The House of Representatives today passed the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) as the seventh Assembly ends tenure today. After several years of back and forth, the bill, which has, as one of its central tenets, the requirement to indigenise the oil and gas industry, had on the last day of legislation of the 6th House of Representatives in 2011 been killed. However, consideration of its contents continued in the 7th Assembly. But on Tuesday, the Reps suspended the consideration of clause 209 of the PIB, due to some contentious issues, raising fears the PIB will again fail to be passed…
Author: Wale Adebayo
President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to continue with the amnesty programme in the Niger-Delta in order to bring about lasting peace and stability in the area. A statement on Thursday in Abuja by Mr Ohi Alegbe, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Department, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) explained that Dr Jamila Shu’ara, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources said this while delivering Buhari’s message at the ongoing 167th Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) International Seminar in Vienna, Austria. According to her, the president was also committed to ensuring stability in other parts of Nigeria, thus making the operational…
Ebonyi State Governor, Mr. Dave Umahi, has reversed the appointment of 16 permanent secretaries made by former Governor Martin Elechi, barely a week to the end of his administration. Umahi reversed the appointment on Thursday in Abakaliki during a meeting with the leadership of the organised labour in the state and the Christian Association of Nigeria. The governor said he took the decision because his administration inherited an empty treasury from its predecessor, adding that the appointment of additional permanent secretaries would create more problems for the government. He said, “The state government is finding it difficult to pay workers’ salaries…
file photo A tanker transporting fuel was yesterday involved in an accident at Owena, a border town between Ondo and Osun states, killing at least 10 persons and injuring 20 others. The brake of the vehicle was said to have failed and it rammed into a market that was along the road. The accident makes it, at least, three of such to have claimed lives since the fuel scarcity that has rocked Nigeria for several weeks began. The scarcity saw the number of tankers travelling Nigerian roads, following the calling off of the strike that started the scarcity, increase. An…
Former Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, has described the directive by his successor, Nyesom Wike, for a probe of his tenure as a deliberate witch hunt. According to the ex-governor, Wike has gone ahead with his plan of threatening, coercing and blackmailing officials of his administration, especially civil servants into making false, phony and bogus statements that would make legitimate government transactions appear as corrupt practices. In a statement signed on his behalf by his media aide, David Iyofor, the ex-governor called on Rivers people, the media and general public to watchful, vigilant and discern the fraudulent acts of Governor…
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday reassured Nigerians that he would do all within his powers to ensure that they would not regret voting him into office just as he said his administration was capable of fixing the nation’s problems. Buhari made the assertion in an address he delivered to members of the Nigerian community in Republic of Niger during his visit to the country. A copy of his speech was made available to journalists in Abuja by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu. The president told the Nigerian community that his government was just coming…
Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State has reacted to speculations in some quarters that there is crisis in the state chapter of the All Progressive Congress over N100 million inauguration fund. Badaru, who spoke to journalists in Dutse, Jigawa State capital yesterday, said the report that crisis over the money is causing disquiet in the government and APC in the state, is a figment of the imagination of the publishers, who according to him, are out to cause problems in the state. The governor described the report as callous, unfounded and unprofessional, adding that his administration did not release any…
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday gave the assurance that he will review a report by the human rights organization, Amnesty International, alleging widespread torture and extra-judicial killings by Nigerian military in the ongoing fight against Boko Haram in Northeastern Nigeria. In a report published Wednesday, the human rights organization accused the military of killing 8,000 prisoners in extra-judicial circumstances. The report listed senior military commanders, including serving and past service chiefs, and suggested that they be investigated for possible war crimes. The Senior Special Assistant (Media & Publicity) to the President, Garba Shehu, said in a statement in Niamey, Niger…
A former Governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, was on Wednesday a guest of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, where he was interrogated on some dealings while he held sway as governor between 2003 and 2011. The former governor was alleged to have mismanaged part of the N300 billion his administration received from the federation account during his tenure. Recall that following his failure to honour EFCC’s invitation, the anti-graft agency had on Monday, May 25, 2015, threatened that it will declare him wanted over the allegations against him. Sheriff is the second ex-governor to have…
The Federal Ministry of Environment has canceled the N9.2 billion clean cook stoves and wonder bags contract, initiated by the former administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan for rural women under the national clean cooking scheme. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs Fatima Mede, said the German contractor, who was given three months to supply 750,000 units of the stove and 18,000 wonder bags under the scheme, had failed on his part to deliver the items. Mrs. Mede confirmed that five billion Naira had been released to the Ministry by the government out of which the contractor has received only N1.3…
The Command and Control headquarters of the Nigerian Armed Forces have been relocated to Maiduguri, the epicentre of the Boko Haram terrorist group, in compliance with the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari. According to Vanguard, Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Kenneth Minimah is to lead principal staff officers and some directors to Maiduguri tomorrow. The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Nunayon Amosu will also relocate to Maiduguri with a contingent of his principal staff officers and some directors at NAF headquarters. Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh and the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice…
The relative normalcy enjoyed in the supply of petroleum products nationwide may soon be disrupted as the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association, DAPPMA, is claiming that the federal government is yet to give firm indication of when it will pay the outstanding subsidy of about N291billion The DAPPMA in a statement by its executive secretary, Femi Adewole, in Lagos yesterday, recalled the aftermath of the Senate Committees’ meeting with major petroleum industry players, which succeeded in persuading the petroleum tanker drivers (PTD), NUPENG and NARTO to call off their strike on May 25, 2015, and resume loading of fuel…
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State yesterday stopped an unruly driver from flouting traffic laws at a popular roundabout in Sokoto metropolis. Tambuwal, who was driving after office hours, stopped at the traffic light at the UDUTH roundabout in Gawon Nama area of the city. While waiting, a man driving a Mercedes E350 suddenly left the queue and attempted to overtake other road users, defying the traffic light. Immediately, the governor drove out of the queue and stopped him. He directed the driver to return to his position on the queue while counselling him on the need to be disciplined and obey traffic…
Ex-militant leader, High Chief Government Ekpomupolo popularly called Tompolo, has denied allegations that the past administration of President Goodluck Jonathan paid him N1.5 billion monthly to secure the nation’s maritime domain. The pioneer chairman of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Tijani Ramalan, had made the allegation on Tuesday in Abuja and called on the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the payments, which he said commenced shortly after Jonathan won election in 2011. Speaking through his spokesperson, Comrade Paul Bebenimibo, the former militant leader accused Ramalan of merely seeking desperate attention in the hope of getting…
Governor Mohammaed Abubakar of Bauchi State has adopted stringent measures to deal with the current economic realities of the state by slashing his salary and that of his deputy by fifty per cent. He has also frozen all Government accounts. Speaking in his maiden state-wide broadcast yesterday, Abubakar said: “All government accounts in every bank are hereby frozen, similarly all pending financial transactions and instruments are hereby suspended. However, MDAs that are charged with essential services may and can formally apply for waiver from my office”.
Nollywood Actor, Mike Ezuruonye has shared pictures of him and his cute son,Reynold Nkembuchim Ezuruonye. The handsome actor has been married to his wife, Nkechi Nnorom for 5 years who is a medical-psychologist based in Canada. Mike Has Received two nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Best Actor in a Leading Role at the African Movie Academy Awards in 2008 and 2009. He has acted in Hundreds of Nollywood Movies including, Games Men Play, The Mayors among others. READ MORE: http://www.naij.com/452799-mike-ezuruonye-his-son-reynold-stun-in-new-photos.html
As Islamist sect Boko Haram intensified attacks on Nigeria’s north, President Muhammadu Buhari has renewed his vow to crush the militant group. Speaking yesterday in Niger Republic where he went to have security talks with the country’s president over how the two countries can cooperate to end insurgency, Buhari stated that “five years of the presence of this evil sect is enough.” “I renew my commitment to track Boko Haram into a corner, to destroy it. Five years of the presence of this evil sect is enough. On the issue of the Niger military positioned in cities of Nigeria, I…
There have been rumors from way back that Nigerian female rapper, Eva Alordiah, was gay. This photo has only further pushed that notion. Eva posted the above photo on Instagram and fans and critics have been having a serious debate on Instagram. Most of her fans are saying the rapper is into lesbianism. Eva caption reads “I love that I met you. Meeting you helped me let go. Letting go helped me heal. Healing isn’t something everyone gets a chance at. I want to see you again Helen Chalmers. Please say yes!” What do you think???
It has been forward and forward for the former BBA Housemate, Tayo Faniran since the show ended. He has now gallantly grace the cover page of ‘House of Maliq’ magazine, with Ghanaian actress Princess Shyngle. Tayo was styled by Eneh Peter Godwin while Shyngle was styled by Miss Maliq. See photos below: –
We all know that Tuface Idibia was the figure head behind Vote Not Fight Campaign. On Tuesday, May 19, 2015 at Primal hotel, Tubaba disclosed what the electoral initiative cost him monetarily. According to him, The ‘Vote not Fight’ campaign cost him a sum of One Hundred and Fourteen million Naira in partisan and non-partisan shows and performances. 2face also rejected an offer to contest for a House of Representatives seat. The finale of the campaign was internal review session with members of the Vote Not Fight campaign team and partners and ended with an interactive session with the media.…