State
APC: PDP governors’ meeting ‘mere jamboree’
The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has described Monday’s meeting of governors of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party PDP as a jamboree and a complete waste of time, accusing the state executives of engaging in name calling and abuses. National Secretary of the APC Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, CECPC, Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe disclosed this in a statement issued Monday in Abuja. The statement reads; “Going by the communique issued by the Peoples Democratic Party PDP Governors’ Forum, at the end of its meeting on Monday, it is unfortunate that the PDP governors chose to engage in misplaced name calling and abuses instead of seizing a golden opportunity provided by the meeting to offer meaningful and patriotic contributions on the review of the state...
Baba Ijesha granted bail
Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju James, better known as Baba Ijesha, who was detained by police for alleged sexual assault has been granted bail. His lawyer, Adesina Ogunlana, confirmed this to newsmen on Monday. “He has been granted bail about one hour ago. We are working to perfect the bail. He was granted bail on health grounds. He has not been released. He will be released after his bail conditions have been perfected,” he said. According to the lawyer, among the bail conditions listed for the release of the actor are two reliable sureties – one of them must be a level 10 officer, a direct blood relation, and N500,000 bail bond in like sum. It was gathered that Baba Ijesha was granted bail when magistrates went around police stations across the state, hearing cases of some suspects. Ogunlan...
Nigerian governors to meet Wednesday over financial autonomy for state legislature, judiciary
Governors of the 36 states are scheduled to hold a teleconference on Wednesday to deliberate on the executive order 10 which grants financial autonomy to the state legislature and judiciary. In a statement issued on Monday and signed by Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, head of media and public affairs of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), there will also be discussions on measures to prevent a third wave of COVID-19 infections in the country. Bello-Barkindo said the forum will take updates on the State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability And Sustainability (SFTAS), among other issues. “The meeting, which is the 30th of its kind by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, commences at 2pm prompt but Governors are expected to start logging-in from 1pm,” he said. “The meeting will cover lessons for States ...
Anambra guber: I’m not President Buhari’s anointed aspirant – Dozie Madu
An All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant for the forthcoming Anambra State governorship election, Hon Dozie Madu, has dismissed speculations that he has been anointed by President Muhammadu Buhari. Speaking after picking the declaration of interest and nomination form at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja on Monday, he said that he is comfortable with any mode of primaries approved by the party’s national leadership. Asked to substantiate the claims that he is anointed by the President, he said: ‘I don’t understand what you mean. How can the President give a governorship aspirant a ticket? It is the people, I disagree with you, it is false. If you look at my dossier, you should know that I can’t involve myself in this kind of thing.’ On how he can do better compared to other former g...
Kaduna paralysed as NLC begins warning strike
Activities in Kaduna State have been paralysed as the five-day warning strike directed by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over irregular sacking of civil servants began on Monday. Checks revealed that schools, banks and other business premises had been closed. The National Union of Banks, Insurance and Finance Institutions Employees had directed its members to withdraw banking and insurance services in Kaduna state from Monday 17. The Zonal State Secretary of the union, Mr Adamu Danladi explained that the directive followed the NLC’s warning strike in response to what he described as Gov. El-Rufai’s “anti-workers policies”. He said that the withdrawal of services would continue until otherwise directed by the congress. Also, while some schools were closed, others were open but only a few...
ASCAB: Kaduna governor sacked over 60,000 workers in six years
Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), and the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond say Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has sacked over 60,000 workers since he took office in May 2015. They, therefore, endorsed the five-day strike across Kaduna State which will begin on Monday. ASCAB in a statement on Sunday called on all NLC affiliates and supporters to join the “essential strike” adding that a “firm action is needed to reverse the massive attacks on jobs and poverty induced insecurity in Kaduna State.” Falana said the economy of Kaduna was traditionally built around textile factories and the public sector but in the decade before the administration of el-Rufai, the last four major textile factories were closed with many of the workers not receiving any terminal benefits ...
Kaduna in total blackout as workers begin strike
Kaduna State on Sunday was thrown into total blackout ahead of the five-day warning strike directed by the Nigeria Labour Congress to commence from midnight of Sunday in the state. The total blackout followed a warning by the National Union of Electricity Employees, an affiliate of the NLC, directing its workers to join the strike action in Kaduna beginning on Midnight Sunday. But the state government said it won’t bow to the intimidation of the NLC over its planned ‘rightsizing’ of the state workforce. While speaking at a press conference in Kaduna on Saturday, the Commissioner of Local Government Affairs, Malam Jafaru Sani, said it uncovered a plot by the NLC to recruit hoodlums from other states of the federation to cause mayhem under the pretext of embarking on strike. Sani, therefore,...
Southern speakers support governors’ ban on open grazing, restructuring, others
File Photo Speakers of Southern States Legislatures, weekend, threw their weight the Southern Governors resolutions, banning open grazing of cattle, call for national dialogue, restructuring of the country and respect for Federal Character. The Speakers in a statement, commended the Southern Governors for coming together to speak with one voice, saying the resolutions of the Southern Governors were pathways to resolving the problems facing the country. The Speakers, said: “We the Speakers of State Legislatures in Southern Nigeria commend the Governors of the Southern States for their patriotism and firm belief in the unity of the country. “We salute the Governors for their initiative and restate our support for the positions of the Governors. We wish to state unequivocally that the issues ...
Bodies of coronavirus victims among those dumped in India’s Ganges – document
Bodies of COVID-19 victims have been found dumped in some Indian rivers, a state government said in a letter seen by Reuters, the first official acknowledgement of an alarming practice it said may stem from poverty and fear of the disease in villages. Images of corpses drifting down the Ganges river, which Hindus consider holy, have shocked a nation reeling under the world’s worst surge in infections. Although media have linked the recent increase in the numbers of such bodies to the pandemic, the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, home to 240 million people, has until now not publicly revealed the cause of the deaths. “The administration has information that bodies of those who have succumbed to COVID-19 or any other disease are being thrown into rivers instead of being disposed of as per p...
Governor Obaseki: No record of Indian coronavirus variant in Edo
Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State on Friday said there was no record of Indian COVID-19 variant in the state, as was speculated on social media. The governor stated this in Benin at a news conference to provide an update on COVID-19 response in the state. Mr Obaseki was represented by the Permanent Secretary from the state Ministry of Health, Osamwonyi Irowa. He said the federal government had on April 26, taken precautionary steps by restricting international travel from India, Brazil and Turkey to curtail COVID-19. “We as government have reached out to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) with regards to any Indian variant in Edo and the verified information reveals that the said sample was collected in January. “There is currently no update or report suggestive of any such o...
Oyo council polls: OYSIEC to refund nomination fees to candidates
Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC), has expressed its readiness to refund the sum of N50,000 for Councillorship candidates and N250,000 for Chairmanship candidates as stated on Time-Table and guidelines released for local government council elections, coming up in the state. The Commission also released the names of screened and qualified Chairmanship and Councillorship Candidates of 17 political parties who have signified their intentions to participate in the election, slated for May 22, 2021. These were contained in a statement issued and signed by the Electoral Commissioner in charge of Voter Education, Prince Afeez Adeniyi, on behalf of the commission and made available to journalists in Ibadan . Similarly,the statement stated that the commission has resolved to refun...
Report: Barcelona open to selling Antoine Griezmann for the right price
Italian Sky Sports journalist Matteo Moretto has proclaimed that Barcelona are willing to sell French superstar Antoine Griezmann in the summer if they were to receive an adequate offer, in order to try and ease the pressure on their accounts. After a far from optimal start to his stint in Garnet and Blue, Griezmann has largely managed to turn his fortunes around. He has established himself as a very useful asset for Barcelona, and proved to be an instrumental part of the Catalans’ Copa del Rey triumph. However, despite his turn of form, there has been constant speculation regarding Antoine Griezmann’s departure from Barcelona. Considering the massive cost of his transfer from Atletico Madrid two seasons ago and his high wages, the club might be open to a sale in the summer. The upcoming t...
