By Richard Murphy Cable Network News, CNN’s caption for a five minutes flick it produced on the Tuesday October 20, 2020 incident at Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, Nigeria read like the title of a fiction and that is exactly what it is. The title is thus more amenable to being forgiven than the actual content of the video, which …
President Muhammadu Buhari says he is proud of Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, for defecting to the the All Progressives Congress (APC). Buhari described Umahi’s action “as a bold move driven purely by principle rather than opportunistic motives.” “I am proud of Governor David Umahi for taking this bold decision in accordance with his conscience and principles rather than any …
2020 Finance Bill: No Plan To Increase Taxes- The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved the 2020 Finance Bill. The decision was taken at a meeting of the council presided over by the President Muhammadu Buhari. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, briefed State House correspondents of the meeting’s outcome. She said the 2020 Finance Bill …
Renowned human rights activist and writer, Philip Agbese, has written President Muhammadu Buhari, on the lingering strike embarked on by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Recall that university lecturers have been on strike for over eight months in protest against the Federal Government’s preferred Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and want UTAs instead. Agbese, …
As her novel Half of a Yellow Sun is hailed as the Women’s prize ‘winner of winners’, the Nigerian-born, US-based author talks about her relief over Joe Biden’s victory – and the bittersweet highs of a difficult year. A FEW hours before Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and I are due to speak, the result of the US election is finally called. The Nigerian …
By Philip Agbese I have noticed much of cacophonic noises about the alleged shootings and deaths in Lagos Lekki Toll Gate by Nigerian soldiers. The voices are strange and confusing, but loud enough to cause insomnia even to birds of the air and cause disquiet in the abodes of ancestors in their graves. Some people tell me, this land of …
A lot was expected from Amnesty International’s maiden foray into Nigeria in 2015. With its burgeoning global status, Africa’s most populous nation envisaged a new chapter in human rights violation. However, five years down the line, AI has underwhelmed, on its way out of the country. Read also: COVID-19: Some people indifferent to safety guidelines — FCT Residents Amnesty presented itself as …
Professor Mahmood Yakubu By Charles Kumolu The stepping aside of Prof Mahmoud Yakubu as Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for confirmation for a second term has ignited high-wire intrigues within and outside the commission over the soul of the Election Management Body, EMD, Vanguard learned. Yakubu, who stepped aside last week after the expiration …
The Police Command in Benue, on Sunday, said that a middle-aged man, simply identified as Nicodemus, has set himself and his girlfriend ablaze in Makurdi. The command’s Spokesperson, DSP Catherine Anene, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Makurdi that Nicodemus died on the spot, while the girlfriend, also identified as Shiminenge, died later …
Some residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have said that while some persons were in strict compliance with the safety guidelines by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), some were indifferent. Chief Ugochukwu Nnam, President of Initiative for Leadership Development and Change (ILDC), an Abuja-based NGO, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) …
THE recent conviction of some Nigerians living in the United Arab Emirates, UAE, for funding Boko Haram Islamist terrorism came as cheering news to well-meaning Nigerians. We are not used to achieving similar results in Nigeria since the insurgency started eleven years ago. The convicts bagged sentences ranging from life imprisonment to ten years behind …
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency has predicted haziness and sunshine from Monday to Wednesday across Nigeria. NiMet’s weather outlook released on Sunday in Abuja predicted dust haze condition with visibility range of 2km to 5km and localized visibility of less than 1000m over the northern part of the country on Monday morning and afternoon. According to …
Emma Ujah For those who have not been to Kaduna, capital of former Northern Region, in the last one year, a visit would leave them surprised at the new look of the town, due to the on-going Kaduna Urban Renewal programme of Governor Nasir El-Rufai. With the rehabilitation, expansion and building of over 20 roads …
By Victoria Ojeme The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was created in 1975 by the Treaty of Lagos (ECOWAS Treaty). The creation of an ECOWAS Parliament came almost 20 years later, when it was formed alongside other Community institutions with the revision of the ECOWAS Treaty in 1993. Established by Article 13 of the …
…Says multiple stopovers expose people to risk of COVID-19 pandemic By Levinus Nwabughiogu Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Toby Okechukwu, has called on the Federal Government to urgently reopen Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, to foreign flight operations. He said the call was necessary to enable Nigerians visiting home from every part of …
…As Robbers, cultists, hoodlums run riot …37 killed in Edo in one week, 6 in Delta in 4 days, one in Ilorin …Police raid black spots, arrest 720 suspects, recover arms, drugs, looted items in Lagos, call for information to recover looted arms, ammunition in Edo …Gunmen break into Kaduna polytechnic, abduct lecturer, two children By …
Obanikoro A former Minister of State for Defence, Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro, has advised youths to make the pursuit of education their topmost priority. Obanikoro gave the advice at the fifth Coronation Anniversary Ceremony of Oba Abraham Ogabi, the Onimeke of Imeke kingdom, in Badagry. Represented by his son, Mr Ibrahim Obanikoro, the former minister urged …
The security situation in Benin, the Edo capital, has taken a turn for the worse following a jump in cases of kidnapping, armed robbery and cult-related killings, NAN checks have revealed. The upsurge in the crimes was first noticed since the #ENDSARS protests that led to the release of no fewer than 1900 from two …
Lalong signs 2020 revised budget into law Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau has assured youths of participation in his administration in order to address their problems and enhance development in the state. Lalong gave the assurance on Sunday at the 2020 Harvest and Thanksgiving mass of St. Monica’s Catholic Church, Rantya, Jos. While stating that his …
Cross River State Government will meet with owners of public and private property that were vandalised during the EndSARS protest in the state. This was contained in a statement signed on Sunday in Calabar by Mr Christian Ita, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Gov. Ben Ayade. He said that the meeting would hold …
