Instances
PIB: IPMAN commends National Assembly for inclusion of PEF
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has commended the National Assembly for the inclusion of the Petroleum Equalisation Fund in the newly passed Petroleum Industry Bill. The Public Relations Officer of IPMAN, Yakubu Suleiman, gave the commendation on Sunday in a statement. Suleiman said the legislative arm of government had demonstrated that it was sensitive to the yearnings of majority of Nigerians for a permanent solution to the energy problems in the country. He said the entire content of the bill as passed by the Senate would serve as a catalyst for the inflow of the much desired foreign direct investment to boost the economy. He said: “The much awaited Petroleum Industry Bill has come to ease Nigerians of the pains that necessitated the call for the Bill in the ...
APC insists Governor Matawalle is Zamfara party leader
The All Progressives Congress on Friday reiterated its conferment of the leadership of the Zamfara State chapter of the party on Governor Bello Matawalle. This is coming on the heels of the rejection of the governor’s leadership by former governor Abdelaziz Yari, and a party stalwart, Senator Kabiru Marafa. The Chairman, Caretaker/Extraordinary National Convention Planning Committee of the party, Governor Mai Mala Buni, had while welcoming Matawalle into the party, dissolved the APC state executive committee and announced Matawalle as the new party leader. However, Yari and Marafa had in separate interviews with the Hausa Service of the BBC, rejected Buni’s declaration, insisting that negotiations were still ongoing. When contacted, via the telephone, on Friday, the National Secretary of t...
Amnesty: Nigerian government highly sensitive to criticism
The country director of Amnesty International (AI) Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, says the federal government is “highly sensitive to criticism” and only focuses on appearances. Ojigho stated this on Thursday while addressing the topic “Is Freedom of Speech in Danger in Nigeria?” during a virtual conversation, tagged ‘Thursday Talks’. The virtual conversation, which is a monthly programme focused on engaging thought leaders, was moderated by Adeboye Adegoke, senior programme manager at Paradigm Initiative. The AI country director described the government’s ban on Twitter and its proposed amendment to the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) code as attempts to gag criticism. “What we are seeing is a government that is highly sensitive to criticism and, as such, seeks to work more on the public re...
President Buhari orders IGP to reduce insecurity to barest minimum
President Muhammadu Buhari, has ordered Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba to ensure insecurity is reduced to the barest minimum. This is even as the Police Council made up of the President, Vice President, governors, ministers of Police Affairs, Interior and the Federal Capital Territory, confirmed Baba as the IGP. Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Maigari Dingyadi, who confirmed the development at the end of the one and half hours meeting, said he was unanimously confirmed. President Buhari had on April 6, appointed Baba as acting the Inspector General of Police. Baba was a Deputy Inspector General of Police before his promotion. Briefing State House Correspondents at the end of the meeting held at the First Lady Conference Room, the main purpose of the meeting was to “get the appo...
National Assembly members agreed not to be hostile to Prudent Buhari’s government – Senate spokesman
The current 9th National Assembly members all agreed that they will not have an acrimonious relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari’s government, unlike the 8th Assembly under Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara. Spokesman of the senate, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, who represents Osun Central disclosed this in an interview published in newsmen on Wednesday while responding to claims that the current national assembly is a rubber-stamp that is always quick to do the bidding of the executive. He said “I don’t know the basis for your question, but what I do know is that at the inception, there was an agreement among the lawmakers that we do not want an acrimonious relationship between the Executive and the Legislature”. “All of us witnessed how such a relationship worked against the interest of...
Crypto ban: We acted in Nigerians’ best interest – CBN
The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, says the Bank’s decision to prohibit deposit money banks, non-banking institutions, and other financial institutions from facilitating trading and dealings in cryptocurrency is in the best interest of Nigerian depositors and the country’s financial system. Mr Emefiele made the declaration on Tuesday, February 23, 2021, while briefing a joint Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions; ICT and Cybercrime; and Capital Market, on its directive to institutions under its regulation. Describing the operations of cryptocurrencies as dangerous and opaque, the CBN Governor said the use of cryptocurrency contravened an existing law. He said given the fact that cryptocurrencies were issued by unregulated and...
US election: Donald Trump makes first appearance since ‘defeat’
US President Donald Trump makes his first official post-election appearance Wednesday for what should be a moment of national unity to mark Veteran’s Day, now marred by his refusal to acknowledge Joe Biden’s win. The president visited Arlington National Cemetery around 11:00 am, four days after US media projected his Democratic rival would take the White House. Since then he has not addressed the nation other than via Twitter, and has not conceded to Biden, as is traditional once a winner is projected in a US vote. And with Covid-19 cases shattering records across the country and states imposing new restrictions in a push to contain the virus before winter arrives, Trump seems to have all but shelved normal presidential duties. Instead, he has remained shut up inside the presidential mansi...
