Nigeria
Ohaneaze chief Nnia Nwodo named SMBLF coordinator
YouTube The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has appointed the outgoing President General of Ohaneaze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, as its coordinator. According to a statement issued by Chief Edwin Clark and confirmed by Nwodo’s Special Adviser on Media, Chief Emeka Attamah, the appointment was in recognition of his superlative leadership of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation in the past four years and the role he has played in the affairs of SMBLF. Chief Clark said that Chief Nwodo gave the Igbo unqualified and purposeful leadership which resonated throughout the country and expressed optimism that he would do the same for the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum, especially at this troubled time in the country. The elder statesman urged Chief Nwodo to bring his wealth...
Sokoto border communities warned against aiding smuggling
Border communities in Sokoto State have been warned against aiding the smuggling of illicit items into the country. The Area Comptroller of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Abdulhamid Ma’aji, gave the warning at Illela during a sensitisation meeting held Tuesday with youths and community leaders at Illela town, a border community in the northern state. The border post was among four major international borders announced for reopening by the Federal Government in late December 2020. Ma’aji, while officially reopening the border’s gate, described the event as a remarkable day, urging the people to observe all the guidelines layout by the Ibrahin l Government. According to him, ‘now that these borders have been reopened, I want you to note that those illicit items that have been prohibited rema...
UNIBEN to resume 2019/2020, 2020/2021 sessions
The University of Benin (UNIBEN) will resume for the 2019/2020 academic session on January 30 and the 2020/2021 session in April, it has been learnt. Spokesperson Dr. Benedicta Ehanire, in a statement yesterday, said: “At the end of the University’s Senate meeting yesterday, it was resolved that old students should come into residence on January 30 for the continuation of first semester lectures. The semester is expected to run until the April 1, while second semester is billed to start on April 5. “For the 2020/2021 amended calendar, new students are to undergo online clearance from April 5 to April 30, and start orientation on May 3. “All returning students (old and new) are required to fill an online questionnaire and submit the printout to the Dean of Students before resumption. Adhere...
FCT chief judge bows out service
The Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Justice Ishaq Usman Bello, on Tuesday bowed out of service on the attainment of 65 years of age. This is even as he declared in his speech at a valedictory court session held in his honour that the greatest strength of the judiciary remained the trust, reliance and faith of the people in it. Bello, who became the FCT CJ on May 28, 2015, said that in a democratic set up like Nigeria’s, the judiciary had to be impartiality. “I solemnly accept as true the saying that the greatest strength of the judiciary is the trust, reliance and faith of the people in it. “In several cases, I have seen the court take decisions against the state as well for the achievement of the ends of justice. I know this well because I have delivered some myself,” ...
World Bank predicts 4% global economic growth, 1.1% for Nigeria in 2021
ABS-CBN The World Bank says global economy is expected to grow by 4 per cent in 2021, assuming an initial COVID-19 vaccine rollout becomes widespread throughout the year. It said this in a statement issued in Washington D.C. on Tuesday at the presentation of the January 2021 Global Economic Prospects. It added that the said recovery would likely be subdued unless policy makers moved decisively to tame the pandemic and implement investment-enhancing reforms. The bank also said that growth in Sub-Saharan Africa was forecast to rebound moderately to 2.7 per cent in 2021, while Nigeria’s growth was expected to resume at 1.1 per cent. For the region, it said that while the recovery in private consumption and investment was forecast to be slower than previously envisioned, export growth was expe...
TUC: Electricity tariff hike another betrayal of trust
File Photo The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, has expressed disappointment over the latest hike in electricity tariff, describing is as a betrayal of trust. TUC, in a statement by its President and Secretary-General, Quadri Olaleye, and Musa-Lawal Ozigi, respectively, said: “We are disappointed by the recent hike in electricity tariff, while negotiations were ongoing with the Organised Labour on the last hike because of the untold hardship it has brought on the workers and Nigerians as a whole. “Sometimes we wonder why this government espouses unfriendly policies that are capable of crippling the economy. “There are many companies that have either closed shops or relocated to neighbouring countries because they cannot afford to pay the last tariff hike, yet this government has done ...
#EndSARS: Lagos hires forensic team to investigate Lekki toll gate shooting
The Lagos State government has hired a team to conduct an independent forensic examination of the Lekki toll gate. Nigerian soldiers attacked peaceful #EndSARS protesters at the toll gate on October 20, 2020 after weeks of demonstrations against police brutality. Soldiers fired on the protesters after the declaration of a curfew, leading to a yet-to-be-determined number of fatalities disputed by the government. A judicial panel of inquiry investigating the incident revealed during a sitting on Tuesday, January 5, 2021 that the Lagos government has paid a forensic team to aid the investigation. Chairperson of the panel, Justice Doris Okuwobi, announced this after the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) repeated a request that it be allowed to retake control of the toll gate which was vandalised ...
BUK: ASUU worries over coronavirus spread as university announces resumption date
File Photo Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday worried over a potential spread of COVID-19 pandemic in schools as the country battles the second wave of disease. ASUU’s concern was announced after the Senate of Bayero university, Kano approved January 18 for resumption and commencement of lectures for the 2020/2021 academic session. Director Public Affairs, BUK, Mal. Ahmad Shehu told newsmen that the decision was reached at the end of the meeting presided over by the university’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Sagir Abbas. Ahmad noted that contrary to information making round on the social media, the university did not cancelled the 2019/2020 session but rather adjusted the previous session to be concluded in April, 2021. According to him, the postgraduate program will also ...
Police foil armed robbery attack in Nasarawa
The Nasarawa State Police Command has foiled an armed robbery attack at Gidan Gambo community along Lafia-Shandam road with the attempt to rob unsuspecting commuters at about 10:45 on Sunday night, January the 3rd. A statement signed by the Nasarawa State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Ramhan Nansel, and issued to reporters in Lafia, said that the Command had received a distress call that hoodlums suspected to be armed robbers had blocked the road at Gidan Gambo along Lafia-Shandam road with the intent to rob unsuspecting commuters. ‘Upon the receipt of the information, the Commissioner of Police mobilised police personnel attached to Assakio Police Station and a team of Safer Highway personnel to the area where a gun duel ensued. Consequently, the hoodlums were dislodged and one yet...
Court orders Governor Obaseki to open defence in ‘certificate forgery’ case
The All Progressives Congress, APC, on Monday, closed the forgery case it instituted against Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, after it called a total of six witnesses and tendered 17 Exhibits. Lead counsel to the APC, Chief Akin Olujimi, SAN, announced decision of the party to rest its case, shortly after the court discharged the sixth witness, PW-6, Dr. Mikano Asekome, who is an Associate Professor in Banking and Finance Department at Benson Idahosa University, Benin city, Edo state. The PW-6 told the court that he was on December 23, 2020, summoned to appear as witness in the matter. The witness went ahead and tendered in evidence, the original copy of his certificate in Agricultural-Economics, which the University of Ibadan awarded to him on July 31, 1978. Under cross-examination, ...
Nigeria: 1,375 irregular migrants arrested during border closure
The Federal Government said on Monday that no fewer than 1,375 irregular migrants were arrested while the border drill code-named, ”Exercise Swift Response,” lasted. Newsmen report that the border drill held between Aug. 20, 2019 and Dec. 17, 2020. Speaking at a new year media briefing in Lagos on Monday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the border drill was a huge success. The minister said the seizures so far during the period included 157,511 – 50kg bags of parboiled foreign rice, 10,447 bags of NPK fertiliser used for making explosives and 18,630 jerry cans of vegetable oil. The total monetary value of the seized items, according to him, is about ₦12.362 billion. Newsmen recall that ”Exercise Swift Response” was launched as part of efforts to secure th...
Police: Only 10 suspects escaped from Benin facility
The Police Command in Edo on Monday said only 10 suspects -two of whom have been rearrested, escaped from its cell at the Command Headquarters in Benin. A statement from the command’s spokesman, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, said the incident occurred at about 02:45 hours of Friday, January 1. Mr. Nwabuzor said the command decided to set the record straight, contrary to publications that had gone viral on social media and other platforms alleging that hundreds of armed robbery and kidnapping suspects had escaped. “Only 10 suspects escaped after the cell break, two of the escapees have already been rearrested while we have intensified hunt for the remaining eight,” the statement read. It said that the publication on social media and other platforms alleging that hundreds of suspected armed robbers and...
