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…