Nigeria
Kogi Assembly passes 2021 budget estimate of N130.54 billion into law
The Kogi House of Assembly on Tuesday passed the N130.54 billion Appropriation Bill tagged “Budget of Accelerated Recovery” into law. Newsmen report that the House considered the bill Clause-by-Clause at the “Committee of the Whole” of the House at plenary in Lokoja. Aderonke Aro (APC-Yagba West) and Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Budget Monitoring and Economic Planning, presented the committee’s report for consideration. Aro declared that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) with genuine reasons for adjustments in their allocations were taken care of during the defence of their respective budgets. In the budget presented to the House on Dec. 1, Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi had said that the budget was indicative of the assessment of the amount the state could generate on its ow...
Governor Abiodun: Agro-allied airport underway in Ogun
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has disclosed plans by his administration to have an agro-allied based airport to aid the development of the state as a destination of choice for agriculture in Nigeria. Abiodun, who spoke during the inauguration of Agbeloba Aquaculture Hub in Owiwi, Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of the state, said the agricultural sector remains the sure way out of poverty and unemployment ravaging the country. The project is being promoted by a former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. While also expressing optimism that his administration believes that the state and the country as a whole can actually grow what it eats, the governor commended Obasanjo for continuously and tirelessly walking his talk on agriculture. He said, “We are looking at having an ag...
Coronavirus: FCT threatens to shut markets, malls
The FCT Administration has told shop owners to choose between complying with COVID-19 guidelines or having their business premises shut as part of measures to contain the pandemic. Head, Media and Public Enlightenment of the FCT Ministerial Enforcement Task team on COVID-19 Regulations, Ikharo Attah, issued the warning while monitoring the level of compliance in some shopping malls and business premises across the city. He said the administration will “not hesitate to shut down shopping malls, Maitama farmers’ market and business premises in the city that fail to comply with the COVID-19 protocols and guidelines. “From what we observed, there is high compliance by costumers and visitors to these malls and business premises, sadly, same cannot be said of the workers and operators of shops a...
Kaduna begins community policing with 272 constabulary
Community policing has gotten a boost in Kaduna on Tuesday as 272 Police Constabulary pass out from training school. The State governor, Nasir El-Rufai while addressing the newly recruited constabulary described community policing as a good initiative. He also said the system of policing has come to stay in the State. The Governor, represented by the Commissioner for Internal security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, charged the community police personnel to enhance internal security in the State. He said the 272 constabularies were selected from the 16 local government Areas of the state as first phase. He said the second phase of the training will cover the remaining 23 LGA’s of the state to enhance security in the state. He said they are trained to be the eyes in security issues in the ...
House of Reps member petitions army over ‘unlawful dismissal’ of soldiers from Ebonyi
The member representing Ezza South/Ikwo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Chinedu Ogah, has petitioned the Nigerian Army over the ‘unjust’ dismissal of soldiers from Ebonyi state . Ogah said that the soldiers were sacked unjustly from the military and that a petition has been submitted against their dismissal , expressing confidence that they would be reinstated very soon. The federal Lawmaker disclosed this while addressing thousands of members of his constituency who paid him Christmas visit at his Amagu country home, Ikwo in Ikwo local government area of Ebonyi state Ogah however, used the occasion to intimate them on his activities for the one year he has been in office as their representative in the National Assembly, saying that he had submitted petition agai...
Yobe governor calls for caution to combat fire incidents during harmattan
Yobe State Governor, Alhaji Mai-Mala Buni, has called for extra vigilance during the harmattan season to combat incidents of fire disaster. The governor made this call in a statement yesterday while commiserating with victims of a fire outbreak that occurred at Potiskum Market. The fire had broken up in the early hours of yesterday, razing six traditional medicine shops. The governor in a statement, said he received the news of the incident with sadness, while directing the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to provide the victims with all necessary support and to take stock of damages caused by the inferno. He also directed the state’s Fire Service to be proactive, especially in the current harmattan season. He said, “I wish to express my deep sympathy to victims who lost their valu...
FRSC impounds 35 vehicles for not having speed limit devices
The Lagos State Sector Commander of the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Olusegun Ogungbemide, said that 35 commercial motorists had their vehicles impounded on Monday in Lagos for not installing speed limit devices in them. Ogungbemide made the disclosure in an interview with newsmen after the corps sensitized motorists plying the Lagos-Ibadan expressway on the need to install “speed governors” in their vehicles. He said the operation was in line with the directive of the Corps Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, who had noticed an increase in the number of fatalities during the festive period. “We are not going to release those vehicles even after the payment of fines by their owners until they install speed limit devices in them,” he said. Ogungbemide urged motorists to be more careful on ...
Coronavirus: School reopening, worship centres, others caused second wave – Prof. Abayomi
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, has attributed the reasons for the second wave of COVID-19 to the opening up of the economy, the re-opening of schools, large religious congregations, and social gatherings among others. A statement from the Lagos State Ministry of Health quoted the commissioner as saying this while giving an update on the State Government’s response against the second wave of COVID-19 at a press briefing held in Ikeja on Monday. The statement titled, ‘COVID-19: Lagos admonishes residents’, was signed by the LSMOH Director of Public Affairs, Tunbosun Ogunbanwo. “Abayomi attributed the reason for the second wave of COVID19 to include, opening up of the economy; general laxity, false sense of security and non-adherence to safety guidelines by citiz...
Ondo tertiary institution workers suspend strike
Workers of Ondo State-owned tertiary institutions, on Monday, suspended their 14-day warning strike. The workers under the auspices of the Joint Action Committee of the Ondo State Tertiary Institutions had embarked on the strike following non-payment of their salaries and allowances by the state government. The members of the JAC include the Joint Action Committee of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, the Non-Academic Staff Union, the Nigeria Association of Academic Technologists, and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics. The workers announced their decision in a statement issued by the Chairman of JAC, ODSTI, Peter Akindehinde on Monday evening. The statement was titled ‘Suspension of 14-day warning strike’. According to the statement, the suspension of th...
Coronavirus: Rivers governor threatens to shut down churches
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has threatened to shut down churches if they fail to comply with the COVID-19 guidelines. Wike made this known during the thanksgiving service in celebration of the 90th birthday of Priscilla Mark, held at St. Martin’s Anglican Church, Omagwa in Ikwerre local government area of the state. He lamented the refusal of residents to use face masks, especially in churches and markets. “When you go to most churches, they don’t wear masks. Go to markets, they don’t wear masks. They believe COVID-19 is not real. It’s not real because it has not happened to you. Nobody has died whom you know that is very close to you. But if somebody has died and the person was close to you, you’ll know that COVID-19 is real,” he said. “I want to appeal to all of you that we have to...
Nigeria fines UK, South African airlines for breach of coronavirus protocol
The Nigerian government has rolled out punitive measures against foreign airline operators flying into Nigeria, particularly those from the United Kingdom and South Africa whose passengers allegedly violated the reviewed travel protocols announced by Nigeria’s regulatory body for aviation NCAA. The agency, in a circular issued on December 26 by its director-general Musa Nuhu, disclosed that airlines from the affected countries shall be fined $3,500 for each passenger that flouts the guidelines, which were reviewed to prevent an outbreak of the new variant of the coronavirus recently reported in the UK and South Africa. The circular stated that repeated non-compliance by any carrier would result in the suspension of the airline’s permit to fly into Nigeria, as defaulting passengers are boun...
Nigerian National Assembly spends billions of naira on constitution review
The perennial constitution amendment exercise by the National Assembly is characterised by proposals that keep resurfacing despite gulping billions of naira yearly, an analysis has shown. The federal parliament had from the 5th to the current 9th National Assembly made several attempts to amend some provisions of the 1999 Constitution to no avail. At every session, the parliament officially spends N1 billion shared equally between the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are reports that the lawmakers spend more than what is appropriated for the exercise. While some amendments were successful, several others suffered serial failures but kept appearing in new proposals. Considering the huge spending, lawyers and civil society groups have pointed out that no significant amendments ...