Some members of the Lagos State House of Assembly (LSHA) said on Sunday that the present bicameral legislature operating at the Federal level was strengthening political checks and balances in the system. The lawmakers who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said there was nothing wrong with the present system, adding that the bicameral system brought growth to the country’s democracy. The Deputy Speaker, LAHA, Mr Taiwo Kolawole, told NAN that there was nothing wrong with the system but urged the Senate to improve on its performance. Kolawole said that the roles of the Senate in Nigeria’s democracy could not…
Author: Wale Adebayo
The Borno Government on Sunday donated N10 million to victims of last week’s suspected Boko Haram attack in Limankara village in Gwoza Local Government Area of the state. Governor Kashim Shettima, represented by the Commissioner for Commerce and Investment, Dr. Asabe Vilita, said he was deeply touched by the incident. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the cash was donated during a sympathy visit to the community. “I have been directed to present a N10 million cash donation on behalf of the state government for the victims of the unfortunate attack. “The governor would have loved to present the…
The Federal Government has said it would give all the necessary support for the full take-off of the Computer Based Test (CBT) mode of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in 2015. Nyesom Wike, Supervising Minister of Education, gave this assurance when he monitored the conduct of the CBT in Abuja yesterday. Wike, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Dr. Mac John Nwabiala, said what he has seen has shown that CBT testing mode would give credibility to exam results. “If this is replicated by WAEC, NECO and other examination bodies, then we will…
Governors of the 19 northern states under the aegis of Northern States Governors Forum, NSGF, have commiserated with the Governor of Nasarawa State, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura over the death of his sister, Hajiya Husseina Baban Kwakwu. Chairman of the forum and governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary in Minna, Danladi Ndayebo, described Hajiya Kwaku’s death as painful. The forum urged the governor not to be discouraged, but to continue his good work in the state.
While a lot of people may not yet be familiar with the name ‘Harmony’ in the Nigerian music industry, she seems like on artiste to watch out for. The light skinned upcoming singer, whose real name is Emike Ekwe hails from Auchi in Delta state and is more than ready to take the entertainment industry by storm and raise some brows. Although she is still trying to get her music heard and put her name on the spot light, the singer has made it known that she is more than ready to boost her career and hit the highs, even…
Northern Christian elders have risen to the defence of President Goodluck Jonathan in the face of public criticism over his purported cancellation of a trip to Chibok, Borno State, saying it is not advisable for him to visit the North-East now with the spate of Boko Haram insurgency in the region, describing the zone as dangerous. The elders under the aegis of Northern States Christian Elders Forum (NOSCEF) said the president could direct rescue efforts for the over 200 pupils of Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, abducted by the Boko Haram sect on April 14, 2014, from the…
The Ekiti State wing of The Progressive Youths, TPY, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure the June 21 governorship election in the state was free and fair. The group made this known in a press statement jointly signed by its president, Lawal Adegoke-Bamayi and the Director of Media, Information and Strategies, Mr. Femi Awojobi and made available to newsmen in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital on Saturday. While noting that the burden of electing the most credible candidate rested on the people, TPY stressed that “the electoral empire has a major role to play especially…
The highly anticipated official declaration of President Goodluck Jonathan’s interest to seek a second term in office might have been postponed indefinitely if the report by SUNDAY PUNCH is anything to go by. Prior to this moment, all was set for the president to declare his re-election bid as the tempo was gathering momentum even as many groups had been formed with the aim of selling his candidature to Nigerians. According to feelers, the president was supposed to make his intention known this month, after he had deliberately kept his cards close to his chest for months. However, following the…
Adamawa State Governor, Admiral Murtala Nyako (rtd) has stated that only God and posterity would judge his resolution to stand by the people even in the face of powerful forces whose agenda was to subject the people to untold hardship. Nyako, who spoke through his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Mallam Ahmad Sajoh, was reacting to a question of whether the state government had any plans of scuttling the extension of the emergency rule as requested by President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of Tuesday’s Senate plenary where the final decision on the subject will be adopted. The governor said as…
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has blamed the security challenges bedeviling the country on Nigerian leaders’ inability to provide responsible governance and quality education in the country. ASUU National President, Dr. Nasir Fagge, made the observation in his welcome address at the opening ceremony of the 18th national delegates conference (NDC) of the union, which held at the University of Ibadan. Fagge also called for a total revamp of the country’s economic model, which he noted, “allows for wholesale stealing under the guise of privatization”. He stressed, “The political landscape is increasingly becoming intolerant and desperate; this is…
The Imo Government says it is constructing specialist hospitals in each of the 27 local government areas of the state at the cost of over N20.2 billion. Gov. Rochas Okorocha said this while taking visiting editors round the projects on Saturday. He said that each of the hospitals would concentrate in treatment of specific medical condition such as cancer, brain tumor, kidney, heart, among others. The governor said that the contract for the project was awarded at the cost of N750 million per unit. He said that the hospitals, when completed, would be managed by a foreign company for a…
The Ogun State Command of Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) on Saturday, advised motorists to exercise caution and drive carefully during the rainy season to prevent accidents. The advice was given by the state sector commander, FRSC, Mr Adegoke Adetunji in an interview with journalists in Abeokuta, the state capital. Adetunji said the warning was necessitated by the rate of road traffic accidents, which he noted was always high and worrisome during the rainy season. “During the rainy season we have a lot of road crashes because drivers, especially the commercial drivers, fail to do those things that they are…
The African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM) has lauded the support given by the world leaders and global institutions to Nigeria in the fight against insurgency. The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan and the president of the mission, expressed the appreciation in a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday. The statement said that Jonathan noted the efforts of the international community at sending out a strong message; consistent with the objectives of the mission in promoting peace and stability. According to the statement, the support of the world leaders is cardinal to ensuring the safe return of the girls abducted…
Principal of Government College, Makurdi, Mr Godfrey Ugudu, on Saturday said that the school has received letters from Islamist sect group, Boko Haram, threatening to attack the school. Ugudu, announced this at a news conference in Makurdi on Saturday. He said that the school received two letters which had the same content on May 14. “It is true that we saw two letters informing us of the intention of the sect to invade our school on Friday or Monday by Boko Haram. The letters were dated May 14, 2014, stating that they were coming either of the two days to…
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has indicated in a new report that life expectancy in Nigeria, Angola and other countries have remained stagnant even as it has increased over the years around the world; leading to people living more longer years in their life time as opposed to previous decades. The report which was released at the ongoing 67th World Health Assembly (WHA) taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, said “People everywhere are living longer, according to the World Health Statistics 2014 published today by WHO. Based on global averages, a girl who was born in 2012 can expect to live…
The Ondo State Government will tomorrow commence a week-long intensive training for about 300 newly-engaged young graduates under its Pro-farmer and Agro-preneurs Sustainable Scheme (PASS). Giving the overview of the training programme, the Chairman of the State Wealth Creation Agency (WECA) Mrs. Bolanle Olafunmiloye, said the scheme was an initiative of the Agency to expose the potential agro-preneurs to both theoretical and practical aspect of agriculture and agric-business. Olafunmiloye, according to a release, said they would be trained in agricultural skills such as introduction and processing of broilers, layer and egg production, fish farming and sericulture. She added that the…
Nigerian Navy (NN) personnel drawn from Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Benin and NNS Ikot-Abasi, have rescued a distressed oil tanker, MT SP Brussels at the Lagos anchorage, killing two of the pirates who had hijacked the vessel and killed two crew members. The oil tanker with International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and MMSI numbers 9387164 and 538003624 respectively, is registered in Marshall Islands with a length and beam of 118 and 18 metres respectively. With its call sign reading as V7MI7, the 35 gross tonnage vessel and 14 metric tonnes container capacity of products, had last communicated its position on April…
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday, in Paris, claimed that the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria had claimed over 12,000 lives. Jonathan spoke at a summit with his counterparts from Benin Republic, Chad, Cameroun and Niger, where an action plan designed to counter the terror activities of Boko Haram in West Africa was approved. The action plan would involve coordination of surveillance efforts, sharing of intelligence and joint efforts to secure the porous borders in the region. French President Francois Hollande hosted the summit in response to the terror activities of Boko Haram which peaked about a month ago with the abduction…
A former negotiator between Boko Haram and government, Shehu Sani has urged the Nigerian government to negotiate with Boko Haram to secure the release of more than 200 girls held by the terror group. Sani who spoke to CNN said the Federal Government may have to embrace the unpalatable option of a prisoner swap if it wants the girls back, adding that if the FG was not ready to negotiate, then it must brace up and fight. “There are two ways to which you can get these girls free,” Sani told CNN’s “Connect the World” show. “The first is to…
Nigeria will not succumb to the threat by terrorist group, Boko Haram, President Goodluck Jonathan has declared. The president made the declaration on Saturday at the Elysee Palace in Paris during the regional summit on security in Nigeria convened by President Francois Hollande of France. In his address at the summit, Jonathan was quoted as saying in reference to the recent wave of insurgency attacks that “This latest attack is a wake-up call for all of us. A line has been drawn in the sand; a test is put to each one of us. “Nigeria will rise up to this…