Nation
Euro 2020: We’re prepared to face Switzerland, Italy, Turkey – Gareth Bale
Wales captain Gareth Bale says he’s optimistic the team will qualify to the knockout stages of Euro 2020 despite been pitted alongside Italy, Turkey and Switzerland. Wales are expected to kick-off their campaign against Switzerland on Saturday and Bale in a pre-match press conference stated that they are well-prepared for the tournament. Bale is one of eight survivors from the Wales squad that reached the last four in France when Chris Coleman was in charge, and the Real Madrid star is looking no further than the crunch first game against the Swiss. “I think it’s similar,” said Bale when asked at his pre-match press conference about Wales’ expectations heading into Euro 2020 compared to last time out. “Coming on the back of 2016 people will argue that maybe we should be doing things, but w...
Senate reassures Nigerians on PIB, electoral, constitutional amendment bills
Senate President Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan said on Friday that the Senate was closer to passing the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, and the Constitution Amendment Bill, assuring Nigerians that the bills will be passed between now and July year. Lawan who stated this while interacting with journalists to mark the second anniversary of the 9th Senate stated that it was a mark of excellent effort that the ninth senate would soon be ready to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) after twenty years of failed attempts. “This should happen this June, and it should increase accountability, probity, efficiency, equity and justice in that vital sector of our economy. “Our determination to pass the bill is additionally in line with our resolve to be a result-oriented parli...
Rapid spread of Delta variant throws England’s re-opening into doubt
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s hopes of ending England’s coronavirus lockdown on June 21 hung in the balance on Friday as data showed a further rise in cases of the rapidly spreading Delta variant. Johnson is due to announce on Monday whether the planned lifting of restrictions, which would see an end to limits on social contact, can go ahead on time. But the rapid spread of the Delta variant, officially a “variant of concern”, has thrown those plans into jeopardy, prompting speculation that the June 21 date will be pushed back, or that some restrictions will remain. “We have to be really careful. We had a very big opening on the 17th of May where people could meet friends indoors, in a restaurant, in a pub, and socialise indoors as well,” COVID-19 vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi t...
Lagos governor asks security agencies to crush criminals
Lagos State Government has tightened the noose on criminal elements, as Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu fortifies the armoury of the State Police Command with new hardware and gadgets. One hundred and fifty units of double cabin vehicles, 30 patrol saloon cars, four high-capacity troop carriers and two anti-riot water cannon vehicles are part of the crime-fighting equipment donated to the police, yesterday, by the Lagos Government to strengthen security responses across the state. President Muhammadu Buhari took inventory and inaugurated the security equipment before Governor Sanwo-Olu handed over the gears to the Inspector-General of Police (IG), Mr. Alkali Usman, for the use of Lagos Police Command. The equipment and gadgets were procured through the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) –...
NPC: Census will not consider religion, ethnicity
The National Population Commission says the population census will not take into consideration the number of adherents of any religion or the number of members of ethnic groups. It, therefore, denied including a religious category in the questionnaires being distributed in the first pre-test exercise for the next population and housing census in the country. The Director, Public Affairs of the NPC, Udi Joseph, said this in a statement on Wednesday while reacting to viral Whatsapp messages claiming the NPC had made two separate categories for Muslims and one category for Christians in its questionnaire. In a statement titled, ‘NPC Refutes Fake News on Religion in Census Questionnaires’, the organisation said even in previous population census exercises, religion and ethnicity were not consi...
Nigerian government asks judiciary, parliamentary staff to call off strike
The Federal Government has directed members of the striking Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) and the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) to “urgently” call off their over-two-month-old strike. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, gave the directive in a statement on Tuesday, threatening that the government might be forced to invoke “sections of the Trade Disputes Acts” if the strike persisted longer. The threat is a government’s familiar warning of possible introduction of “no-work-no-pay” policy to break adamant striking workers. “The ministry will not be happy to be pushed into invoking sections of the Trade Disputes Acts capable of eroding all the gains made so far in the negotiations since May 6, 2021,” the statement signed by the ministry of Labou...
JUSUN strike: How we decongested our cells – Police
The police in Lagos say they have devised means to decongest their cells amidst the prolonged strike by the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN). The police spokesperson in the state, Muyiwa Adejobi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday that the decongestion was carried out in collaboration with the office of the Chief Judge and Attorney-General of the state. NAN reports that JUSUN, on April 6, directed its members to shut down all courts across the country, demanding the implementation of the law granting financial autonomy to the Judiciary. “The command had been managing the situation in collaboration with the office of the state chief judge,” Mr Adejobi said. He, however, did not give the number of suspects that had been granted bail. “We work with the office of the CJ an...
Senegalese navy seizes 8 tonnes of cannabis resin from boat
The Senegalese navy on Sunday intercepted a boat smuggling over 8 tonnes of cannabis resin through the waters off the West African nation’s coast, the armed forces ministry said in a statement. The vessel, which was flying a Togolese flag, was stopped 140 kilometres (87 miles) from the coastal capital of Dakar with seven crew members on board. After escorting the boat to a naval base in Dakar, the authorities discovered the 8.37 tonnes of hashish split between 279 bags. The boat was also carrying sacks of plaster, the ministry said on Monday. It did not provide a street value for the seized drugs. Earlier this year, authorities in Niger seized 17 tonnes of cannabis resin worth around 31 million euros ($37 million), the largest bust in the country’s history. According to Interpol, drug king...
NAF chief: Armed forces committed to end insecurity
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, yesterday declared that the Armed Forces remained committed to ending the crisis of insecurity ravaging the nation. He said the expected delivery of six A-29 Super Tucano fighter jets by the United States in July and two drones from China, would be a “game changer” in the war against insurgency. The position of the air force chief is coming on a day the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, sought the assistance of the Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Farouk Yahaya, to provide security for train stations and railway construction sites across the country. Speaking at the graduation ceremony of 1,031 recruits of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Basic Military Training Course 41/2020, Amao affirmed that “the NAF in consonance w...
Kwara governor: Let’s fight terrorism, poverty, not ourselves
Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara has called on Nigerians to unite in the fight against terrorism, banditry and mass poverty. AbdulRazaq made the appeal at the closing ceremony of 2 Division Inter-Brigade Corporals and Below Competition 2021, at the Sobi Barack Ilorin on Friday. The governor described these challenges as “our common enemies” and urged citizens to stop seeing one another as enemies. According to him, these are elements bent on terrorising the people and tearing the nation apart. He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his patience and support for the security agencies to discharge their duties as well as commitment to national peace and security. “The security agencies, particularly the military will continue to symbolise the unity of the people and the strength of t...
Ex-Senate president urges Nigerian government to review suspension of Twitter’s operations
Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has reacted to Federal Government’s suspension of the operations of the micro blogging and social networking service, Twitter. Newsmen report Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, had announced the “indefinite” suspension in a statement on Friday by his spokesman Segun Adeyemi. Reacting, Saraki noted that Twitter has become part of the daily lives of youths and also a source of income and livelihood for many youths. He further called for a review of the suspension. “No sir! This should not be the response from the president of a nation with a vibrant youthful population for whom #Twitter is part of their daily lives and a source of their income and livelihood. This must be reviewed,” Saraki tweeted. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to...
Shehu Sani: A submissive legislature will enable dictatorship
CNN Former senator representing Kaduna central, Shehu Sani, says having a subservient legislature leads to dictatorship. Speaking at the 2021 national conference of the Nigerian Progressives’ Coalition in Abuja, Sani said that a submissive legislative will only enable a governance style in which the whole nation will bow to the whims of one person. Although he made no mention of the current national assembly, the comments come amid the criticism against the leadership of the legislature which has remained silent on the government’s decision to suspend Twitter’s operations in Nigeria. At the conference held over the weekend, Sani spoke against a legislature that is “afraid to speak truth to power.” “The legislature is supposed to have the duty of oversight on the activities of the executive...