Communication
US Supreme Court dismisses case on Donald Trump blocking Twitter critics
The U.S. Supreme Court set aside a federal appeals court ruling that former President Donald Trump violated the First Amendment when he blocked critics from following his Twitter account. The case had already lost its practical impact given Trump’s election defeat and Twitter’s Jan. 8 decision to permanently ban his @realDonaldTrump account for glorifying violence. But the two sides in the case continued to spar over the fate of the appeals court decision. Before Trump left office, the Justice Department asked the justices to wipe away the precedent, while those suing him sought to keep it intact. The appeals court said a social media account run by government officials can become a constitutionally protected “public forum” if used to conduct official business. The Supreme Court has said t...
Expert: Corporal punishment impedes autistic child’s development
Baerbel Jaja, Head, Government Special School, Lafia, Nasarawa State, says corporal and psychological punishments should not be meted to special needs persons. Jaja told newsmen in Lafia on Friday that corporal and psychological punishments hamper the overall functionality and the development of such persons. She said: “If you flog an autistic child, that’s the end of the development for that child. “You have killed his spirit. “Even for a normal child, if you keep flogging him, you have actually killed the spirit of that child and that will make him not to function well. “If an autistic child does not function the way you want, you have to be patient with him. “You cannot use force on any of this special need kids because it doesn’t work; it will rather close up the little you have achiev...
Easter: Abuja airport records high traffic
The Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Friday witnessed increased traffic due to huge number of passengers travelling to different parts of the country to celebrate Easter. According to NAN reports, flights from Abuja to other routes were fully booked before Thursday. Also, booking and check-in counters of many airlines were crowded with travelers rushing to board their flights. Many of the airline officials who spoke with NAN in separate interviews said there was upsurge in traffic, but ticket fare still remained same. The Max Air Station Manager, Kehinde Ogunyale, said that more people had chosen to fly home for the Easter celebration than the previous years. Ogunyele further said that Max Air also possibly experienced unique increase in passengers due to reduction in flight...
CSOs: Bandit attacks a risk to food security in Nigeria
Bandit attacks heighten risks for acute food crisis in Nigeria, stakeholders from the civil society and the media have said. This is even as they vowed to unite against terror rather than do anything that could promote it. “In addition to displacement, insecurity has hampered agricultural activities and heightened the risk of acute food uncertainty in the country”, they said in a communique issued on Thursday after a meeting of civil society groups and media in the nation’s capital. But they insisted that the adoption of new approaches by the government will address the specific political, economic, and social challenges that encourage banditry and terrorism in the country. The communique co-signed by Gbenga Onayiga and Adamu Ladan, the Acting Chairman and the Executive Director of the Vis...
Commodities trading: SEC issues new rules on warehousing, collateral management
File Photo In a bid to ensure a vibrant commodities trading ecosystem, which would in turn boost foreign exchange earnings for the country, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released new rules covering warehousing and collateral management, among others. According to the rules, every warehouse that stores commodities to be traded on a registered exchange shall apply to be registered by the SEC, while the commission shall maintain a register of all registered warehouses to be published on its website. The new rules also provide that any warehouse applying for registration shall submit proof of ownership or registered-lease deed or rent agreement, alongside a disclaimer from the owner of the warehouse/property providing waiver of ownership regarding commodities stored in such ...
Minister: Asari Dokubo’s Biafra declaration is a joke by an attention-seeker
The Federal Government has dismissed the reported formation of a Biafra Customary Government by an ex-Niger Delta militant, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, as a “theatre of the absurd by a joker seeking attention’’. Speaking with newsmen on the development in Lagos on Monday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime would allow itself to be distracted by the absurdity. The Minister said: “I am sure you have heard of the theatre of the absurd, that is the best way I can describe it. “If Asari Dokubo wants to form and run a phantom government, I think he is free to do so. This administration will not be distracted because we still have a lot to do. “We are not ready to give any attention or time to a joker like Dokubo who is just looking f...
Official: 39 students missing from forestry mechanization college
Kaduna state government has said further checks in the wake of the attack by armed bandits on the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, Igabi LGA indicated that 39 students are currently unaccounted for. In a statement issued by Samuel Aruwan, Commissioner, Internal Security and Home Affairs, said the missing students included males and females. The statement said: “In an earlier update, citizens were informed that troops rescued 180 persons following an attack by armed bandits on the College late Thursday night, with about 30 still missing. The number of missing students is now confirmed to be 39, comprising 23 females and 16 males. Aruwan said the state government, “is maintaining close communication with the management of the College as efforts are sustained by security agen...
Management shuts down Nasarawa polytechnic over students’ protest
The Management of Isa Musthapha Agwai Polytechnic Lafia, has shut down the institution for one week following students’ protest on Thursday. Newsmen report that the students had barricaded the Lafia-Jos Road for several hours, to protest the alleged closure of the school’s registration portal by its management. Dr Justina Kotso, Rector of the polytechnic announced the temporary closure of the school while briefing newsmen on the aftermath of the protest in Lafia. She said decision to shut down the institution for one week was reached at an emergency management meeting following the unrest in the school. “We woke up Thursday morning preparing our students for semester examination scheduled to begin on Monday, March 15, then suddenly we realised that the students started a protest.” She said...
Okomu Oil Palm wants central bank to review anchor borrowers programme
Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc. wants a review of CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) to accommodate more farmers and to shore up the nation’s foreign earnings from agriculture. The ABP is targeted at smallholder farmers engaged in the production of rice, maize, wheat and cash crops like oil palm, cocoa and rubber, among others. Speaking with newsmen on Monday in Benin, Okomu Oil’s Managing Director, Dr Graham Hefer, noted that cash crop farmers were yet to fully benefit from the programme. He said food crop farmers had an edge because they could cultivate, harvest, sell and repay their loans within the specified one year period. “It is easy for farmers engaged in annual crops to meet their targets. “This doesn’t happen with cash crops because in the first three years of oil palm production...
FEC approves multi-billion naira roads construction contracts
In keeping with its infrastructural development mantra especially in the road sector, the Federal Government has approved a multi-billion naira roads construction projects across the country especially the completion of Benin-Ore-Adebamdele-Shagamu Road at the cost of N92.5 billion. This cheering news was dropped Wednesday by Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, who told State House Correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa Abuja that Council approved all four memoranda on roads projects his ministry presented at the meeting. Fashola said FEC approved all four memoranda he presented with respect to Benin-Ore-Adebamdele- Shagamu Road, particular the section from Adebam...
INEC intensifies consultation on new polling units
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has intensified consultations with stakeholders on the creation of new Polling Units (Pus), across the country. The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, who held a meeting with the media in Abuja, yesterday, said that existing 119, 973 PUs, created 25 years ago had become grossly inadequate, leading to crisis situations during elections. He said, “Nigeria has a critical problem of voter access to Polling Units. The country currently has 119,973 Polling Units established a quarter of a Century ago in 1996 by the defunct National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON). At that time, the voter population was projected at 50 million. “The voters’ register increased to 84,004,084 by 2019. We envisage that by the next General Election in 2...
Twitter: Donald Trump ban permanent, even if he runs for office again
Former President Donald Trump will not be returning to Twitter at any point in the future, according to the company’s chief financial officer. In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box program on Wednesday, Twitter CFO Ned Segal said that running for public office again would not reverse the ban the company handed out to Trump in the aftermath of the US Capitol riot on January 6th. The question is relevant considering Trump’s ongoing impeachment trial. A central question in the trial is whether Democrats can bar Trump from running for president again in 2024 or seeking other public office. Regardless of the outcome, the @realDonaldTrump will still remain suspended for good, Segal said. “The way our policies work, when you’re removed from the platform, you’re removed from the...