Year
EFCC has recovered over $100 million for NPA – chairman
The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, says the agency has recovered over $100 million for the Nigerian Ports Authority Bawa said the recovery was part of the outstanding remittances owed to the country through the Nigerian Ports Authority. In 2017, the federal government had terminated the boat pilotage agreement it signed with Intels, after Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF), said it violated the constitution. The company was also accused of not paying taxes in 2017 — the same year NPA accused it of failing to remit an outstanding debt. Speaking at the weekly ministerial briefing organised by the presidential media team at the presidential villa, Abuja, on Thursday, Bawa said EFCC had made recoveries directly for the...
President Buhar: We won’t rest until peace is fully restored in Borno
President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday in Maiduguri, Borno State, assured citizens of the federal government’s presence in fighting terrorism to the end, and ensuring that Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are fully returned to continue normal lives, commending Governor Babagana Zulum for resilience and relentless efforts in rebuilding the state. President Buhari, on an official visit to the state to appraise the security situation and commission some development projects, attributed recent successes recorded by the military against insurgents and terrorists at Dikwa, Damboa and Gwoza to careful planning, infusion of new equipment and other war materials as well as quality military leadership. “I am very happy to be here in Borno State once again. I consider Maiduguri and Borno State to be ...
Nigeria’s inflation drops to 17.93 percent
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures inflation dropped to 17.93 per cent (year-on-year) in May compared to 18.12 per cent in the preceding month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The 0.19 per cent decline in the headline index, makes it the second consecutive month that the rate had sustained its downward trajectory after 18 months of inflationary pressures on the economy. According to the CPI figures for May which was released by the statistical agency Tuesday, food inflation dropped to 22.28 per cent from 22.72 per cent in April. Price moderation was recorded in bread, cereals, milk, cheese, eggs, fish, soft drinks, coffee, tea and cocoa, fruits, meat, oils and fats and vegetables. On month-on-month basis, the food sub-index declined to 1.05 per cent in May ...
Gunmen attack police station, kill cop in Akwa Ibom
Gunmen on Sunday attacked a police station in the Ini Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State and shot dead a mobile police officer. It was gathered that the officer was killed in the early hours of Sunday during a gun battle with the hoodlums which lasted several minutes. A source, who pleaded not to be mentioned, told our correspondent that one of the hoodlums identified as Imo Udo, was arrested while others escaped with bullets wounds. The source added that the armed men stormed the area with motorcycles and immediately opened fire directly at the police officers who returned fire but one them fell by the bandits’ bullets. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Odiko Macdon, who confirmed the incident, said the Commissioner of Police, Andrew Amiengheme, has ordered men of th...
Brazilian president fined for not wearing mask
Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, has been fined for not wearing a mask as he joined thousands of motorcyclists at a rally in Sao Paulo. Bolsonaro waved from his bike to the cheering crowd as he used the occasion to insist masks were useless for vaccinated people. The rally snaked in and out of the city, arriving back at Ibirapuera Park, where the far-right leader addressed supporters and said mask-wearing for vaccinated people was pointless. However, President Bolsonaro’s claim has been disputed by most health experts. “Whoever is against this proposal is because they don’t believe in science, because if they are vaccinated, there is no way the virus can be transmitted,” said Bolsonaro. Under 12% of Brazilians have had both doses of a vaccine, the ministry of health says, and many expe...
UK: Some countries are using coronavirus vaccines as a geopolitical tool
British foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Friday there was no doubt some countries were using vaccines as a diplomatic tool to secure influence but Britain did not support so-called vaccine diplomacy. Raab was speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of a G7 summit in Cornwall, southwestern England, that was likely to be dominated by the West’s attempts to reassert its influence as the world looks to rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic. Western diplomats fear Russia and China are using their vaccines to gain influence across the world, especially in poorer countries that do not have their own production or the means to buy shots on the international market. Asked whether he was concerned that China and Russia could use vaccines in exchange for influence, Raab said: “There’s no doubt there’s...
Zambian court throws out second challenge to president’s re-election bid
Zambia’s Constitutional Court ruled on Friday that President Edgar Lungu can stand for re-election in August, throwing out a second opposition challenge to his eligibility on the basis of the constitutional two-term limit. The ruling comes as Zambia faces a multipronged economic crisis, after overleveraging its debt right before the brutal global COVID-19 shutdown. The crisis has triggered Africa’s first pandemic-era sovereign default and driven the southern African country to seek emergency IMF help. Lungu’s first term in office lasted a year and six months, when he took over after the death of the previous elected president, Michael Sata. He then won an election in a disputed vote in August 2016. Since this is technically his second term, the opposition had argued that he is no longer el...
UN: Close to 10,000 Mozambicans fleeing violence forcibly removed from Tanzania
Almost 10,000 Mozambicans have been forcibly removed from Tanzania so far this year after fleeing a deadly Islamist insurgency in their homeland, a spokesperson for the U.N. refugee agency said on Friday. Mozambique’s northern-most province of Cabo Delgado has been the focus of an insurgency linked to Islamic State since October 2017, but the conflict began gathering pace last year with militants regularly seizing and holding key towns. That culminated in an attack on the town of Palma in March, which killed dozens, displaced 70,000 according to the UNHCR and forced oil giant Total to halt its nearby $20 billion gas project. Many people headed north to the Tanzanian border, but were rejected, or were admitted then returned via a different border post hours inland. UNHCR spokesperson Babar ...
Turkish side Trabzonspor in love with Ademola Lookman
Trabzonspor are interested in adding Nigerian wing wizard, Ademola Lookman, to their playing personnel and have registered their interest with the player’s parent club RB Leipzig, says Turkish publications Fotomac. Lookman is not short of suitors after impressing last term during a loan spell in the Premier League with Fulham. The former Everton ace scored four goals and added another four assists in 34 matches for the Cottagers. It was not enough, though, to help the London-based side avoid relegation to the Championship just a year after celebrating a long-overdue promotion. Fulham paid €2 million to Leipzig last summer before they could get the Super Eagles hopeful, and Trabzonspor may need to cough up an equivalent sum to acquire the services of the 23-year-old. A couple of years ago, ...
Anambra election: Political parties start primaries today
In line with the guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of next year’s Anambra state Governorship Election, primary elections by political parties to democratically nominate their candidates for the election will commence today (Thursday). Also the collection of nomination forms from INEC Headquarters has started even as the Commission had on Wednesday, June 9, 2021, implemented the first activity on the Timetable by publishing the official Notice for the election in its offices in Anambra state. This cheering news was disclosed in a terse statement by Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu. The statement read in parts: “It will be recalled that on 19th January 2021, the Commission published the Timetabl...
Inter Miami owner ‘optimistic’ that Leo Messi will join in the future
Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas believes his side will be able to land Barcelona star Lionel Messi in the future. Messi’s contract with Barcelona will expire at the end of this month and the club is desperately trying to tie down the 33-year-old to a new deal. Various reports have stated that Messi’s potential Barca extension would include a provision for him to play two more seasons in Spain, then move to Inter Miami in 2023. Mas confirmed that he and Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham have been involved in talks to bring Messi to Florida. “David and I have been working really hard, we have aspirations of bringing the best players here and Leo Messi is a generational player, arguably the best player of all time,” Mas told the Miami Herald. “I am optimistic Messi will play in an Inter Miami sh...
Taiwan reports largest incursion yet by Chinese air force
Twenty-eight Chinese air force aircraft, including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers, entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on Tuesday, the island’s government said, the largest reported incursion to date. While there was no immediate comment from Beijing, the news comes after the Group of Seven leaders issued a joint statement on Sunday scolding China for a series of issues and underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, comments China condemned as “slander”. Chinese-claimed Taiwan has complained over the last few months of repeated missions by China’s air force near the self-ruled island, concentrated in the southwestern part of its air defence zone near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands. The latest Chinese mission involved 14 J-16 ...