President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, has said that the biggest thing to happen to Africa is the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), saying the free trade area itself is worth over 3.3 trillion dollars. Adesina, who stated this when he addressed State House correspondents in Abuja on Tuesday, expressed the hope that the effective implementation of AfCFTA would transform the continent to a greater height. He also supported the creation of a single currency by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), named ‘ECO’, describing it as a great idea. ”I think that at the…
Author: NAN NAN
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says an estimated 26,039 babies will be born in Nigeria on New Year’s Day. UNICEF’s Nigeria Representative, Mr Peter Hawkins, said on Wednesday in a statement Nigerian babies would account for almost seven per cent of the estimated 392,078 babies to be born on New Year’s Day globally. Hawkins said that this figure is the third highest number of babies in the world, after India with 67,385; and China, 46,299. “The beginning of a new year and this year, a new decade, is a chance for us to reflect on our hopes and dreams…
The Federal Government says it will complete 47 ongoing road projects, including those leading to the nation ports, and major bridges including substantial work on the Second Niger Bridge in 2020. President Muhammadu Buhari disclosed this in a letter to Nigerians to commemorate the New Year, which was made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja. He also revealed that 13 housing estates under the National Housing Project Plan would be completed this year. According to him, Lagos, Kano, Maiduguri and Enugu international airports will also be inaugurated in 2020. The president said an agricultural rural mechanisation scheme that would…
Oil prices rose more than 20 per cent this year but there were no sharp spikes and crude futures barely sniffed $70 a barrel despite attacks on the world’s biggest oil producer, sanctions that crippled crude exports of two OPEC members and gigantic supply cuts from big oil producing countries. The price gains in crude oil benchmarks were all in the first quarter of 2019, even as the next several months featured supply shocks that in the past would probably have propelled crude past the $100 mark. Prices are likely to remain rangebound in 2020 as swelling supplies, particularly from…
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola declared the VAR video review system a “big mess” on Sunday after a weekend which saw a series of controversial decisions from the system. VAR was introduced in the Premier League for the first time this season and there is no sign of the controversies dying down nor of fans warming to the use of the technology. “Every weekend is a big mess. In other games, it was a big mess. Hopefully next season, it can do better,” said Guardiola after City’s 2-0 win over Sheffield United on Sunday. It was one of several games…
Gov. Simon Lalong of Plateau has congratulated Nwangele Godwin, a 25-year-old Nigerian winner of the 2020 Rhodes Scholarship for West Africa. Nwangele was born and brought up in Jos. Lalong’s message was conveyed in a statement by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Dr Simon Makut. The governor said that with his selection, Nwangele became the second Nigerian and the fourth recipient of the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship from the sub-continent since its re-launch in 2017. Nwangele was selected out of a total of 2,783 applicants who registered as intending scholars for the 177 year old Rhodes scholarship which started…
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has said that women can rise to be president of Nigeria because they have the strengths and potential of good leadership. The Ooni spoke at the opening session of the second edition of “Queen Moremi, the Musical, Reloaded” late on Tuesday at the Lagos Continental Hotels in Lagos. According to him, we should try to uplift the position of women because they have a lot to offer the society. He noted that there were lots of God-given talents in women, which were demonstrated through the heroic deeds of Queen Moremi Ajasoro (QMA) many…
The Police Command in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) says it has rescued two kidnapped victims at Ketti Village in the outskirt of the territory. A statement by ASP Mariam Yusuf, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja. She said the victims were rescued on Dec. 22, following prompt response to a distress call from the village. Yusuf said police operatives attached to Kabusa division rescued the victims after engaging the kidnappers in a fierce gun battle, prompting them to flee into the forest with three other victims. She said efforts were…
First Bank of Nigeria Ltd. said it would remain committed to the Federal Government’s diversification drive with the development of agricultural value chain to boost employment. Mrs Ibukun Awosika, Chairman, FirstBank, stated this at the bank’s 2019 edition of ‘Food Souk’ in partnership with Eventful Limited, an events management company, held in Lagos. Awosika said the bank would continue to support the entire agricultural value chain from production to consumption to create opportunities for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the food sector to create job opportunities. “As you have noticed, we have been doing a chain of Souks with Eventful,…
Some unknown gunmen in the late hours of Sunday, invaded the official residence of the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Water Resources, Mr Nengi Talbot, and abducted his six year old son, Antonio. The police confirmed the abduction took place at about 10:30pm on Sunday at the Commissioners’ quarter in Opolo axis of Yenagoa, the state capital. As at Monday, the teenager was still being held hostage by his abductors in an unknown location. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the abductors were yet to contact the family nor have made a ransom demand. The Bayelsa Police Command Spokesman, SP…
The Federal Government has accused the U.S. of attempting to sow seed of religious mistrust among the various religious groups in Nigeria with its recent report. In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the Federal Government rejected the U.S. designation of Nigeria as “a country that engages in or tolerates severe violations of religious freedom”. Mohammed said that the iniquitous tag stemmed from an orchestrated narrative that had long been discredited. He stressed that the people of Nigeria enjoyed unfettered freedom to practise their religion. The minister blamed failed…
The African Development Bank (AfDB), says its portfolio investments in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region is 20 billion dollars. This is contained in a statement released by the bank’s Communication and External Relations Department on Sunday. It said that the bank’s President Mr Akinwumi Adesina disclosed this at the ECOWAS Summit held in Abuja on Saturday. Adesina explained that the bank’s major focus was on energy and transport infrastructure, private sector, regional financial market integration, water and sanitation. He said AfDB had been very responsive during critical times that matter most as the bank was always…
President of the United Nations General Assembly (PGA) Tijjani Muhammad-Bande has called for global action toward the protection of indigenous languages against the threat of extinction. Muhammad-Bande made the call at a high-level event to mark the end of the International Year of Indigenous Languages in New York. “The United Nations has clearly been at the vanguard of articulating efforts to proactively address the challenges facing indigenous languages in the modern world. “The challenges persist nonetheless. “Every fortnight, at least one indigenous language vanishes from the face of the earth. “This translates into two extinct indigenous languages each month. “The…
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja signed the 2020 appropriation bill of N10,594,362,364,830 into law. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the budget was increased from N10.33 trillion to N10.594billion by the National Assembly. NAN observed that N560.47 billion of the total budget is for statutory transfers while N2.7 trillion is for debt service. Other breakdown of the budget include N4,842,974,600,640 for Recurrent Expenditure; Capital expenditure N2,465,418,006,955; Fiscal Deficit N2.28 trillion and Deficit/GDP N1.52 per cent. The budget as passed by the National Assembly also maintained Nigeria’s daily oil production rate at 2.18 million per barrel but increased…
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said it made ₦5.20billion trading surplus for the month of August, reflecting an increase of 22 per cent compared with the ₦4.26 billion surplus posted in July. The corporation disclosed this in its Monthly Financial and Operations Report (MFOR) for the month of August released in Abuja on Sunday. It attributed the appreciable increase of 22 per cent within the period under review to largely the improved surplus posted by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC). It explained that the percentage increase in performance of the company evened out with the decline in the…
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), through the Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE, has launched “Operation Rattle Snake” against terrorists’ elements in the North East. Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information announced this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja. Daramola said the Air Interdiction Operation, which commenced on Tuesday would target selected locations within the North East to further degrade remnants of the terrorists as well as deny them safe havens and freedom of action. ”On Day One of the Operations, airstrikes by NAF aircraft resulted in the neutralization of several Boko…
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), says it is taking measures to address the menace of pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft in the nation’s Oil and Gas industry. The Group Managing. Director, Malam Mele Kyari disclosed this at the inaugural Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Policy Dialogue in Abuja on Tuesday. He said that oil theft had remained a challenge in the industry in spite of some strong interventions in the past. The NNPC boss noted that the gradual reduction in pipelines vandalism would be sustained through improved collaboration, implementation of Global Memoranda of Understanding (GMOs), and deployment…
The Debt Management Office (DMO) says the public debt stock of the country is a cumulative figure of borrowings by successive governments over many years. The DMO said this in a statement released in Abuja on Tuesday. It said that it was not appropriate to attribute the Public Debt Stock to any particular administration. It, however, explained that President Muhammadu Buhari submitted a request to the National Assembly for approval of the 2016 – 2018 Medium Term External Borrowing Plan for the sum of 22.718 billion dollars. According to the statement, this request is not a new one as being perceived but…
President Muhammadu Buhari has departed Abuja for Aswan, Egypt to attend the Aswan Forum designed to set “An Agenda for Sustainable Peace and Development in Africa.” News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the president accompanied by Governors Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa, Godwin Obaseki of Edo and Mai Mala Buni of Yobe departed the Presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for Egypt at about 2.00 p.m. The Forum, which holds between Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, is an initiative to address the interconnections between peace and development in Africa while promoting Africa-led solutions through strengthening policies and practices. “The initiative…
A group of protesters under the aegis of Guardian of Democracy Initiative on Friday, stormed the premises of the Federal High Court, venue of the ongoing trial of #RevolutionNow convener Omoyele Sowore. The protesters who booed at Sowore upon his arrival in court, demanded the prosecution of the former Presidential Candidate, carrying placards and chanting anti-revolution now songs. The demanded that Omoyele Sowore must be prosecuted for trying to ‘destabilize the peaceful coexistence of Nigeria’. Addressing newsmen at the court premises, the leader of the group Mr Danesi Momoh declared support for the Department of State Security Service (DSS) for arresting…
A Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday sentenced a former Governor of Abia, Orji Kalu, to 12 years imprisonment for N7.2 billion fraud and money laundering. The court convicted Kalu, now a senator, on all the 39 counts preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission charge. Kalu was charged alongside a former Commissioner for Finance, in the state Jones Udeogu, and his company, Slok Nig. Ltd. While Kalu and his company were found guilty of all the 39 counts, Udeogu was convicted on 34 counts and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. The court ordered that the Slok…
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Malabo, said leaders of neighbouring countries would work together and provide all necessary assistance to secure the Gulf of Guinea. The President’s spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, said in a statement that Buhari gave the assurance at a bilateral meeting with President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, on the sideline of the 2019 Gas Summit. Buhari expressed concern over the rate of piracy, kidnapping and smuggling in the Gulf of Guinea and called for more concerted efforts to end the tide of illegality. “Our neighbourhood is very strong. Our Navy is doing a…
The Federal Government has commenced implementation of the 750 million dollars World Bank-funded State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) programme in 33 states. The Auditor-General for the Federation, Mr Anthony Ayine said the programme was aimed at transforming the public finance management system in states. Ayine said that SFTAS was initiated by the Federal Government, adding that the OAuGF would be the Independent Verification Agents (IVA) for the programme. He noted that states that met the criteria would be eligible for the grants if they achieved any of the nine disbursement linked results under the SFTAS. The auditor-general listed…
Npower has announced a restructure of its UK business that unions warn threatens 4,500 jobs and could lead to the closure of call centres. The news was described as a ‘body blow’ by one union official, coming just weeks before Christmas. Workers will be given details at briefings later today. Npower, one of the Big Six energy suppliers in the UK, lost 261,000 customers in the third quarter of this year. The company now has fewer than half a million customers – around 447,000. In a statement, E.ON confirmed that there would be a ‘significant number’ of jobs lost over…
A group of protesters on Wednesday went to the National Assembly to demand for withdrawal of the bills on hate speech and social media. Deji Adeyanju, a civil activist who led the protesters to the National Assembly gate described the bills as “obnoxious”. The protesters carried placards bearing various inscriptions aimed at rejecting the bills. According to Adeyanju, the bills are completely out of place having no place in a democracy regime. ”These bills have no place in our laws and nation because the Cybercrime Act of 2015 has already aptly captured the provisions of these bills in its entirety.…
Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta has congratulated former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, GCON, as he turns 73 on Monday. In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Olisa Ifejika, in Asaba on Sunday, the governor described Atiku, the Presidential Candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 elections, as “a man of strong convictions”. According to him, Atiku’s drive and tenacity to lead the country will one day materialise. Okowa commended the elder statesman for his tremendous impact on the lives of people irrespective of tribe, religion, social status or political affiliation through his entrepreneurial activities. The governor lauded…
The Zone B of Nigeria Customs Service Federal Operations Unit Kaduna, on Thursday said it seized smuggled goods valued at over N43 million within one week in the zone. The Comptroller of the command, Mustafa Sarkin-Kebbi said among the items seized was a truck intercepted along Kebbi-Kalgo road carrying foreign parboiled rice concealed with footwears in one hundred kilogram bags. Sarkin-Kebbi, who made the disclosure at a press briefing in Kaduna, also said 25 vehicles were intercepted within the period, well as 703 bags of smuggled foreign rice, 500 Jerry can of vegetable oil and 245 cartons of spaghetti. Other…
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday met with speakers of the 36 states Houses of Assembly of the federation at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the speakers were led by their Chairman, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, who is also the Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly. NAN reports that though the agenda of the meeting was unknown as at the time of filing this report, President Buhari and the speakers are expected to deliberate on national issues, including security and autonomy of the Assemblies. Those at the meeting included the Speaker of the House of…
Afropop superstar, Ayodeji Balogun aka Wizkid has won SoulTrain’s Ashford and Simpson Songwriters’ award. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that he won the award at the 2019 ceremony held on Sunday in Las Vegas. The ‘Ojuelegba’ singer earned the award for his collaboration with Beyonce, Blue Ivy Carter and SaiNt Jhn on the sensational song of Beyonce’s ‘Lion Heart: The Gift’ album. Wizkid shares the award with other credited songwriters including, Beyoncé Knowles, Carlos St. John, Adio Marchant and Shawn Carter. Others are Stacy BartheAnathi Mnyango, Michael Uzowuru, Ayodeji Balogun and Richard Isong. NAN reports that this was the…
Residents of Bayelsa are eagerly awaiting the release of Saturday’s governorship election result by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bayelsa people defied flooding and other challenges to exercise their franchise in the election. While the voting process took place amidst tight security in some areas, eligible voters in flooded parts of the state could only access their communities by boat. A NAN check around Yenagoa on Sunday showed that the people were expectant of timely release of the results by INEC. At Opolo, Igbogene, Epie and Amarata areas of Yenoga residents gathered to…
