Friday, May 9

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Wike warns against unnecessary protests in Abuja
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Wike warns against unnecessary protests in Abuja

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Thursday, May 9, warned against unnecessary protest in the Federal Capital Territory.Wike isued the warning when traders from the Apo Mechanic village, besieged the entrance of the FCTA secretariat, demanding that the FCT minister sign the lease agreement to enable them to move to their permanent site at Wassa District He said there should be due process before any protest is embarked upon. He maintained that any other action would be considered an attempt to intimidate the government. The traders who carried different placards commending the developmental strides of the Minister, however, appealed to him to sign the lease agreement which was entered into in 2015. The chairman of the association, Chimezie Ife, sa...
Security Challenge has worsen GBV in Nigeria, says UN women rep
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Security Challenge has worsen GBV in Nigeria, says UN women rep

The United Nations Women Representative to Nigeria and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ms. Beatrice Eyong, Thursday said the current security situation in the country has worsen the prevalence of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Nigeria. Eyong, disclosed this in her welcome address in Abuja at the Convening of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on assessing Ending Violence Against women, EVAW and Gender Equality and Women Empowerment , GEWE Landscape in Nigeria. She said “we are confronted with the harsh reality that gender-based violence continues to be a pervasive and deeply rooted problem in our society. It affects women and girls of all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life, depriving them of their fundamental rights and freedoms. It is a violation of human righ...
AHF, CSOs express concern over WHO pandemic agreement proposal
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AHF, CSOs express concern over WHO pandemic agreement proposal

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, (AHF) and some Civil Society Organisations( CSOs) have called for a readjustment of an agreement on detection and response to pandemics. They specifically called for the readjustment of the draft of the World Health Organisation (WHO) pandemic agreement to strengthen the international communities ability to detect and respond to future pandemics threat, especially in developing nations. They made the call at a press briefing on Thursday in Abuja ahead of the finalisation of WHO agreement Draft in May 2024. Dr Echey Ijezie, Country Programme Director, AHF, said that the proposed text had been significantly watered down through the negotiation process and is filled with platitudes, anemic in obligations, and devoid of any accountability. "We expre...
NASENI unveils branded laptop,lithium battery, android phone
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NASENI unveils branded laptop,lithium battery, android phone

By Sylvester Thompson The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure(NASENI) has unveiled more of its branded products which includes NASENI branded laptop , lithium battery, battery, android phone and 309 watts LED solar street lamp The Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of the new NASENI, Khalil Halilu unveiled the branded NASENI laptop, car battery and phone at its quarterly media briefing in Abuja on Thursday. The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN), reports that in February, the agency launched three sets of its branded products; a solar powered irrigation system, electric motorcycles and tricycles, and off-grid solar home systems. Halilu said that the new NASENI 2023-2027 strategic launchpad pad was devised to fit into president Bola Tinubu's renewed hope agenda for...
Communities Alarmed Over Shell’s Refusal To Clean Oil Spills
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Communities Alarmed Over Shell’s Refusal To Clean Oil Spills

Residents of Obelle, Ibaa and Aminigboko communities in Rivers have urged the federal government to compel Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to clean up oil spills in their communities. The oil spills occurred in 2016. Speaking on behalf of the communities, January Igoma said at a news conference in Port Harcourt on Wednesday that the spills had displaced residents from their homes and livelihoods. He said oil pollution in the Ibaa and Obelle communities in the Emohua council and the Aminigboko community in the Abua/Odual council had contaminated surface and groundwater. Mr Igoma said that tests conducted in the affected areas revealed Benzene levels more than 24,000 times above the World Health Organisation-recommended safety limit in both surface and groundwater. ...
Police Arrest 25-Year-Old Lady For Allegedly Defrauding Dubai-Based Fiance
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Police Arrest 25-Year-Old Lady For Allegedly Defrauding Dubai-Based Fiance

The Ado-Ekiti Chief Magistrates’ Court, on Wednesday, ordered the remand of a 25-year-old woman, Yakubu Ifedayo, in a correctional centre in Ado-Ekiti over alleged N4.5 million fraud. The defendant of Covenant Avenue, Ajebamidele Street in Ado-Ekiti, is facing a fraud charge. The police prosecutor, Akinwale Oriyomi, told the court that the defendant committed the offence between July 2023 and April in Ado-Ekiti. Akinwale alleged that the defendant obtained N4.5 million from Ogungbemi Ayodeji. He said the defendant collected the money from the complainant, who lives in Dubai and happens to be her fiancé, to prepare for their wedding. In the process, the defendant cut off the complainant’s line, and since then, she has not been reachable. Mr Oriyomi said the offence contra...
PoS Operators Decry CAC Mandatory Registration, Threaten To Hike Transaction Charges
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PoS Operators Decry CAC Mandatory Registration, Threaten To Hike Transaction Charges

Some point-of-sale operators in Abuja have condemned the Corporate Affairs Commission’s directive that PoS agents register their businesses. The CAC issued a two-month registration deadline on Monday for PoS operators to register their agents, merchants, and individuals with the commission in accordance with legal requirements and the directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The agents, who spoke on Wednesday, said the registration, which would require money, would impact the transaction cost paid by customers. Kofi Kolawole, a PoS agent, said the registration would deplete the business’s profits. Mr Kolawole said the registration would also discourage people from entering the business. “I know that this registration, when actualised by our operators, will increase ...
NSITF: NASS calls for amendment of Employees Compensation 2010 Act
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NSITF: NASS calls for amendment of Employees Compensation 2010 Act

Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana (Centre) Executive Director Finance ,NSITF, Adegoke Adedeji to his left, flanked by National Secretaries and Management staff of the NSITF during the advocacy visit to the National Assembly, Wednesday. By Joan Nwagwu The National Assembly (NASS) has called for the amendment to the Employees Compensation of Act 2010 in order to strengthen the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF). Mr Sani Tambawal, Clerk of the National Assembly, said this when the a delegation from the NSITF paid him an advocacy visit in his office on Wednesday in Abuja. Tambawal, represented by Mr Kamoru Ogunlana, Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly, said that the amendment of the Act was imperative as it would align its process with the current r...
Court Awards ₦1 Million Damages Against EFCC For Violating Businessman’s Rights
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Court Awards ₦1 Million Damages Against EFCC For Violating Businessman’s Rights

A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to pay N1 million in damages to a businessman, Emmanuel Yashim, for violating his property rights. Justice Peter Kekemeke granted the order in a suit filed by Mr Yashim seeking enforcement of his fundamental rights. In a suit marked CV/590/2022, the applicant prayed the court to compel the EFCC to pay him N10 million as damages for the breach of his rights for impounding his car in 2022. The applicant, through his counsel, Nwachukwu Ibegbu, further prayed the court to order the EFCC to release his Mercedes Benz GLC 300, which had been in its custody since November 22, 2022. The applicant prayed the court to declare that the continuous holding of the car without stating ...
Presidency Admits To Seyi Tinubu’s Involvement With Chagoury, Silent On Waving Bidding Process For Lagos-Calabar Highway
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Presidency Admits To Seyi Tinubu’s Involvement With Chagoury, Silent On Waving Bidding Process For Lagos-Calabar Highway

Former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Candidate in the 2023 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, is fast developing a reputation for distorting and manipulating facts for his self-serving objective of discrediting the current administration. In his latest press statement, the defeated PDP presidential candidate made wild claims on a number of issues that need to be corrected so that the public will not be misled into accepting fallacies as the truth. The President Bola Tinubu-led administration believes that every true and patriotic Nigerian, regardless of political differences, should work to promote the unity and economic well-being of the country and not delegitimise genuine efforts of the Federal Government to encourage local and foreign investments into th...
Cross River partners REA on energy, food security
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Cross River partners REA on energy, food security

Piqued by the enormous losses incurred in terms of value of perishable goods, as well as, the dwindling economic activities, Cross River government says, it would build a symbiotic relationship with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) at the federal level. The governor, Prince Bassey Otu, made the disclosure when he received the Managing Director/CEO of the Agency, Mallam Abba Abubakar Aliyu and his team, at the Dan Archibong lodge temporary office of the governor, in Calabar. "Our prime motivation, inspiration, focus and direction in this government has been on two things, energy and food security. "You have touched the two areas very seriously when you said you can provide some mini grids for our agricultural cluster, it is very important because what our people are losing i...
Kofi Annan institute urges capacity building for women, youth to tackle terrorism
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Kofi Annan institute urges capacity building for women, youth to tackle terrorism

Maj.-Gen. Richard Gyane, Commandant, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Accra, Ghana, has called for capacity building for women and youth to build their resilience to tackle terrorism. Gyane made this known at the opening ceremony of a Mobile Training course on Women, Youth, and Violent Extremism and Terrorism, organized by KAIPTC in collaboration with the Norwegian Government, on Monday in Abuja. Newsspecng reports that the training aims at building the capacities of women and youth in Nigeria to be more resilient against the threat of Violent Extremism and Terrorism (VET). He noted that heavy-handed tactics by security forces have sown distrust among and within local communities in some countries, making women and youth more vulnerable to exploitat...
Breaking: ‘You Do Not Exist’, Fubara calls the bluff off Rivers Assembly Members
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Breaking: ‘You Do Not Exist’, Fubara calls the bluff off Rivers Assembly Members

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, on Monday May 6 call the bluff off the Rivers State House of Assembly members saying ' you do not exist' He said the lawmakers are existing based on his recognition predicated on the Peace Accord initiated by President Bola Tinubu. "It has gotten to a time when I have to make a statement that they are not existing. Their existence is me allowing them to exist. If I de-recognise them, they are nowhere," the governor said Governor Fubara stated this while addressing a delegation of political and traditional leaders from Bayelsa State who visited him at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital, to seek and end to the political crisis in Rivers State and an improved relationship between both states. Others on the delegation...
NERC Unbundles TCN, Establishes New System Operator
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NERC Unbundles TCN, Establishes New System Operator

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has unbundled the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) with the establishment of the Nigerian Independent System Operator of Nigeria Limited (NISO). The company disclosed this in an order signed by its chairman, Sanusi Garba and Muslim Oseni, vice chairman, in Abuja on Saturday. According to the order, TCN will transfer all market and system operation functions to the newly formed NISO. The company said that this is in line with the provisions of the Electricity Act 2023, which provides clearer guidelines for the incorporation and licensing of the independent system operator (ISO). It said that previously, TCN held Transmission Service Provider (TSP) and System Operations (SO) licences issued by NERC. ”With the establis...
Tinubu Assures Continued Support For Industrialisation
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Tinubu Assures Continued Support For Industrialisation

President Bola Tinubu has given the assurance that his administration will continue to put in place policies for the industrialization of the country. A statement by the presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, said Mr Tinubu disclosed this when he received a delegation of the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers and the Nigerian Automotive Manufacturers Association. The president, represented by his chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, met the members led by the minister of industry, trade and investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, on Friday in Abuja. He urged the delegation to ensure that locally manufactured vehicles are of the highest standard that would stand the test of time and complement the government’s efforts in revitalising the automotive industry. Mr Tinubu urged t...
Environment Minister Calls For Effective Climate Journalism
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Environment Minister Calls For Effective Climate Journalism

Iziaq Salako, Minister of State for Environment, has called for effective climate journalism to address the country’s environmental challenges. At the 2024 World Press Freedom Day on Friday in Abuja, Mr Salako said there was a need to reaffirm the collective commitment to the principles of a free and independent press as a sine qua non for effective climate journalism. The theme of this year’s celebration is “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the Face of the Environmental Crisis.’’ “Press freedom is indispensable to promoting transparency, accountability, and social justice. It is critical to communicate the threat posed by the climate crisis and make informed decisions to be more environmentally responsible. “You as journalists have a critical role to play in driving envi...
Soldiers’ Murder: Okuama Youths Urged To Be Reasonable
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Soldiers’ Murder: Okuama Youths Urged To Be Reasonable

Regent Youmor, ex-president of the Ijaw community in Lagos, says Nigerian youths must listen to the voice of reason and end violence. Mr Youmor gave the charge in Lagos against the backdrop of the recent communal clash that led to the killing of at least 17 soldiers in Okuama in Delta. He also said elders and community leaders must do their best to control and properly guide youths within their communities to promote unity and peaceful co-existence. Mr Youmor said it was time for Nigerian youths to abandon all forms of insecurity, insurgency, and other crimes and vices and join hands to take their communities and Nigeria at large to the next level of development. Mr Youmor, also the chairman of the Bomadi community in Lagos, appealed to youths in Okuama and the environs to avo...
Tinubu Govt Bans Foreign-Made Syringes, Needles In Hospitals
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Tinubu Govt Bans Foreign-Made Syringes, Needles In Hospitals

The federal government has mandated all chief medical directors and medical directors of federal tertiary hospitals to procure needles and syringes solely from NAFDAC-approved local manufacturers. The new directive was stated in a circular addressed to all medical directors signed by the Minister of State for Health, Tunji Alausa, on Friday. The minister said that the directive aimed to boost domestic production and shield the country’s manufacturing sector from the influx of foreign goods. The circular also mandated NAFDAC to stop issuing licences for importing foreign-manufactured needles and syringes. Alausa said the health sector had dented local pharmaceutical industries, which produce needles and syringes and were in serious trouble because of the practice. He also sa...
Man Arrested For Smuggling Cocaine In Frozen Chickens
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Man Arrested For Smuggling Cocaine In Frozen Chickens

A 55-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly trafficking 120kg of cocaine disguised as frozen chicken products, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said on Friday. The man is alleged to have been involved in an attempt to move the drugs from Melbourne to Sydney in a van loaded with frozen chickens in 2022, the AFP said in a statement. On Friday, the man was set to be charged in a Brisbane court on one count of trafficking in commercial quantities of a controlled drug. The alleged offence attracts a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. AFP said that the man was one of two Queensland residents charged in 2022 with involvement with a money laundering syndicate responsible for laundering 4.5 million Australian dollars (three million U.S. dollars). At the time, he was char...
NURTW inaugurates caretaker committee in FCTCommittee
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NURTW inaugurates caretaker committee in FCTCommittee

The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) during the inauguration of a 16-man caretaker committee in the FCT council. By Joan Nwagwu The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) has inaugurated a 16-member caretaker committee to pilot its affairs in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Speaking at the inauguration ceremony on Friday in Abuja, Suleiman Abdulkadir, Acting General Secretary of the National union announced that “the caretaker committee earlier appointed by Alh. Najeem Yasin led faction, is illegal and dissolved”. “In view of the fact that nature abhors vacuum, a caretaker committee comprising of 16 members has been constituted,” he said Abdulkadir announced Ajibola Ashimolowo as the Chairman, Abdulkarim Shuaibu as Deputy Chairman, Saidu Musa ...