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A collaborative academic research programme,  Hypertension Treatment in Nigeria,  which has  enrolled over 23,000 patients with hypertension, is seeking to scale up its work to five new states in Nigeria.  Co-Principal Investigator, Hypertension Treatment in Nigeria programme, Professor  Mark Huffman of the Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, USA and Dike Ojji, associate professor and lead investigator,  Cardiovascular Research Unit Department of Internal Medicine Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Abuja, who stated this at a recent stakeholders meeting in Abuja,  listed the five states as Abia, Delta,  Gombe, Jigawa and Oyo.  The Hypertension Treatment in Nigeria programme is a 5-year Natio...

Manchester City on Sunday made English Premier League history by becoming the first side to clinch four consecutive titles after beating West Ham at the Etihad stadium Pep Guardiola’s team had been vying with Arsenal for the 2023/24 title, holding a two-point lead over the Gunners before kickoff. Man City broke the record previously held by rivals Manchester United from 2006/07 to 2008/09 under then manager Sir Alex Ferguson. The defending champions needed only two minutes to take the lead as Phil Foden found the back of the net. Foden also struck I'm the 18th minutes to put his side two goals up. Mohammed Kudus found the back of the net for David Moyes’ side in the 42nd minute to give some glimmer of hope. But Rodri put the game to rest with a third in the 59th minute t...

Brighton has become the second Premier League Club after West Ham UTD, to officially announced that they are parting ways with their coach Roberto de Zerbi In a bombshell announcement, the Seagulls have revealed that the Italian is set to depart after Sunday's final Premier League game of the campaign against Man Utd. De Zerbi has been in charge of Brighton since replacing Graham Potter in September 2022. The 44-year-old led the South Coast club into the Europa League last term but the current season has proved trickier. Speculation surrounding the future of De Zerbi has been rampant for months. The Italian hinted that there was some trouble brewing behind the scenes after the January window closed when he admitted that he wasn't happy with the club's business. Nevertheless, t...

APC national chair Abdullahi Ganduje says the reforms introduced by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration will take Nigeria to the next level of development. Mr Ganduje said this on Friday in Abuja when the party’s Forum of Local Government Area Chairmen visited the APC’s National Working Committee. The former Kano governor said the reforms and policies introduced by the Tinubu administration would take the country to greatness. He added that the party’s leadership would not take its local government chairpersons for granted because they remained its foot soldiers. Mr Ganduje explained that the APC had the highest number of local government areas and states in the federation because it was a grassroots political party. “We know how you are bearing the demands of the ...

The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on Friday dismissed a bail application filed by Tigran Gambaryan, the detained Binance executive. Justice Emeka Nwite, in a ruling, held that based on the affidavit evidence before him, Mr Gambaryan would jump bail if the application was granted. “I have carefully considered the affidavit evidence before me and I am of the view that the applicant will jump bail if granted bail,” the judge declared. However, the judge ordered an accelerated hearing in the trial. The judge fixed Friday (today) for the ruling on April 23 after counsel for the EFCC, Ekele Iheanacho, and Mr Gambaryan’s lawyer, Mark Mordi, adopted their processes and argued their cases against and for the bail plea. The judge ordered Mr Gambaryan’s remand in Kuje priso...

Gunmen have reportedly kidnapped one Seliat Raji and killed the security guard at her residence in Iseyin, Oyo The kidnap victim is a sister to a popular Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Ahmed Raji. It was gathered that gunmen abducted the victim at her residence on Thursday evening and killed the security guard in the process. Sources said the kidnappers arrived at the residence on a motorcycle and left the scene in the victim’s Lexus car. The state police public relations officer, SP Adewale Osifeso, confirmed the incident on Friday. Mr Osifeso said the investigation had commenced on the matter. “Investigation is ongoing. Updates will be communicated,” he said.

By NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA The Director-General of Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Mr Mustapha Abdullahi has restated the commitment of the commission to ensure effective use of energy on air conditioners and other cooling systems in the country. Abdullahi stated this at a meeting of stakeholders on scaling up of the energy efficient cooling systems in Abuja. “The aim is far-fetch, and not very much something that is hidden, but definitely to improve the energy efficient cooling system like the refrigerator that we have at home. “Studies have been conducted and we have seen that up to 60 per cent of the energy that is being consumed at home happens to be the refrigerator and the cooling system. “And because we want to save energy, we want Nigerians to spend lesser in ene...

By Vivian Emoni Paying taxes should not be a burden but an investment to collective future, Mr Abdul-Kabir Opeyemi, an expert on Taxation and Revenue, said on Wednesday. Opeyemi, Special Adviser on Taxation and Revenue to Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. He emphasised the need to make the country’s tax system more transparent and accountable to Nigerians to boost confidence and voluntary compliance. He said that Nigeria needed a tax system that incentivised investment, job creation, and economic diversification. According to him, we should not see paying of taxes as a burden and stress, rather we should see it as an investment or contribution to our collective future. “I want ...

The police in Oyo have on Thursday, paraded former Chairman of Oyo State Park Management System (PMS), Lamidi Mukaila known as Auxiliary. Auxiliary is accused of involvement in several cases of alleged armed robbery, murder and kidnappings. He was said to have fled to avoid being arrested but the police declared him wanted. He was, however, arrested by the Department of State Services around 4:00 pm on Tuesday at his residence in Olodo area of Ibadan. The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Adebola Hamzat, while addressing the journalists on Thursday at the state command headquarters of the police in Ibadan, Auxiliary would answer for his alleged crimes in court. He said: “Exhibits recovered in his possession at his Diamond Hotel residence around Alakia-Isebo Egbeda under Egb...

Mr Chiedu Ugbo, Managing Director, Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC),has given assurance that the Gbarain Power Plant in Bayelsa State will soon become operational. He gave the assurance on Tuesday while addressing members of the House of Representatives Committee on Power who were on an oversight visit to the plant. He noted that cash flow constraint was the major issue that delayed the resuscitation of the Power Control Module that got burnt. According to him, when he came on board in 2016, Gbarain Power Plant was still a construction site. He said: “We had to put a unit to the grid and unfortunately the temporary power control module put in place got burnt. '' But at the time it happened, we had a more pressing threat to the community which was the line pipe laid...

EFCC will on May 23 arriagn former aviation minister, Hadi Sirika and his brother, Ahmad before the Garki Division of the FCT High Court on fresh eight-count charge. They were slated to be arraigned before Justice Suleman Belgore, but the arraignment was stalled because Mr Sirika and his brother were absent from court. The EFCC had filed an eight-count charge bordering on abuse of office, criminal breach of trust, and use of position for gratification against the former minister under former President Muhammadu Buhari, his brother, and a company, Enginos Nigeria Limited. The anti-corruption commission had alleged that Sirika conferred an unfair advantage upon Enginos Nigeria Limited, whose alter ego is his biological brother, Ahmad, by using his position to influence the award of...

The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Alfred Adewale Martins, has charged civil society and other Nigerians with demanding that lower tiers of government (state and local) account for the allocations they receive. Mr Martins gave the charge in an interview in Lagos. He said searchlights should be beamed on the local and state governments as they collected the larger budgetary allocations. He said the subsisting approach of always focusing on the federal government for virtually everything was misleading and mostly ended in open-ended probes. According to the cleric, the local and state governments receive votes from the centre for varying projects and services, which, if accomplished, will benefit the people. Mr Martins said, “But sadly, these projects and services are mostly not ...

A Magistrates’ Court in Kafanchan, Kaduna State, has ordered the remand of a 46-year-old former Sterling Bank worker , Jacob Bonet, at a correctional facility for allegedly defrauding his 86-year-old uncle of N14 million. Mr Bonet was charged by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps with theft, cheating, impersonation and criminal misappropriation. The offence violates the provisions of sections 270, 307, 142 and 294 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law. The prosecutor, Marcus Audu, told the court that Aboshio Bonet, the complainant, reported the matter at the corp’s office in Kafanchan on March 17. Mr Audu said that in 2015, the complainant, a resident of Tuyit Kagoro in the Kaura Local Government Area of the state, was advised by the defendant to open an account with St...

Four suspects allegedly involved in the kidnapping of University of Abuja lecturers and their children in 2021were on Monday arraigned at a Federal High Court Abuja. They were arraigned by the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation before Justice Donatus Okorowo on a two-count terrorism charge. Those arraigned are Adamu Abubakar; Nura Muhammed Ahmadu; Ismailia Abubakar and Abdulrahman Ado, also known as Yellow, as 1st to 4th defendants respectively. They, however, pleaded not guilty to the counts. Prior to their arraignment, the four defendants signalled to the judge with intention to speak in the open court. Justice Okorowo, though initially held that since their lawyer was in court, they could speak through their counsel, the judge however gave them the leave to...

The Oyachaba K'Idoma, Dr Dickson Akoh has extended his heart-warm congratulations to the Executive Governor of Benue State, His Excellency, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia on the glorious occasion of his 58th birthday anniversary. Dr Akoh describes the Governor as an empathetic leader with good intentions for the development of Benue State, which according to him is evidence in his distinct leadership approaches since inception into office barely one year ago. The developmental strides of His Excellency which is anchored on his 7-points Agenda is cristal clear across all sectors and spheres of human endeavour in the state. The efforts being made to bridge the infrastructural gap in Benue through massive construction of township and rural roads is very commendable. In recent time, Makurdi metro...

A new wage system based on employee productivity in the civil service is underway, the federal government said on Monday, May 13. The government said with the system, workers on the same level could earn different salaries. The government said the formulation of an innovative wage system was being considered because it realised that productivity was a key factor in the growth of the country’s economy. The Director-General of the National Productivity Centre, Nasir Raji-Mustapha, disclosed this on Monday during a meeting with Labour correspondents. He said, “We are in the process of developing a productivity-led wage system that will ensure that those who are productive are rewarded for their efforts irrespective of their grade level. Under the proposed system, employees on the...

By Joan Nwagwu The Federal Government has said that it was formulating an innovative wage system that will now be based on employee’s productivity. Dr Nasir Raji-Mustapha, Director General of the National Productivity Centre (NPC) said this during an interactive meeting with Labour Correspondents Association of Nigeria (LACAN) on Monday in Abuja. According to him, we are in the process of developing a Productivity-led Wage System that will ensure that those who are productive are rewarded for their effort irrespective of their grade level. “Under the proposed system, employees on the same salary scale can earn different wages,” he said. He however said that the Centre was collaborating organised labour to ensure that they support and contribute their input to the new propos...

in what could be termed as bizarre, a baby reportedly buried alive was found by hunters in Buruku Local Government Area of Benue State. The incident, happened in the Ashav Kusuv community, NewsSpecng learnt. The hunters , it was gathered found the baby girl and brought her alive from the forest where she was buried alive. No offical confirmation from the Benue State Police authorities on the as at the time of filing this report. But, the Chairman of the local government, Iorkyaan Agber confirmed the incident . He said, “Some hunters indeed found a baby in the forest but we are investigating to know who went and dropped a baby in the forest and the reason for doing that."