in dry pepper and in herbal concoction. “In the same vein, 107kg of hard drug suspected to be Khat was seized at the cargo shed of the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, while being exported to Canada. “The ...
Justice Onnoghen: How ex-President Obasanjo saved me from conspiracy by some judges
File Photo Former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, has rated ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo as a better listener than President Muhammadu Buhari. Speaking in Abuja at the book launch of Ogwu Onoja, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the former CJN said Obasanjo did not act based on falsehood. Buhari had in 2019 removed Onnoghen — weeks to the presidential election — over alleged failure to declare his assets and operating foreign accounts. He was thereafter convicted by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) and barred from holding public office for 10 years. At the event, Onnoghen said he was removed from office without being given the chance to defend himself, adding that he was never confronted with the allegations against him. Onnoghen recounted how a similar incid...
NCAC boss: Promoting Nigerian food culture is collective responsibility
The Director General of National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Segun Runsewe, has said the promotion of Nigerian food culture was a collective responsibility as it encourages healthy living, create employment opportunities for our teeming unemployed youths and open up business opportunities at the micro and macro levels. Runsewe, who disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja, said the media parley was intended to draw attention of Nigerians to the need to patronise made-in-Nigeria food, promote the Nigerian food culture and discourage the consumption of foreign foods most of which he said were preserved with chemicals that had long time negative effects on our human body. He added that all nations of the world were devising various strategies of mitigating the effects of ...
Official: TCN completes new transmission tower in Lagos
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) says it has completed the construction of a new transmission tower in Ajah, Lagos state. The TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs Ndidi Mbah, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Thursday. Mbah said that TCN has also strung the old and a new 330 kilovolts Egbin – Ajah transmission lines, adding that both lines have been energised. She said that the new line increased the transmission lines capacity on that line route by 600 Megawatts (MW) bringing it to a total of 1,200MW. “The old line was re-energised on March 13 while the new line was energised on March 15. “Prior to resuscitation of the second Egbin-Ajah Transmission Line, the Aja 330/132/33kV Substation operated through a single circuit 330kV transmission line. “Within the period, t...
IOM sensitizes 25,500 Nigerian migrants on irregular migration, trafficking
United Nations migration agency, the International Organization on Migration, IOM, said it has deployed Community Dialogue and Theatre in its quest to curb irregular migration, trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants in Nigeria. The UN agency said it has through the process reached out to 25, 545 migrants on the dangers of irregular migration and the need for safe and orderly migration. IOM’s Chief of Mission, Mr Franz Celestin stated this yesterday in Abuja at the launch of a Community Dialogue and Community Theatre Manual on irregular migration, trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants. Celestin who was represented by Cyprine Cheptepkeny, the Awareness Raising Officer of IOM Nigeria said the occasion marked a key milestone in contributing to the Federal Government effort...
WTO chief warns against Nigeria’s continued reliance on oil & gas
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of World Trade Organisation (WTO), has warned of Nigeria’s continued reliance on crude oil and gas as the major source of revenue to the government. Okonjo-Iweala sounded the warning on Wednesday in Abuja at a meeting with Women Entrepreneurs in Nigeria held at the headquarters of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC). She urged the government to transit from oil and gas based economy to other non-oil sectors. She pointed out that unless Nigeria diversifies her economy, it would be left behind by other countries. She said, “I have kept on harping that Nigeria should transit from oil and gas based economy to producing in other non-oil sector. “This is because of the climate change. Fossil fuels which are oil and gas, that Nigeria depends on, ...
2023: PDP panel throws presidential tickets open
File Photo Amidst thinking from many stakeholders that North-East and South-East geo-political zones that have had the shortest stints at the Presidency, should be given special consideration, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) panel has thrown open the 2023 presidential ticket. The governor of Bauchi state and Chairman, PDP 2019 election review committee, Bala Mohammed, gave this recommendation on Wednesday while submitting the report of the committee to the party leadership. The Governor said: “In line with certain unwritten conventions of the nation’s history, many people think that, for fairness and equity, the North East and South East geo-political zones that have had the shortest stints at the Presidency, should be given special consideration, in choosing the presidential flagbearer...
Court dismisses appeal filed by Imo government on seizure of Senator Okorocha’s properties
Rochas Foundation A three-man panel of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, Wednesday, dismissed the appeal filed by the Attorney General of Imo State and forty others challenging the ruling of an Owerri Federal High Court, which granted Senator Rochas Okorocha the leave to amend processes filed before the Court. Presiding Judge in the Suit with Suit No:CA/ABJ/CV/942/2020, Justice Dattijo Yahaya, dismissed the appeal, following a notice of discontinuance dated and filed on March 16 by the Attorney General of Imo State, Cyprain Akaolisa, on behalf of the appellants. Counsel to Senator Rochas Okorocha, Oba Maduabuchi, opposed the withdrawal of the appeal on the ground that the appellants want to deceive the Court by pretending to discontinue the appeal and go back to Imo State and complete what the...
WTO chief: ‘Safe Schools Initiative’ to stop abduction of students
The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Wednesday expressed hope that the ‘Safe Schools Initiative’ will help stop the incessant abduction of students across Nigeria. Nigerian women on Wednesday came out en masse to welcome Okonjo-Iweala in her first homecoming since she became the director-general of WTO, during a visit to the Ministry of Women Affairs in Abuja. Addressing the crowd which included Senators and members of the National Assembly, former Ministers, wives of former governors, women in the Armed Forces, women societies, female political aspirants, Civil Society Organisations, as well as students, Okonjo-Iweala expressed deep concern about the incessant abduction of girls and boys in schools. The WTO boss who noted that it is shamef...
UN: Around $1 billion needed for Nigeria humanitarian crisis
The United Nations estimated Tuesday that around $1 billion were needed to respond to the humanitarian crisis in northeast, where 5.1 million people are at risk of acute hunger. Despite ongoing military operations to end a decade-long jihadist insurgency, the conflict continues to kill and force people from their homes. “As many as 5.1 million people are threatened by acute hunger during the upcoming lean season – the worst outlook in four years,” the UN’s office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said in a statement. Nigeria’s humanitarian community, in partnership with the government, launched its Humanitarian Response Plan for 2021, requesting $1.0 billion to provide humanitarian assistance, up from $839 million last year. In 2020, funding was severely affected by the Covid-19...
Official: NASRDA to launch another satellite in June
IBTimes The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) says it is putting modalities in place to launch a Cubesat ‘Edusat-2’ within the first half of the year. The Acting Director-General of NASRDA, Dr Francis Chizea, said this at the ongoing Science and Technology Expo on Tuesday in Abuja, where the agency showcased its research works and achievements. The science expo is with the theme “Science, Technology and Innovation for Economic Recovery and Sustainability Amidst the COVID-19 Challenges” and is a platform to showcase innovation within agencies of government, private research institutions, the academia, among other participants. Chizea explained that EduSat-2 was a build-up on EduSat-1 which the agency built in collaboration with Federal University of Technology, Akure a...
FCTA assures of equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has assured of fair and equitable distribution of its 227,480 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines, stressing that every strata of the society will be adequately captured in the vaccination roll out. FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, who gave the assurance on Monday at the official flagged off of the vaccination at the Asokoro District Hospital Abuja, harped on the safety of the vaccine. The minister noted that the launching was the single largest vaccination programme ever in the FCT, to herald decisive victory over the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that Abuja being the seat of the Federal Government and melting pot of the nation has been challenged by the pandemic. “The FCTA will resolutely enforce all the National Guidelines and e...
