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Emeka Anyaoku, former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, has said that the current Nigerian constitution would not adequately address the nation’s economic predicaments and other challenges. Mr Anyaoku spoke with journalists on Saturday in his country home, Obosi village of Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra. He said the current challenges being faced in the nation like poverty, insecurity, and delapidated infrastructure among oethers were serious challenges bedevelling the country. “I am on record for saying that these challenges can not be effectively addressed under the constitution and governance system we have at the moment. “We can not effectively address these challenges that have assumed nationwide dimension especially insecurity which has parveded the ...

The House of Representatives says it is not at war with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations (CSOs) over a bill to regulate their activities in the country. Victor Obuzor (PDP-Rivers), chairman, House committee on CSOs and development matters, said this on the sidelines of a meeting with CSOs and development partners in Abuja. According to him, the bill to regulate the activities of NGOs just came up for the first reading and will go for the second reading, adding that it was even stepped down by the speaker for further consultation. We are not at war with CSOs. What they do for nation-building cannot be overlooked; we are their friends and we have the same objectives. “Our aim is to build up the nation and make Nigeria great, and we should wor...

By NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA The National Association Of Persons With Physical Disabilities (NAPWPD), FCT Chapter, has called for full domestication of disability laws and accessibility standard code. The Chairman of the NAPWPD, Mr Chris Agbo, made the call at a media conference to commemorate the day in Abuja. Agbo explained that the International Wheelchair Day was a reminder of the importance of wheelchairs to the millions of individuals around the world. He added that Wheelchairs constituted a massive difference in a person’s ability to function in the world. “Unfortunately, not everyone who needs a wheelchair is able to get one. In fact, there are tens of thousands of people around us who need wheelchairs. “The primary focus of the day is on promoting accessibility and...

By Jessica Dogo AThe Uniccon Group of Companies has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) to promote local content. This is contained in a statement in Abuja on Friday and signed by the Chairman of Uniccon, Dr Chuks Ekwueme, Elwueme said this when he paid a visit to the Nation’s defence industries office in Kaduna. He said the purpose of the visit was to consolidate on previous meetings to explore further areas of collaboration and robust engagements in meeting material needs for the Nation’s defence industries complex. According to him, the company and its subsidiaries are interested in driving local content in the area of defense technologies. He noted that one of the group’s areas of specialty was bespoke tec...

The Senate has confirmed the appointment of four persons, Robert Agbede, Ado Wanka, Murtala Sagagi and Muslimat Olanike, as members of the board of directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This followed the adoption of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions report at the Committee of the Whole on Thursday. Presenting the report, the committee chairman, Abiru Adetounboi, said four of the five nominees appeared for screening, while the fifth, Urum Eke, failed to appear. He said their nomination was in accordance with the provisions of sections 6 1 and 2 (d) and 10 of the Central Bank of Nigerian Act, 2007. He said that the committee’s findings indicated that the appointment was in accordance with the provisions of section six of the CB...

The House of Representatives has urged the education ministry to collaborate with the health ministry to develop a mandatory drug test for secondary school students in Nigeria. This followed the adoption of a motion, ‘On Need to Introduce Mandatory Drug Test for Secondary School Students in Nigeria’, by Moshood Oshun (APC-Lagos) at plenary in Abuja on Thursday. Presenting the motion, Mr Oshun said adolescence remained a critical period in human development. He said individuals at this age were usually influenced by factors such as experimental curiosity, peer pressure, poor socio-economic conditions at home and the need for extra energy for daily activities. He said youth were critical stakeholders in fostering socio-economic development in the country, adding that their vulne...

Barr Tagbo Agbazue, Director, Influence Africa; Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, emeritus AUC Chairperson and incumbent South African Minister in the Presidency for Women Affairs, Youth and People with Disabilities; Mr. Symerre Grey-Johnson, Director, AUDA-NEPAD: and Ms. Unami Dube, Program Manager WorldSkills Africa at AUDA-NEPAD among other delegates The African Union Commission and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), with the support of the German government, has commemorated the successfull launch of the African Union Year of Education Transformation, by hosting a digital Knowledge Marketplace Exhibition. This was contained in a statement issued to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday by the Director for Human Capital & Institutional Development at AUDA-NEPAD, Mr. Symerre Gr...

President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, described the former Governor of Ondo State, the late Rotimi Akeredolu, as a fearless and courageous man. Mr Tinubu, accompanied by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, eulogised the late Akeredolu when he paid a condolence visit to the immediate family of the former governor and the Olowo of Owo, Oba Ajibade Ogunoye. The president, who spoke at the Olowo’s palace, said all would forever remember the former governor’s legacy. He added that it was honourable to depart the world when the ovation was loudest, adding, “The space left by Akeredolu would be difficult to fill.” Mr Tinubu also praised the late Akeredolu’s passion for good governance. “God will be with you. Your children will do well in life. May you all end well. May God be with you and u...

The United Nations (UN) has declared its readiness to partner with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on production of news in local languages across Africa. Mr Ronald Kayanja, the Director, UN Information Centre (UNIC) disclosed this during his courtesy visit to the Managing Director of NAN, Malam Ali Muhammad Ali in Abuja. Keyanja identified inability by the media in Africa to project countries in the continent positively and promote the understanding of news content in vernacular as major challenge of Journalism within the continent. According to him, East African people promote Swahili as the biggest language on the continent, saying the UN wants to promote Hausa as it’s second indigenous African language because of figures. Kayanja said, “From Swahili you have Hausa as the ...

By Bridget Tikyaa Ikyado In spite of efforts of governments at various levels to diversify the economy, earn foreign exchange and create jobs, reports of illegal mining of solid minerals across many states of the federation are very disturbing. Data from the Ministry of Solid Minerals and Development show that illegal mining activities have continued to thrive in spite of government's repeated threat to prosecute culprits. Benue might not be the state with the highest number of mineral resources in Nigeria but the state has abundant mineral resources that have not been fully tapped and can be used to develop the state. Some of the minerals found in Benue State, both mined and untapped, include Baryte, Limestone, Gypsum, Natural gas, Lead, zinc, clay, coal, gold amongst several other...

The Senate has confirmed Hafsat Bakari’s appointment as the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) director. Her confirmation followed the adoption of the Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes screening report at the Committee of the Whole on Tuesday. The report was presented by the chairman of the committee, Emmanuel Udende (APC-Benue). Mr Udende, while presenting the report, said after a thorough screening of the nominee, the committee was satisfied with her capacity to be appointed as director of NFIU. He urged the Senate to confirm her appointment. Mohammed Monguno (APC-Borno) said her appointment was a square peg in a square hole, given her steering performance and experiences over the years in fighting financial crimes. He said Ms Bakari’s experien...

The Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) has recovered an additional corpse from the scene of the boat crash at Ikorodu. Wuraola Alake, the spokeswoman for LASWA, said in an update on the crash on Tuesday in Lagos the boat had been recovered. She also shed more light on the capsizing in the update. In continuation of the search and rescue operations on the current mishap involving Oluwaseyifunmi boat, one additional corpse has been recovered along with the submerged boat from the scene of the incident. “The exact cause of this incident is still being investigated, as some of the rescued passengers denied the claim that the affected boats were engaged in boat racing. “The passenger at the Addax Jetty filled out no manifest before passengers boarded the boat, but nine out ...

Some civil servants have lauded President Bola Tinubu’s decision to merge, scrap and subsume departments and agencies of federal ministries to reduce the cost of governance. The civil servants who spoke on Tuesday in Abuja said, “It is a right decision that came at the right time,” as the country is battling an economic downturn. They commended Mr Tinubu for his courageous and purposeful leadership in implementing the Steve Oronsaye reports on cutting down the cost of governance, which they said previous administrations failed to implement. The Oronsaye report was submitted in 2012 to former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, which released a white paper on the report. Ex-President Muhammadu Buhari inherited the report and released a second white paper on it in 2022 bu...

…Describes Him as a Transparent, Compassionate man The Edo All Progressives Congress (APC) Diaspora Council, has called for the support of Senator Monday Okpebholo, the party’s candidate for the September 21 governorship election in the state, describing him as someone who has consistently demonstrated transparency and integrity in his actions and decision-making, adding further that as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Hon. Okpebholo has always shown empathy and compassion towards the concerns and challenges faced by his constituents. In an open letter to the people of Edo state signed by Ambassador Osarodion Osagie, the group’s Director of Media and Publicity, the Edo APC Diaspora Council while congratulating Senator Ekpebholo, over his emergence as the party’s guberna...