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The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), has announced that the Nigerian power grid has recorded an unparalleled period of 400 days stability in the history of the power sector The grid operated without any major disruptions or systems collapse for an impressive span of 400 consecutive days (57.1428 weeks) and still counting. TCN’s General Manager, Mrs Ndidi Mbah announced the extraordinary milestone achievement in a statement in Abuja on Thursday. Mbah said that the milestone signifies a remarkable advancement in the nation’s efforts at strengthening its power infrastructure. ''And ensuring a reliable electricity supply to distribution load centres for onward distribution to electricity customers nationwide. ''The sustained stability and reliability of the Nigerian power...

… mother handed over to police A newborn baby boy was rescued alive three days after being abandoned in a pit toilet by his mother in Otuocha, Anambra East Local Government Area of Anambra State. The incident occurred on Sunday, August 27, 2023, when the mother, Nwaedoka Chidimma, a 20-year-old from Izzi, Ebonyi state, gave birth and left the baby to die in the toilet. Esther Omesi, a friend of Chidimma and a farmer, noticed Chidimma acting suspiciously on that Sunday, complaining of stomach upset and going to the toilet. When Chidimma finally came out, she was covered in blood. Omesi called a nurse who confirmed that the baby was missing. Initially, they believed Chidimma had a stillbirth and encouraged her to inform her parents about it. However, on Tuesday morning, Augus...

Pa Taiwo Akinkunmi, the man that designed Nigeria’s flag, is dead. He died in the early hours of Tuesday after a brief illness. One of his children announced his death on Facebook. He wrote: “Life is indeed transient; I can say boldly that you lived a life with a landmark. Continue to rest, my father! Pa Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi (O.F.R.): A great man has gone.” The flagIn 1958, while living abroad, Akinkunmi saw an advertisement in a national daily for the submission of designs for the Nigeria’s national flag as the country’s independence from British governance was close. Among the over 2,000 entries submitted, his was picked. However, the original design of the flag featured a white band flanked by two green ones with a red sun and streaming rays on the white band. A...

Works minister, David Umahi on Tuesday introduced night construction to fast-track Nigeria’s highway projects. Mr Umahi said this during a visit to project sites in Lagos and Ogun. He said during the visit that the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway rehabilitation and reconstruction was 98 per cent completed and would be inaugurated mid-September. The minister said other ancillary works including interchanges and underpasses on the project would continue while he sought support of the Ogun government towards payment of compensations for Right of Way recovery. While inspecting section two of the Lagos-Ibadan road, he was joined by former Gbenga Daniel. Mr Umahi said the government would use consultants to concession and toll all federal highways in the six geo-political zones. Mr Umahi...

The police command in Ebonyi has rescued a police inspector attached to the Police Detective College, Enugu and the village chair of Ngwogwo, Ishiagu, Ivo LGA, from kidnappers. Police spokesperson in Ebonyi, SP Onome Onovwakpoyeya, stated Tuesday that the duo were kidnapped on Sunday. They were rescued unhurt, and three arrested for their kidnap. Police operatives swung into action upon receipt of actionable intelligence report, and the hideout of the hoodlums situated between Amata Ishiagu in Ebonyi and Lokpanta in Abia was raided. The hoodlums opened fire on sighting the police operatives but were subdued by the superior firepower of the police. “During the gun duel, one of the hoodlums was neutralised, while three of his gang members were arrested unharmed,” said the police...

The military has again staged a coup in another African country, Gabon, as army officers appeared on national television and announced the takeover from the democratic government. According to The BBC , the coup leader annulled the outcome of Saturday's election, where the incumbent President, Ali Bongo, was declared re-elected and winner of the poll.According to the electoral commission, Bongo won under two-thirds of the total votes cast, but the opposition has argued that the poll was fraudulent. The development would end the 53-year hold on power by the family of Bongo in Gabon.

A cross section of women in Abuja have expressed diverse views on the use of contraceptives. Some of the women told Sharpedgenews in separate interviews that family planning was a necessity, yet a hectic journey. Some said they found pregnancy prevention methods safe, while others said they steer clear because of the side effects. Mrs Benita Sampson, a civil servant, said that her family planning method had been helpful because she does not have the fear of unplanned pregnancy. “I use Nexplanon which is the arm birth control implant. I replace the implant every three years which is convenient for me. ”I sometimes forget I’m wearing it; it has been good because, unlike some other women, I usually see my menstrual cycle without hitches. “It is, however, not a bed of roses....

The Vice-President Kashim Shettima says President Bola Tinubu is very passionate about reducing the cost of fertiliser to ensure that Nigerian farmers attain food security. Shettima said this on Tuesday at a stakeholders' meeting with Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) and the Federal Government. Stakeholders at the meeting, held in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, include the Minister of Agriculture, Sen. Abubakar Kyari and Minister of State for Agriculture, Sen. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi. The meeting focused on the 33,000 metric tonnes of Potash donated to the Federal Government by Russia's Uralchem Group and UN Partners. Recalled that during the last Russia-Africa Summit held in St. Petersburg Russia, in July, the Federal Government's delegation met...

A high court in Kano State has issued a restraining order that prohibits several anti-corruption agencies from investigating the state's Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCAC) and its chairman, Muhuyi Rimingado. The affected agencies include the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). The plaintiffs in the case are the Attorney General of Kano State, the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission, and Rimingado, while the respondents are the EFCC, CCB, and ICPC. According to Justice Farouk Lawan Adamu, who granted the order, the respondents are prohibited from interfering in the affairs of the plaintiffs' staff or individ...

The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has suspended Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the party's candidate in the Feb. 25 presidential election, for alleged anti-party activities. The BoT also suspended the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party and appointed new national officers to fill their positions temporarily. Dr Agbo Major has been appointed as the acting National Chairman and Mr Ogini Olaposi as the acting National Secretary, along with 18 others. The suspensions will last for six months and were approved by a voice vote during the party's special general assembly held at the Rockview Hotels in Apapa. Earlier, on Thursday, August 24, the NWC of the party announced the suspension of the party's founder, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, and the Na...

Work will soon commence on the construction of the second runway of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja, following the signing of an agreement on compensation to the Jiwa Community on whose land the runway will be constructed. In the agreement signed between the Federal Capital Territory Administration, the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development and the Jiwa community in the FCT, on Tuesday, a sum of Eight Hundred and Twenty-Five Million, Eight Hundred and Nineteen Thousand, Nine Hundred and Eleven Naira Forty-Three Kobo (N825, 819,911.43) would be paid to the community as compensation to pave way for the commencement of work on the project. Speaking on the agreement reached, the FCT Minister, Barr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, assured that the money has been made availabl...

In July 2018, Muhammadu Buhari, the president of Nigeria at the time, boarded a gleaming new train linking the capital city, Abuja, with its airport. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Buhari hailed the system as “evidence that we are a government that delivers on its promises.” According to Bloomberg five years on, that promise looks empty. Train cars are locked away at a depot. Cavernous stations fully equipped with escalators, ticket offices, cameras and scanners stand empty, overseen by bored security guards. The faux leather couches in the VIP area are covered in bird and bat droppings. “It’s an abandoned project,” says Rowland Ataguba, an adviser to the government on rail strategy. “Quite clearly there was no plan on how to run the operations before they built it.” The $823 mi...

Ten kingmakers in Iseyin have selected Prince Olawale Semiu Oyebola as the new Aseyin of Iseyin. The ten kingmakers who arrived at the palace at 10am in the morning were allowed into the palace after security men had cordoned off the place to forestall any breakdown of law and order since early Tuesday morning that the voting process started. The new Aseyin, Prince Oyebola is the 30th Aseyin after the demise of the late Dr. Abdulganiy Salawudeen Adekunle Oloogunebi Ajinese 1. The new Aseyin we gathered resides in the United States of America with his family but has always shown interest in the welfare of his people, which prompted his education foundation, under which indigent students of tertiary institutions access scholarship funding.

By Collins Yakubu-Hammer, NAN The Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado-Bayero, has called for the inclusion of youth inclusion in governance to enhance and sustain political and economy growth of the country. The emir, who was represented by the ”San Turakin Kano ” Alhaji Kabir Bayero, made the call during a veremony to mark the 2023 International Youth Day in Abuja. The event with the theme “Youth Empowerment for Sustainable Development: Unlocking Potentials, Driving Changes” was organised by the Nigerian Youth Parliament (NYP). It was supported by the Federal Ministry of Education, UN, German Embassy, Connected Development, NYCN, TCN, SDGs, Standard Food Bank Initiative. Other sponsors included the International Alert, EU, Leap Africa, Nigeria Youth Futures Fund, Nigerian-German Cente...

Lola Cater for the Needy Foundation, an NGO, has trained no fewer than 50 Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) with various tech skills at Anguwan Guragu, a rural settlement in Karamajiji community in the FCT. Ms Ololade Ogunnubi, Founder of the organisation, disclosed this at the end of a six week-long training for the participants, on Monday in Abuja. She said said that mastering a new skill was not optional in today’s world, as it will serve as a means of boosting their livelihood. According to her, the training focused on graphic design, video editing, digital marketing and social media management. “We were able to empower these young individuals with these skills to enhance their employability prospects, foster their independence and promote social inclusion. “We are here ...

Farmers in over 19 villages in Ondo West Local Government Area of Ondo State have staged a massive protest over the alleged plans by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to displace them from their villages for the benefit of a private firm owned by a Chinese company. The protesters Sharpedgenews.com gathered were over 50,000 and are mostly farmers who depend solely on farm produce and cash crops to survive. At a protest on Sunday, the local farmers said they had been in the villages for more than 100 years and inherited the communities from their forefathers. Armed with placards bearing various inscriptions, they alleged that the state government had issued them a notice of evacuation, informing them that their land had been sold to a foreign private firm. The leader of the community, O...

The Federal Government has no intention to borrow from any local or foreign organisation with its removal of subsidy on petrol and exchange rate harmonisation. The minister of Finance and Coordinating minister for the economy, Wale Edun, revealed this at the end of the inaugural Federal Executive Council meeting on Monday in Abuja. He said that the benefit of the subsidy removal would be plough back into various sector aimed at boosting government revenue and improving business environment for local and foreign investment. Edun said that with the increased revenue from subsidy removal, various palliatives have been made available to cushion its effect on a short, medium and long term basis. He reiterated the President Bola Tinubu-led administration’s desire to bring back the e...