The immediate past Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, has demanded an apology from the South African Government to Nigeria for embarrassing the country following the confiscation of $15 million meant for the procurement of military hardware for security agencies to better aid them in the campaign against the Boko Haram insurgency. Obanikoro said the action of the South African Government was unacceptable, unnecessary and unfair as the two deals, which led to the seizures of the funds, were not legal. According to the former minister, the South Africans should have a better understanding of the use of…
Author: Wale Adebayo
The Jumia and MTN connectivity week truck certainly made an impact as people spotted the truck in different locations in Lagos, Oyo and Ogun State. Everyone that approached the truck discovered more about Jumia and the new MTN tariff ‘iPulse’. They enjoyed the music and dancing, they were given lots of information and they were given a delightful opportunity to leave with prizes. Customers entered various competitions to win Injoo Phones, MTN Smartphones, laptops and Jumia Vouchers. Facebook winners were also present at the connectivity week trucks to receive their prizes. Click here to explore a large selection of…
The Senate has retained immunity for governors and president, in a move contrary to the position of the House of Representatives as the process leading to the amendment of the 1999 constitution continues. The upper house ratified 23 new amendments to the 1999 Constitution, approving autonomy for local governments, by amending Section 7 of the constitution. The Senate also approved independent candidacy for future elections, in its amendment of sections 65 and 106 of the 1999 Constitution. The Senate also conferred immunity to legislators in respect of words they speak or write in exercise of their legislative duties, amending Section…
PHOTO CREDIT: PUNCH NEWSPAPER The Lagos State Police Command has stated that only the courts could decide the fate of the two dogs, which attacked and ate off the scalp on a four year old boy, Omonigho Abraham’s head in Akesan Estate, Igando area of Lagos State, earlier this month. The command, which paraded the two dogs at its headquarters in Ikeja, Lagos State on Tuesday, added that the dogs had been medially examined and found to be rabies and Ebola-free. The State Commissioner of Police, Cornelius Aderanti, said it was important to parade the dogs so as to dismiss…
A former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, on Tuesday said the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has reunited and in pole position to reclaim the governorship seat of the state in 2015 even as he said the party would complete the road construction work being executed currently by the Senator Ibikunle Amosun administration. He spoke at the reunification rally tagged ‘OGD returns’ held at the PDP secretariat, Abeokuta. The former governor said the party lost the 2011 governorship election to the All Progressives Congress, APC, due to the internal wrangling, which led to his forming the Peoples Party of…
Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State on Tuesday lambasted members of the state executive of the People’s Democratic Party, saying he has come back to stay and no amount of aggression would force him out. It will be his first reaction to the disaffection caused by his defection to the party, particularly as it affects power sharing in the state executive committee. While addressing party’s youth leaders from different parts of the country led by the National Youth Leader of the PDP, Alhaji Abdullahi Maibasira in Akure, the state capital, Mimiko said his return to the PDP was not create…
President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday hailed Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, who turns 60 on Wednesday, for what he described as the governor’s exemplary dedication to the service of his state and Nigeria. President Jonathan in a congratulatory message signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, also commended Uduaghan’s commitment to the ideals of diligence, humility and perseverance. The President wrote, “On behalf of my family, the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I write to express warm felicitations to you on the glorious occasion of your 60th birthday anniversary. “I join…
All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has apologized to the BringBackOurGirls group for presenting it as an APC sub-group. Ogbe had at last Wednesday’s presidential declaration of General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) praised the presence of some leaders of the group at the event as a sign of synergy between APC and the group. Officials of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was quick to take up his assertion saying it lays credence to claims that the group’s advocacy for the return of the 219 Chibok schoolgirls held in captivity by the Boko Haram Islamist group had a political undertone. Subsequently,…
The construction of Abuja (Idu)-Kaduna Standard guage rail line is 85 percent complete and would be delivered by December this year. This was made known by the Minister of Transport, Senator Idiris Umar, who spoke about the activities of his ministry, at the 2014 Ministerial Press briefing in Abuja. According to him, the transport ministry has been working assiduously over the last two years, to provide an alternative transport system with the railway. He said that out of the projected 187.5km rail line, the ministry has achieved 155 km. The minister said that the remaining 32 km would be completed…
The Federal Government and Kaduna State Government are collaborating to improve groundnut farming in the state, according to Tijjani Isiyaku Kaduna State Director, Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA). Isiyaku, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday said both governments were exploring the viability of dry season groundnut farming to improve in the area, and also as a way to diversify the economy. He identified the major challenge faced by groundnut farmers in the state as inadequacy of seeds, but noted however that the Federal Government will as part of its contribution ensure the provision of improved variety…
Foreign minister, Aminu Wali Tuesday expressed hope that attacks by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram will soon end in Nigeria and the more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls will be released. “I can say with some optimism, cautious optimism, that were are moving towards a situation where we’d be able to, in the very near future, to be able to get back our girls,” said Wali in Berlin, at a press conference with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier. “There is a tremendous amount of improvement in terms of the discussions that are going on now and also the possibility of…
President Goodluck Jonathan has the best candidate viability among all potential candidates for the 2015 Presidential Elections, NOI polls, provider of country-specific polling services in the West African region, has said in its latest report. Jonathan got the highest viability rating, following his high familiarity score (99 percent) and high net favourability (+25). Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola got a familiarity score of 94 percent and positive net favourability +8. Another member of the APC, Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, was third on the net favourability and familiarity scores table with net favourability of 0 percent and familiarity score…
Gombe State Committee on Mass Wedding, Tuesday said screening of the 3,000 applicants for the second batch of the nuptial exercise has commenced. The state married 720 couples out across the state, under the first batch of the programme in April. The couples include 32 non-Muslims, 76 Muslim Spinster and 612 Muslim divorcees. In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, Publicity Secretary of the Committee and Senior District Head of Gombe, Alhaji Abdulkadir Abubakar said the committee, which had different sub-committees, was mandated to screen applicants for several cases including pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis. Abubakar commended the Gombe…
Nollywood actress, Biola Ige has just released new lovely photos to mark her birthday which is today on October 21. Check out more pics below: Biola Ige is a Nollywood essence of beauty. She joined the movie industry about four years ago and already she has become one of the desirable actresses in Nigeria. Biola Ige is pretty, controversial, has endured the turbulence that pervades the Nigerian entertainment industry and has made it clear that her decision to become an actress was neither experimental nor accidental. She is one of those actresses who has weathered the storm that comes with…
A women leader and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP member from the Northwest region, Hajia Binta Kuraye has faulted a chieftain of the party from the region, Hon. Bello Haliru for the statement he made during the grand finale of the Transformation Ambassador of Nigeria, TAN, rally in Abuja that the region supported Jonathan/Sambo candidacy for 2015 elections. The women leader said while people of the region want President Goodluck Jonathan to re-contest in 2015, they do not want him to pick Vice President Namadi Sambo as his running mate. There have been speculations that Jonathan is under pressure to drop…
AMEH EBUTE The Senate President in the short-lived Third Republic, Senator Ameh Ebute, has faulted former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s claim that he cannot be in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which parades an ‘indicted criminal’ in the person of Chief Buruji Kashamu, as its leader in the South-West. Kashamu is the Chairman, Mobilisation Committee of the PDP in the Southwest and self-styled leader of the party in the region. Ebute, in an open letter addressed to the former president, copies of which were made available to journalists in Abuja on Monday, accused Obasanjo of double standard. He recalled that Kashamu…
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Monday, officially recognized the role of Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria, TAN, in getting President Goodluck Jonathan re-elected in 2015. The party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, congratulated TAN for its “Pro Jonathan Rallies”. The statement reads: The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wishes to congratulate the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) for successful conclusion of its sensitization rallies across the country in support of our sole Presidential candidate, His Excellency, Dr. Gooduck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR. “The party notes that through these rallies, the numerous achievements of the President Goodluck Jonathan-led PDP administration were adequately projected to the…
A Former Minister of Petroleum and Energy under the military regime of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Prof. Tam David-West, has said it was not time for Nigeria to celebrate after being declared Ebola free by the World Health Organisation, warning that without proper vigilance, the virus could resurface in Nigeria. Nigeria was declared an Ebola free nation by WHO on Monday in Abuja after 42 days with no new reported cases. The Federal Government also won world wide accolade for the manner in which it curtailed the spread of the virus since July, when an American-Liberian, late Patrick Sawyer, imported the…
In a bid to decongest the prisons, Kaduna State Government on Monday ordered the release of 547 prisoners from prisons across the state, among them nine old men who are above the age of 60 and an inmate infected with HIV. The Kaduna, Zaria, Kafanchan, Kachia, Kwoi, Soba, Makarfi, Saminaka, Birnin Gwari, Manchok, Gwantu and Ikara prisons were the facilities where inmates were freed to decongest them. Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Garba Uba-Shehu, told reporters on Monday in Kaduna State that the government had also dropped over 600 cases. The commissioner said the release of the prisoners was…
The Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III has called for continued dialogue among Nigerians. The sultan made the call in Asaba, the Delta State capital when he visited Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, on Monday ahead of the lecture on Anger Management organised to mark the governor’s 60th birthday. Alhaji Abubakar III described the Delta State governor as a trail-blazer in engaging in actions that unite Nigerians despite their ethnic and religious persuasions. “I am in Asaba to take part in the discussion on issues affecting our nation. We should thank the…