Abuja [The InfoStride] – Inaugurating new board members of the White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria (WRAN) today, in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, the Founder of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa and inaugural WRAN Board Chair, H.E. Mrs. Toyin Saraki, has commended the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood for its efforts towards ensuring Respectful Maternity Care and improved maternity in Nigeria. Recently appointed as the Grand Patron of the White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria, Mrs. Saraki – who has been a long-standing member of the White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria, stated, “The impact of the White Ribbon Alliance globally has been outstanding. Since we…
Author: Admin
Fellow Cross Riverians, I greet you all in this season of Christmas which ushers in the Africa’s biggest street party, the Carnival Calabar. I salute you all for constantly believing that Cross River State can be great again. And I urge us to be of good conduct and show patriotism for our State and nation especially as we play host to many of our friends and well wishers expected to join us for the Carnival Calabar. My people, we must thank God for his constant support on our dear State in-spite of the challenges that have been occasioned by the…
President Mohammadu Buhari reiterates his commitment to tacked corruption to a stand still as he said yesterday that his government will soon publish names of those who have returned portions of their loot from public coffers. This was as one of his spokesmen, Garba Shehu, said in Kaduna that the Presidency would step on toes in their anti-corruption fight. Shehu said that the Presidency would do so for the interest of Nigeria. President Buhari, according to The Cable News, said that the Central Bank of Nigeria will soon publicly name those who looted Nigeria and who have returned part of they…
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Friday upheld the election of Senator Godswill Akpabio who is representing Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District of Akwa Ibom State. In a unanimous judgment, Justice Moshood Oredola, who led the three-man panel of justices of the court, held that the appellant and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Inibehe Okori, failed to prove the allegation of irregularities and malpractices in the election that produced Akpabio. Oredola, therefore, dismissed the case for lacking in merit and upheld the decision of the lower tribunal, which had endorsed the election. The court also held that…
Hotel Owners Forum Abuja (HOFA) laments over the Nigerian economy and how greatly businesses have been affected as a result of imposed multiple taxation by the Nigerian government and the Municipal Area Council. “The general operating environment is still very challenging for us. I have already made mention of the lull in business so far in 2015” says Mrs Bola Onigbogi, President of Abuja Hotel Owners Forum. “But our regulatory environment has not kept apace. We have been saddled with new regulations and tariffs that has made our operations very difficult, she lamented. Addressing members during its annual event Friday,…
Ministers of Health from West African countries will be gathering in Senegal to Shape New 2016-2020 Agenda for Expanded Voluntary Family Planning in the Region. [DAKAR, Senegal, 11 December 2015] At a convening of ministers of health from nine West African countries, the Ouagadougou Partnership – a regional partnership to expand voluntary family planning – will announce that 1.2 million additional women and girls are now using modern contraceptives compared to four years ago. Francophone West Africa has historically lagged behind the rest of the world in family planning, maternal, newborn and child health indicators. Regionally, fewer than 16% of…
The full implementation of Treasury Single Account (TSA) by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government, with the core objectives of blocking leakages in government revenues and expenditures across board, is quite outstanding and laudable for its clear potentials to salvage the Nigerian economy from decline to prosperity. At the time when heads are nodded in appreciation of this development, it definitely would spark high-feeling to hear of any ‘rumour’ that the motives of the TSA are somehow tampered with or tapped for exploitative gains, particularly in any form of fraud, unauthorised or excess charges anyway attacked to the problem-solving TSA. Sometimes…
The Court of Appeal sitting in Ilorin, yesterday, upheld the election of Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki as the lawmaker representing Kwara Central Senatorial District. The court held that Saraki was duly elected during the March 28, 2015 National Assembly elections. The presiding judge, Justice J. S. Ikyegh, who read the judgment, said there was no basis for the appeal, as the appellant did not prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate in the election, Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq had challenged Saraki’s election at the Election Petitions Tribunal but lost out as the tribunal affirmed Saraki’s election.…
The Kogi polical saga has shown no sign of abating despite the presentation of certificate of return to the winner of the election, Alhaji Yahaya Bello of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lokoja on Wednesday. The Deputy Governor-Elect, Hon. Abiodun Faleke, who is doing everything within his advantage to protest the nomination of Bello as replacement to the late Prince Abubakar Audu, was absent. First, Faleke wrote a letter to the Independent National Electoral, INEC protesting Bello’s nomination, declining to be running mate to him. He has told everyone who cares to know that he never was running mate to…
Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has condoled with former Nigeria skipper and Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, who lost his darling wife, Kate, on Wednesday night. NFF President Amaju Pinnick spoke at length with Keshi over the phone on Thursday afternoon, as news of the tragic incident filtered into the public space. Sources said that Kate, 54, died on Wednesday night in far away United States of America, after a brief illness. “This is devastating. To lose a spouse is the equivalent of a tragedy. I pray that Almighty God will give you and the children the fortitude to bear this huge…
Abuja [The InfoStride] – Speaking at the 2015 Family Planning Stakeholders Consultative Forum, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa Founder-President, H.E. Mrs. Toyin Saraki, has called for increased investments in personal health records to address the unmet need for family planning in Nigeria. Delivering a goodwill message as the event’s Guest of Honour, Mrs. Toyin Saraki stated, “Family planning is a powerful tool for improving maternal health outcomes, therefore its place in improving reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) cannot be over emphasized. We must work together to fill the 22% gap in unmet need for family planning services but at…
The Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Momoh Jimoh, has been impeached. The impeachment was endorsed by 17 out of the 25-member House. The Speaker was accused of financial misconduct and recklessness. Sources said the impeachment of the Speaker may not be unconnected with highwire politicking in the state to placate the people of Kogi East. It would be recalled both the newly elected governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello and the impeached Speaker are from the same Okene Local Government Area. He might have been impeached to ensure power balance in the state. Meanwhile, member representing Ogori/Magongo Constituency in…
Kaymu, Nigeria’s #1 online marketplace has announced its partnership with Interswitch to provide innovative payment options for its customers. Through this partnership hundreds of thousands of customers currently conducting business transactions via the Kaymu platform are provided with a reliable alternative pre-payment solution. According to Sefik Bagdadioglu, “trust is a major issue in e-commerce and we take this very seriously at Kaymu. It is an essential component in every part of the transaction, from honest product descriptions right through to reliable payment options. This necessitated a partnership with Interswitch to promote a secure and enabling environment for people to make…
The immediate past Minister of Finance, and Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was said to have illegally approved the transfer of at least N61.4 billion ($300 million and £5.5 million) from funds recovered from late dictator, Sani Abacha, to the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), few weeks to the 2015 presidential election, it was gathered, yesterday According to a letter signed by Okonjo-Iweala, which was obtained by online medium, Premium Times, the former Finance minister signed off the transfer of the funds but requested then President Goodluck Jonathan to directly demand…
Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) yesterday decried the low conviction rate in high-profile corruption cases, saying there was still a long way to go. He said since the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was established in 2002, only eight high profile cases had been successfully concluded despite of widespread corruption. According to him, of the eight cases, one was overturned by the Supreme Court on technical grounds, which means only seven major convictions were secured after trial in 13 years. “We must do more. This is not a campaign for conviction at all cost in high profile cases, but…
The Anti-Corruption Network, which filed a petition of N44.5 million graft allegation against the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) Chairman, Justice Danladi Umar, yesterday failed again to appear before the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, to defend the petition. This prompted Justice Umar to ask the committee to dismiss the petition, a request that the panel, yesterday, turned down. The House Committee had fixed, yesterday, to hear the corruption allegation against the CCT chairman by the Anti-Corruption Network, after the petitioner failed to attend the hearing, last week. In the petition to the House, through the Speaker, Yakubu…
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned erstwhile DAAR Communications Chairman, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja over alleged N2.1 billion fraud. Dokpesi, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is answering to a six-count criminal charge bordering on alleged procurement fraud and breach of public trust. He was arraigned alongside his firm, DAAR Investment and Holdings Ltd, owners of African Independent Television, AIT, and Raypower FM. Specifically, EFCC, in the charge signed by its Deputy Director, Legal & Prosecution, Mr. Aliyu Yusuf, alleged that Dokpesi received about N2.1 billion from the office of…
All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, says the party will replace James Abiodun Faleke as deputy governor-elect should the need arise. He made the statement in Abuja on Wednesday in an interaction with newsmen. Faleke, who was running mate to late Prince Abubakar Audu in the Nov. 21 gubernatorial elections in Kogi, rejected the same position after the party replaced Audu with Alhaji Yayaha Bello, who was runner-up in the party’s primaries. Faleke demanded that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should declare him governor-elect, and chose Audu’s son, Mohammed, as his running mate. He threatened to court of INEC failed to…
President Muhammadu Buhari has described the misapplication of the arms purchase fund as “an abuse of trust.” He made the statement during a dinner for the members of the House of Representatives at the old Banquet Hall of the State House in Abuja. Former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki, along with other individuals, are currently on trial for alleged diversion of arms purchase fund. President Buhari expressed disappointment that the necessary equipment and other logistics, which the money was meant for, were not supplied, thereby working against defeating Boko Haram. “Unfortunately for us as a people, we uncovered that billions of…
President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesperson, Garba Shehu, issued a statement that president has announced that the return of people displaced by Boko Haram terrorism to their home communities will commence in earnest next year. This was reveal while President Buhari was speaking at an audience with a delegation from the International Rescue Committee led by former British Foreign Minister, David Miliband. The president noted that his government will do all within its powers to assist in the quick return and relocation of over two million internally displaced people in their towns and villages. President Buhari told Miliband and his delegation that the government will…