The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, says Nigeria cannot afford to continue to be a consuming nation by depending on others for her basic needs. Speaking, Wednesday, when he met with heads of agencies under the Ministry in his office in Abuja, Dr. Onu, who reiterated his resolve to effect change, said “it is difficult to understand that a greatly endowed nation like Nigeria will export crude oil and import refined oil, export wood and import toothpicks”. “The successful tackling and resolving these key issues which hitherto have been holding back our progress as a nation is…
Author: Wale Adebayo
Nigeria’s House of Representatives on Wednesday mandated its Committees on Petroleum Resources, Upstream, and Downstream, to investigate the lingering crisis in the supply of petroleum products in the country. This followed a motion moved by Rep. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama (PDP-Edo) which was unanimously adopted. Leading the debate, Ogbeide-Ihama said that Nigerians were experiencing difficulties because of persistent problems confronting the oil and gas sector. He blamed the lingering scarcity of petroleum products on absence of functional refineries to serve local consumption. “This is responsible for the dependence on imported products, hence the regular fuel crisis in the country which is causing untold…
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Wednesday sentenced a 37-year-old man, Amaechi Igwe, to 25 years in jail for drug peddling. Igwe was arraigned by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on June 25, on a one-count charge bordering on the offence. He had pleaded guilty to the charge. Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia had consequently ordered his remand at the Ikoyi Prisons and had adjourned the case for a review of facts and sentencing. In her judgment on Wednesday, Ofili-Ajumogobia found the accused guilty of the offence as charged, and convicted him. “I have considered all the evidence…
Chairman of the Senate ad-hoc committee on Aviation, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has said the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, second runway project will be captured in the 2016 budget so that it can be executed without further delay. He gave the assurance Tuesday shortly after he led other members of the committee to an oversight inspection of facilities at the Abuja airport, which is the second busiest after the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. Fielding questions from journalists after the inspection, Senator Kwankwaso said the Abuja airport’s second runway project will form part of his ad-hoc committee’s recommendation to…
The Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, on Tuesday said the ministry would, in the coming week, unveil the roadmap that would guide local and foreign investors in the mining sector. Aside detailing the quantity and quality of mineral deposits in the country, the document, when released, would also list the categories of mining licences as well as ensure strict adherence to the conditions attached to them, among other things. The Minister disclosed this during a meeting with the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Perry Calderwood, in Abuja yesterday. Mr. Fayemi, who said the country was set to partner…
Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital, turned rowdy today as some youths supporting the All Progressives Congress (APC) marched through the streets, demanding the announcement of election result in Southern Ijaw local government area. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday canceled the rescheduled election in the area amid allegations of violence, voter intimidation, ballot snatching and abduction of electoral officials among other electoral malpractices. With results announced in the other seven LGAs of the state, INEC was forced to declare the election inconclusive pending the conduct of election in Southern Ijaw, which is the largest LGA in Bayelsa State.…
Wuse Zone 2 Magistrates’ Court in Abuja has sentenced a 27-year-old unemployed graduate, Mukaila Akanni, to one month imprisonment for stealing a laptop at the American Embassy, Abuja. Akanni was handed the sentence on Wednesday by Magistrate Fatima Bukar after he pleaded guilty to the charges leveled against him. Magistrate Bukar, however, gave the convict an option to pay a fine of N50,000. Earlier, the prosecutor, John Ijagbemi of the FCT Police Command, said that one Johnson Adeyemi of American Embassy, reported the case at Central Police Station Abuja on Nov. 26. According to him, the convict entered the security…
The Federal Government will reintroduce toll gates where revenue generated can be channelled towards sustaining and maintaining quality federal roads; Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, confirmed this yesterday. In his maiden press conference at the Ministry of Works in Abuja, Fashola also disclosed that the former Ministry of Works owes 206 contractors over N2 trillion for which only N13 billion was released to the Ministry out of the N18.132 billion it budgeted for. “Maintenance would be our watchword. We are setting up a robust maintenance regime to keep our highways in good shape. This shows that tolling…
The Federal Government, yesterday, told a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, why it was not in a hurry to release the detained leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, as it claimed that its investigations revealed that Kanu, who is seen as the brain behind recent clamour for the creation of ‘Biafra Republic’, had already received huge sums of money to purchase weapons. In a counter-affidavit before the court, the FG said that prior to his arrest, Kanu, had already made enquiries about prices of all the weapons he intends to buy. A senior officer with…
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has defended its decision to reduce the N1.04 trn fine on MTN Nigeria to N780billion, saying it acted in the interest of the stability of the telecom sector. The NCC said after weighing the pros and cons of the initial fine handed down, it arrived at a decision it considered favourable to all concerned. According to the Director, Public Affairs of the NCC, Mr Tony Ojobo, after considering the operator’s admission of guilt, huge investment in the country, the large subscriber base and Nigeria being its largest market, the decision to arrive at the reduction…
The Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Masari says there is a strong linkage between Boko Haram and cattle rustlers that are terrorising the northern parts of the country. Masari stated this during the opening ceremony of two-day Cattle Breeders/Dealers Stakeholders Meeting in Katsina on Tuesday. According to him, it was because of the linkage that President Muhammadu Buhari directed all security chiefs to join hands with the governors of eight states in the north-west zone to tackle the menace of rustling. He said Boko Haram insurgents and the cattle rustlers have similar modes of operation by killing people and destroying…
Kogi State Governor-elect under the platform of APC, Alhaji Yahaya Bello says he would not join issues with James Faleke, the running-mate of late Prince Abubakar Audu, over the Kogi governorship election crisis. Faleke who was presented as the running mate to Bello by the All Progressives Congress (APC) had said he would not take oath of office as deputy governor following the declaration of Mr. Bello as governor-elect on Sunday by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). According to a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja by Bello’s media assistant, Suleiman Abdulmalik, the governor-elect said dialogue remained the best…
Rector of Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, Akwa Ibom State, Joshua Okpo, who is under probe, has slipped into coma after being hit by a sudden cardiac-arrest. Okpo was hospitalised at the National Hospital in Abuja, yesterday when the incident happened. Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, had few weeks ago, ordered the probe of the accounts of the Academy and the tenure of its Rector over the N18 billion released to the institution. It was learnt that the rector incurred the Minister’s wrath when he accused the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) of starving the academy of…
President Muhammadu Buhari did not allocate for kerosene in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) which he presented to the National Assembly on Tuesday, reports have said, suggesting that the president might have strategically scrapped kerosene subsidy in the country. The federal government subsidizes kerosene so that a litre sells at N50 but Nigerians hardly buy at the approved rate, with many retailers selling for as high as N130 per litre. According to Vanguard, the document indicated that the present federal administration is to borrow the sum of N1.835.88 trillion to fund the 2016 budget which…
US Republican Presidential Candidate Ben Carson is planning to visit Nigeria this year in a tour of three African countries. The retired neurosurgeon who said he has traced his roots back to Africa, Kenya precisely, said he was visiting Nigeria to see things happening in the country’s northeast firsthand; “get an ideal from the people what the effects of Boko Haram are, what people are thinking, to see what the economic situation is there…,” Carson told America’s Hugh Hewitt Show. Carson also plans to visit Babcock University whose medical school is named after him. Asked whether he thinks American ground…
Former Relations Manager of GTBank, Ms Ajuma Oloko, said her involvement with the officials of the Benue Government in money transfers was purely official. Oloko made the remark in Makurdi on Tuesday while testifying before Benue Commission of Inquiry set up by Governor Samuel Ortom to investigate the finances of the state between 2007 and May 2015. The commission had invited Oloko to explain the whereabouts of N128.8 million she received from the Ministry of Finance and the purpose of the money. Oloko admitted receiving only N70 million from the ministry. “I was directed to deposit it into an account…
The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to beam his searchlight on political corruption. Chairman of IPAC, Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim, made the call on Tuesday after he led a delegation of the council on a courtesy visit to President Buhari at the State House in Abuja. Ibrahim, in a presentation to the president at the closed-door meeting, said the council was already leading in the role to curtail negative influence of big money on Nigerian politics. According to him, not only does “big money politics” diminish the power of the vote, it also perpetuates the vicious cycle…
President Muhammadu Buhari has called on the President of Benin Republic, Mr. Boni Yayi, to complete the legacy of patriotism and statesmanship he began, by ensuring a peaceful transition in his country next year. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, in a statement on Tuesday, quoted Buhari as making the call while receiving Yayi at the Presidential Villa in Abuja today. According to the statement, Buhari commended the efforts made so far by the outgoing President Yayi and the Beninoise National Electoral Commission to ensure a peaceful and transparent presidential election in Benin…
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday said the policies of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration and his “apparent lack of viable economic initiatives” were inflicting hardship on Nigerians. The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, said in a statement that it was disheartening the present administration had remained insensitive and unresponsive to the feelings of Nigerians. The party said the hardship was occasioned by lack of competent hands in the management nation’s economy. “Rather than evolving economic initiatives to improve the lot of the citizens, this administration has in the last seven months churned out policies that stifle…
Jigawa State Governor, Senator Muhammadu Jibrilla Bindow, has apologized to women in the state for being under-represented in his new appointments. The governor made the apology while swearing in 49 newly-appointed Development Area Administrators at the Government House, Yola on Tuesday. Sen. Bindow urged the women to bear with him, adding that he would make up for their under-representation in future political appointments. It was learnt that of the 49 newly-appointed DAAs, only one woman, Ms Esther Pius, made the list. This is just the first major appointment made by this administration, I want to assure the women that…