Claims in some quarters that the former Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi had nothing to do with the recent plan by the Federal Government to pay back funds expended on federal projects within the States have been debunked by former Lagos Governor and Nigeria’s Works and Housing Minister, Babatunde Raji Fashola. Fashola made the clarification during the commissioning of an overhead bridge, built by the Rivers State Government in Rebis, Port Harcourt and his position seems to have laid to rest all speculations and uncertainties about the roles played by the Transportation Minister and erstwhile Rivers Governor,…
Author: Francis Francis
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, has said that the House is ready to support the interventions of the Federal Government to rebuild Lagos and other states worst hit by the recent EndSars protests. Gbajabiamila also tasked Lagosians to put heads and resources together to rebuild the state in view of the destruction of properties worth billions of naira in the state. Speaking at the inauguration of the Board of Trustees of the Rebuild Lagos Trust Fund on Monday in Lagos, Gbajabiamila said he was heartbroken after going round the state for an on-the-spot assessment of…
The Lagos State Government has again restated its determination to continually upskill members of the Lagos State Council for Tradesmen and Artisans, LASCOTA, to meet up with the job demands for the 21st-century economy. Speaking during the flag-off ceremony of Y2020 upskilling of 2000 Tradesmen and Artisans in Lagos at the weekend, Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs. Yetunde Arobieke stated that the retraining of 1,500 Artisans and 500 Tradesmen is a demonstration of the government’s commitment to continually enhance the competence and quality of Artisans and Traders in the State for global competitiveness. She said, “This re-skilling programme…
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila has said that the House is committed to increasing the allocation to the health sector with a view to improving the well-being of Nigerians. Speaking at a 2-day training organised for health workers by his office in Lagos State, the Speaker said the programme was to improve their capacity to be able to handle the Covid-19 situation better. Declaring the training open on Sunday in Lagos, the Speaker said it was “part of efforts to ensure that health care professionals have the skills they need to continue to do the…
President Muhammadu Buhari has assented to the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020. In a statement on Friday, Garba Shehu, Buhari’s Senior Special on Media and Publicity, said Buhari gave the approval on Thursday. “It repeals the extant Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 1991 as amended. This monumental piece of legislation is expected to enhance the soundness and resilience of the financial system for sustainable growth and development of the Nigerian economy. “The BOFI Act 2020 updates the enabling law in response to developments and significant evolution in the financial sector over the last two decades. It will…
CSW has reiterated calls for the release of detained Chinese human rights defender Zhang Zhan, amid continued concerns for her health and wellbeing. 14 November will mark six months since Zhang, a Christian and former lawyer, was detained by Chinese authorities. Zhang had travelled to Wuhan, the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak, in early February, from where she posted videos and articles about the COVID-19 outbreak on Twitter and YouTube, both of which are blocked in China, and other social media platforms. She was taken away from her hotel room in Wuhan by Shanghai police on 14 May and has been detained at the Pudong…
The Lagos State Government has announced the commencement of the polio outbreak response exercise from Saturday, November 14, 2020, in five LGAS – Apapa, Lagos Mainland, Mushin, Somolu, and Surulere. A statement issued by the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board revealed that children between 0 – 5 years would be vaccinated with two drops of the oral polio vaccine, regardless of their previous immunization status, to prevent poliomyelitis that may result in paralysis of the limbs or death. The Permanent Secretary of Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Olugbemiga Aina, while urging parents to take advantage of the…
Uganda has for the third time in a row emerged as the top performer in this year’s Electricity Regulatory Index Report published by the African Development Bank. The East African country, along with Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, and Kenya, the other top performers, have regulators with the authority to exert the necessary oversight on the sector. However, the overall electricity regulatory frameworks of African countries is poorly developed, and most countries experience major regulatory weaknesses. The ERI, a flagship report of the African Development Bank, is a composite index which measures the level of development of electricity sector regulatory frameworks in…
Former Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and stakeholder of the nation’s main opposition party, Femi Fani-Kayode has stated that if the news making waves that the Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi is set to dump the Peoples Democratic Party for the ruling All Progressives Party is true, the PDP should immediately swing into action and ensure he doesn’t leave the party. Punch Newspaper had reported that Umahi intimated the members of the National Working Committee of the PDP of his decision to join the APC, claiming that the ruling All Progressives Congress would protect the interest of the South-East in…
Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has said that the attacks on public assets and private businesses in Lagos State in the heat of the #EndSARS protest were orchestrated to hurt the whole country. The Governor, who condemned the arson, stressed that Lagos remains a home for all Nigerians irrespective of tribe, language, or religion. Ikpeazu spoke on Wednesday during his visit to Lagos to commiserate with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu over the attacks. The Abia Governor particularly thanked his Lagos State counterpart for protecting the businesses and properties owned by Igbo during the violence. Ikpeazu said: “I am here to commiserate…
Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has described the Emir of Ilorin Alhaji (Dr) Ibrahim Sulu Gambari as a man of peace who is passionately committed to Nigeria’s unity and progress. In a statement in Abuja to celebrate Gambari’s 25th Anniversary on the throne, Atiku who is the Wazirin Adamawa said the Emir of Ilorin is one of the traditional rulers whose “commitment to our unity in diversity impresses beyond words”. According to Atiku, the appointment of Sulu Gambari as Emir of Ilorin 25 years ago has vindicated his admirers like him who were confident that he wouldn’t disappoint…
The Managing Director/CEO, Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Ibrahim Odumboni has debunked the claim contained in a viral video on social media alleging that some street sweepers are being owed three months’ salaries by the Agency. Odumboni stated that the allegation is totally untrue and fabricated, stressing that no sweeper in the service of the State government is being owed any salary as all the LAWMA contractors had been fully paid to date. In his words: “There is no truth whatsoever in the content of the video, it is a complete falsehood and the Authority wants to make it categorically…
President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Abuja urged agencies involved in agriculture to further streamline their priorities in the inclusion of youth in driving modern methods of farming while assuring all those interested that an enabling environment will be created for full participation. In his remark at the launch of National Young Farmers Scheme, designed by the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) to spur more youth interest in farming, the President said agriculture remains the backbone of the Nigerian economy, being the largest contributor to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “We will do more to expand, modernize and revolutionize…
Commendations have continued to greet the approvals by President Mohammadu Buhari, of award of contracts for the construction of the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri (Eastern) rail line, a deep seaport in Bonny, and an industrial park in Port Harcourt, as analysts posit that the city may have been tipped as an emerging commercial hub for the African continent. It would be recalled that Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, had announced the approval some weeks ago while addressing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council Meeting held virtually at Council Chambers, Abuja. “The Federal Executive Council today,…
President Muhammadu Buhari has stated that it is in the interest of Nigerian youths to make and keep in the nation. The President spoke Monday at State House, Abuja, while receiving in audience the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, Nigeria’s former Minister of Environment. “Our own generation is on the last lap, we are exiting,” President Buhari said in response to the recent EndSARS protest, and the mayhem and destruction of public and private property that came in its wake. “It is in the interest of the youths to keep the peace. They want jobs, infrastructure and…
Global stock markets are “overthinking the positive vaccine news,” warns the Chief Executive Officer of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory and fintech organizations. The warning from Nigel Green, the chief executive and founder of deVere Group which has $12bn under advisement, comes as stock markets have soared after drug firms Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their Covid-19 vaccine was 90% effective in tests. Londons’ FTSE 100 soared on Monday by 5.5% and Wall Street benchmark S&P 500 index was set to climb surge 3.9% when trading starts. Green observes that: “The news is fuelling hope that economies…
If someone had told Emmanuel Ankron, a suspected armed robber that his unscrupulous quest for pleasure will turn into a life-time excruciating pains in the speed of light, he would have probably shut the person off. But he met his waterloo on Saturday as one Juanita, a 24-year-old Ghanaian woman, bit off his penis after he asked for a blow job after allegedly raping her. It should be noted that a blow job is an activity of giving sexual pleasure to a man by using the mouth on his penis. The BBC reports that the incident occurred at Obuasi area…
Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Ajibola Basiru, has debunked claims that the National Assembly was responsible for the deplorable state of roads in Benue State as alleged recently by the Minister for Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola. Fashola was quoted to have made the allegation on Monday in his office in Abuja during a courtesy visit by retired Generals and ‘other leaders of thought’ from Benue South Senatorial District led by Air Vice Marshal Morgan, following complaints about the deplorable state of roads in the senatorial district by members of the delegation. But in a reaction,…
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, has told the House Committee on Telecommunications how the telecoms agency contributed to the revenue drive of the Federal Government by generating and remitting N344.71 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) in the last five years. Danbatta stated this while briefing the Committee members, led by their Chairman, Hon. (Prince) Akeem Adeyemi, during a legislative oversight function on the Commission in Abuja. The EVC, who attributed the successes of the Commission in the last five years to the harmonious relationship between the Commission and the…
33 Civil Societies have asked the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to explicitly explain to Nigerians their decision to hoard the covid-19 palliatives. This is coming after members of the public discovered warehouses in different parts of the nation where palliatives were hoarded. Some of the States where these palliatives have been discovered include Lagos, Plateau, Adamawa, Osun, Edo among others. The Civil Societies in a joint statement on Wednesday which was obtained by The News Chronicle also condemned the use of ‘live bullets’ on unarmed protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate, on October 20, 2020. The statement said “We also join…
