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The Asiwaju Mandate Group - AMG has emphatized with Nigerians over the biting effect of the total fuel subsidy removal recently embarked upon by the President Asiwaju Tinubu administration, saying there will be light at the end of the tunnel. The National Publicity Secretary of the group, Abubakar Dahiru, who made the call in a press statement said the President was aware of the hardship and is working assiduously to emoliorate the pains through providing succour and palliative. Dahiru said AMG also emplore all well meaning Nigerians from the Labour Unions, Petroleum Marketers and relevant Stakeholders in the Oil and Gas industry to render full support and cooperation to the Federal Government as it decides on this policy direction for the overall and overriding good of All Nigerian...

The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has elected to hear a N1.5 billion defamation suit brought against former Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami by ex-Governor Victor Attah. Justice Emeka Nwite, in a ruling, dismissed the preliminary objection raised by Mr Malami, challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear the case. Mr Attah, through his lawyer, Reuben Atabo, had sued the AGF as the sole defendant in the case. In the ruling, Mr Nwite upheld the argument by the plaintiff’s lawyer, Atabo, that the subject of the case fell within the scope of the court’s jurisdictional competence as provided in Section 251 of the constitution. The judge held that the suit was informed by the action of Mr Malami, “which emanated from the administrative action and decision o...

The Federal Character Commission (FCC) has called on Nigerians to be wary of activities of fraudsters, using the name of the agency to demand for financial inducements for job placements and assistance. Mr Chuks Okoli, Director, Public Affairs and Communication, FCC, said this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja. According to him, the attention of the commission had been drawn to the erroneous impression that the commission is a recruiting agency. "The Federal Character Commission is charged with the responsibility of ensuring fairness and equity to all geo-political constituent units of the federation in matters of employment, provision of infrastructural facilities and socio-economic amenities. "In other words, the commission is to ensure that employers of labour and provide...

The Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Oyo State Chapter, has decried the high cost of maize, a major component of poultry feed, and solicits government’s intervention in price regulation and sector growth. PAN Chairman (SouthWest Zone), Rev. Gideon Oluleye, highlighted the challenges facing the subsector, in a news conference in Ibadan. "We have called this meeting to intimate President Tinubu, the Central Bank of Nigeria and other relevant agencies on the need to save the poultry subsector of the economy from total collapse. "The price of maize was initially between N225,000 and N230,000 here in the SouthWest, but as we speak now, the cost of maize is between N400,000 and N430,000 per tonne, which is not affordable to farmers. "Currently, a lot of companies do not have ma...

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of an Infrastructure Support Fund (ISF) for the 36 states. It is part of measures to cushion the effects of the petrol subsidy removal, according to Presidential spokesman Dele Alake. He said this was made known during yesterday’s meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in Abuja. Alake’s statement further explained that the FAAC would be distributing N907 billion among the three tiers of government for June, out of the N1.9 trillion revenue. “The new Infrastructure Fund will enable the States to intervene and invest in the critical areas of transportation, including farm-to-market road improvements; agriculture, encompassing livestock and ranching solutions; health, with a focus on basic heal...

                          The National Action on Sugar Reduction (NASR) in collaboration with Prof. Felicia Anumah Diabetes Centre have called on the Federal Government to implement sugar-sweetened beverages tax to help reduce diabetes and Obesity in the country.  The organisations made the appeal on Thursday, during a sensitisation walk/rally, health talk and press conference held at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), Gwagwalada. Felicia Anumah, the Director, Centre for Diabetes Studies, University of Abuja, identified over-consumption of sugar as a major contributor to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. According to her, people who consume sugary drinks regularly have a 26 per cent grea...

The Rotaract Club of Abuja Federal Community Base and the Rotaract Club of Abuja Federal Alpha said that plans are underway to empower no fewer than 500 youths with various skills in the FCT. The leaders of the club said this at the Joint In-House Handover Ceremony, organised by the clubs in Abuja on Thursday. Mr Theophilus Apeh, Incoming President, Rotaract Club of Abuja Federal Community Base said the club would be providing skill acquisition programmes to reduce unemployment rate of young persons in the FCT. “One of the things we do in Rotary Rotaract Club is that we have adopted communities where we reach out to. “For instance, we have Piwoyi community in the FCT, where a lot of social amenities are lacking and we have been reaching out to them and providing for them. “...

By Victor Okoye Stakeholders have expressed concern over the reoccurring development of gas proliferation in the country and called for synergy between regulatory bodies to ensure that the issue of safety was not being compromised. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the various stakeholders spoke at a consultative meeting towards implementation of Project Safety - A global safety action against illegal gas proliferation in Nigeria on Thursday in Abuja. The consultative meeting was organised by the National Industrial Safety Council of Nigeria (NISCN) and International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) in Nigeria, in collaboration with other stakeholders in industrial safety. The various stakeholders expressed concern over the development, noting tha...

A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Thursday, ordered the State Security Service (SSS) to grant the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, access to his medical records. Justice Binta Nyako, in a judgment, held that the SSS objections to Mr Kanu’s request were unmeritorious. Ms Nyako held that Mr Kanu was constitutionally entitled to have access to both the records he requested and medical doctors of his choice. The judge, however, directed that the independent medical examination of Mr Kanu by his personal physicians should be supervised by the SSS, with the entire process recorded and sealed for security purposes. Mr Kanu, through his team of lawyers led by Mike Ozekhome, SAN, had filed the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/ 2341/2022 against the SSS an...

By Bridget Ikyado The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Benjamin Kalu has recommended multi disciplinary approach to address the lingering insecurity in the country. Kalu made the recommended at a round table discussion of stakeholders on ‘Conflict-Sensitive Strategies to Address Insecurity’ organised by Vision Africa in Abuja in collaboration with the International Dialogue Centre, popularly known as KAICIID, on review of laws/legislations to improve peace for the promotion of peace. The deputy speaker said that Nigeria needed to take a comprehensive approach to addressing these security challenges. “This means using a variety of tools, including law enforcement, military action, key non-kinetic measures, and conflict-sensitive development programming. “...

A Professor of English and renowned writer, Bankole Ajibabi Omotoso, popularly known as Kole Omotoso, has died at 80 in Cape Town, South Africa. He had lived in Centurion, Gauteng, South Africa for many years. The family, in a short message announcing the demise of the highly revered intellectual, said “Our beloved father and husband moved on from this plane on Wednesday 19th late afternoon. We are sharing this with his close and much-loved community and will share more as we gather ourselves. “Thank you for your care and love and support.” In South Africa, he was best known for his works of fiction and as the “Yebo Gogo man” in adverts for the telecommunications company, Vodacom. The renowned intellectual was born on April 21, 1943, in Ayede Ogbese, Ondo State, South West,...

The Forum of Local Government Heads of Administration in Nigeria, has called on President Bola Tinubu, to harmonise the condition of service for its members. Mr Abdulrahaman Marafa, President of the forum, made the call during an executive meeting on Wednesday in Abuja. He said that it was necessary for the Tinubu-led administration to resolve issues of discrepancies in the salary structure, designation and condition of service for its members. According to him, the uniformity in the salary and designation, would put to an end the feelings of bias and unfair preference in some quarters. “There is every need for uniformity in salary and designation of our members, this is because in some states, they are called Director, Personnel Management, while some call it Head of Administ...

The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on Wednesday granted an application by the federal government to protect witnesses lined up in the prosecution of Tukur Mamu, who is being tried over his alleged relationship with terrorists involved in the 2022 attack on a Kaduna-bound train. Justice Inyang Ekwo granted the application following an ex-parte motion moved by D.E. Kaswe, counsel for the Office of the Attorney-General for the Federation(AGF), to the effect. Moving the ex-parte motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/96/2023, Mr Kaswe said the application, dated May 11, was filed on June 15. He said the motion was brought pursuant to sections 36(4), (A), (B) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and section 232 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, including sectio...

Former Chief of Army Staff, retired Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai says coup should be seen as an organised crime and punished accordingly to allow democracy to survive in Africa. He said this at a one-day International Conference on Organised Crimes by the Tukur Buratai Centre for Contemporary Security Affairs, Igbenedion University, Okada, on Tuesday in Abuja. Mr Buratai, a former Nigerian Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, said the battle against organised crime requires concerted efforts of experts, policymakers, and stakeholders from diverse sectors. He said the contemporary challenges had shown that the military must continue to play its constitutional role without getting involved in governance, while democratic governments should govern the citizens well. He said the militar...

No fewer than 3 inmates at the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) Kuje Custodial Centre, FCT, have graduated from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in various disciplines. The inmates, who received their certificates at the convocation ceremony organised by the institution at the Kuje Custodial Centre were pronounced graduates after the completion of their various programmes for the 2022/2023 academic session. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that they comprised of three males who had undertaken courses for both Masters Degrees, Post Diploma in Education, and undergraduate degrees respectively. During the presentation of certificates to the graduands, the Controller General of Corrections, Nigerian Correctional Service, Haliru Nababa FCIMC, MFR, mni, said e...

Osun House of Assembly, on Tuesday, confirmed all 25 nominees of Governor Ademola Adeleke as commissioners. During the plenary meeting, Adewale Egbedun, the assembly speaker, confirmed all the nominees after the last 13 nominees appeared before the house on Monday for screening. Mr Egbedun said in line with section 192 (2) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 (amended), the assembly confirmed all the nominees as commissioners of the state. He said, “Consequently, the governor can go ahead with the formal swearing-in of the commissioners-designate.” The speaker, after that, ordered the clerk of the house, Simeon Amusan, to invite the permanent secretary in the Osun Ministry of Works to appear before the parliament on Monday “in connection with road works in the state.’’ Simil...

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. has attributed the increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, to market realities. The company's Group Chief Executive Officer, Malam Mele Kyari, said this in an interview with newsmen shortly after a private meeting with the Vice-President, Kashim Shettima, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Kyari explained that the increase in the price of PMS had nothing to do with supply issues, adding that there is robust supply of the product in the country. "I don't have the details at this moment. You know we have the marketing wing of the company; they adjust prices depending on the market realities. "And this is the meaning of making sure that the market regulates itself so that prices will go up and sometime...

The APC EX-COUNCILORS AND POLITICAL APPOINTEES IN NIGERIA HAVE CALLED ON PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU TO APPOINT NYESOME WIKE AS THE RIVERS APC LEADER FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARTY.  Hon. Yusuf Dabo, National Coordinator of the association made the call during a press conference held in Abuja.  Dabo said there is need for APC National leaders and particularly the Rivers State APC on the need to set aside negative sentiments to not only appoint his Excellency, NYESOME WIKE as the MINISTER from River Rivers State in the soon to be constituted cabinet of PBAT but also to make him the APC Party leader of Rivers state.  According to him, if hardwork, intelligence and documented evidence of Party affiliations and commitments are Sufficient lobbies for Party m...

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has urged President Bola Tinubu’s government to consider merging the payment platforms developed by university unions. SSANU president Mohammed Ibrahim made the call in a communique issued on Monday in Abuja at the end of the union’s 44th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at Michael Okpara University, Abia. The statement noted that the merger became necessary due to the recent fraud in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). University workers blamed inconsistencies and IPPIS’s failure to capture the university system’s peculiarities for their rejection. To address the peculiarities, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) developed the University Transparency Accountability...

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the Yuan, weakened 127 pips to 7.1453 against the dollar on Tuesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. In China’s spot foreign exchange market, the Yuan is allowed to rise or fall by two per cent from the central parity rate each trading day. The central parity rate of the Yuan against the dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.