News

Thursday, 12 January 2017 16:42

Buhari drops Mamora, others from revised ambassadorial list

President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, on Thursday announced that President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a “revised” list of 46 non-career ambassadorial nominees to the lawmakers, asking for the legislators’ approval. Saraki read Buhari’s letter to members of the Senate during plenary on Thursday. The Senate had, on November 15, 2016, rejected the first version of the list after receiving over 250 petitions against the nominees. Due to the controversy, lawmakers had resolved that the first list be sent back to President Buhari “for resubmission and re-jigging.” The Senate took the decision based on the recommendation of its Committee on…

Thursday, 12 January 2017 16:38

Abuja Airport runway repairs to gulp N5.8bn – Minister

Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, has said that the proposed repair of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, runway will cost N5.8 billion. Sirika made this known when he answered questions from senators at plenary on Thursday. He said the runway had become necessary because it is as critical as the economy of the country, adding that the runway was constructed over 30 years ago with no major repairs. The minister gave a guarantee of 10 years, saying that the runway would serve the country for a long time after the repair. According to him, the runway…

Thursday, 12 January 2017 02:53

Agency lacks power to fix Adeboye, others’ tenure – Reps

House of Representatives has ordered a “detailed” public hearing on the activities of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, particularly the Council’s decision to fix the tenure of the leadership of religious organisations. The House passed the resolution on Wednesday in Abuja at a session which was presided over by the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara. It came after members debated and endorsed a motion moved by the Minority Leader of the House, Mr. Leo Ogor. Lawmakers also clarified that no agency of the Federal Government was empowered by any law passed by the National Assembly to determine how many years…

Thursday, 12 January 2017 02:51

Adeboye: Only Governing Council can reverse decision

Recent changes announced by the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, remain and can only be reversed by the church’s Governing Council. According to the constitution of the church, the highest organ of the church consists of Pastor Adeboye as chairman with 13 other very senior pastors, including Pastor J. H. Abiona, Deputy General Overseer; Pastor J. A. O. Akindele, Assistant General Overseer; Pastor D. A. Ilori, Assistant General Overseer and Pastor M.O. Ojo, Assistant General Overseer. Others include Pastor A. A. Aderibigbe, Assistant General Overseer; Pastor P. O. Ojo, Assistant General Overseer;…

Thursday, 12 January 2017 02:49

Nigeria backs ‘One China’, cuts ties with Taiwan

The Federal Government has expressed full support to “One China” principle, saying this is at the core of its strategic partnership with China. Beijing sees Taiwan as a province and aims to deny it any of the trappings of an independent state. It has threatened to use force if Taiwan formally declares independence. A joint statement signed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria and China, Geoffrey Onyeama and Wang Yi respectively, said Nigeria ceases to have any official relationship or engagement in any official capacity with Taiwan. It said that the Nigerian government recognizes that there is only…

Thursday, 12 January 2017 02:47

Buhari appoints new head of primary healthcare agency

President Muhammadu Buhari, Wednesday, approved the appointment of Dr Faisal Shuaib as the Executive Secretary of National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA). Shuaib, a medical doctor and public health specialist, is currently a Senior Program Officer, Africa, for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, BMGF, at Seattle, USA. At the BMGF, Shuaib is responsible for developing and implementing strategies on polio outbreak response activities in Africa. Prior to joining the foundation, Shuaib coordinated Nigeria’s successful response to the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) as the Incident Manager of the Ebola Emergency Operations Centre in 2014. He was also…

Thursday, 12 January 2017 02:46

Supreme Court judge withdraws from case

Hearing of appeals against the nomination of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu as governorship candidate of the PDP in the 2015 election was on Wednesday stalled at the Supreme Court. The withdrawal of Justice Amina Augie from the seven-member panel was responsible for the suit being stalled. The apex court was billed to entertain the appeals filed by Uche Oga and Friday Nwosu, challenging the nomination of Gov. Ikpeazu as the party’s governorship candidate. At the resumption of proceedings, Justice Augie had informed the court that she wished to be isolated from sitting on the appeals. She hinged it on the fact…

Thursday, 12 January 2017 02:44

Police arrest, release Sahara Reporters publisher without charges

Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, has been freed without charges, hours after he was detained by the police in Lagos. “He has been released without charges and without parting with anything,” Olanrewaju Suraj, a friend of Mr. Sowore, said while confirming the development to PREMIUM TIMES Wednesday night. Mr. Sowore was arrested on Wednesday afternoon after he was attacked by Lekan Fatodu, a Nigerian journalist based in the U.K., and taken to the Criminal Investigation Department in Panti, Yaba, Lagos. Mr. Fatodu said he engineered the arrest of the Sahara Reporters publisher through a petition he sent to the…

Thursday, 12 January 2017 02:41

NUPENG calls off 3-day warning strike

National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on Wednesday in Abuja called off its three-day nationwide warning strike. NUPENG’s President, Mr Igwe Achese, announced the suspension at a meeting called at the instance of Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige. Other groups at the meeting were the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Nigeria National Petroleum Co-operation (NNPC), National Salaries and Wages Commission, oil and Servicing companies, among others. NUPENG gave a notice of three-day warning strike on Tuesday, over disputes with International Oil Companies, over indiscriminate sack of workers without benefits…

Thursday, 12 January 2017 02:40

335 foreigners granted Nigerian citizenship

Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday in Abuja approved Nigerian citizenship for 335 foreigners and rejected the applications of 165 others. Minister of Interior, Lt.Gen (retd) Abudulrahman Dambazau, made this known at a joint State House Media briefing with the Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, and Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Mr Femi Adesina. The briefing was held after the FEC meeting, which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari. Dambazau explained that the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Nigerian citizenship received 500 applications and recommended 335 of the applicants for approval. “The Ministry of Interior…

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Thursday, 12 January 2017 02:39

Police Commission set to recall 95 disengaged staff, following court ruling

Police Service Commission (PSC) says the commission is set to recall the 95 staff wrongly disengaged from its service in 2016, following judgements from the National Industrial Court. Head of Media of the commission, Mr. Ikechukwu Ani, said the commission has since approved the recall of the staff and had also put in place processes for their immediate resumption of duty, adding that their recall letters is being processed. He admitted that the commission would continue to operate within the confines of the rule of law and would not detract from its position to obey judgments of Courts of competent…

Wednesday, 11 January 2017 18:05

Buhari to Ohaneze: Let's work together

President Muhammadu Buhari says he looks forward to working with the new leadership of the pan-Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohaneze Ndigbo. He assured the organisation that his administration would continue to be a partner-in-progress in implementing suggestions, measures and programmes to advance the unity, development and prosperity of Nigeria. The president, in a statement today by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Mallam Garba Shehu, was congratulating Chief John Nwodo on his election as the President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo Buhari expressed belief that Nwodo "is eminently qualified for the job given his long years of distinguished service to the…

Wednesday, 11 January 2017 18:04

Senate rejects ban on importation of cars through land borders

The Senate has called for the reversal of the Federal Government’s policy banning the importation of cars through land borders. The ban took effect from January 1, 2017. According to the Senate, the ban will lead to a loss of 500,000 jobs. The lawmakers, who heavily criticised the policy during the plenary on Wednesday, described the ban as anti-poor. The issue was brought through a a motion titled, ‘The Ban on the Importation of Vehicles Through the Land Borders into the Country’, jointly moved by Senators Barau Jibrin (Kano North), Kabiru Gaya (Kano South), Sabi Abdullahi (Niger North), Shehu Sani…

Wednesday, 11 January 2017 18:02

Boko Haram: Nigerian Army recovers corpses of 16 missing soldiers

Nigerian Army on Wednesday said one officer and fifteen soldiers have been found dead in a major river northeast of the country. The sixteen personnel were part of the 46 officially declared missing more than six weeks ago. Lucky Irabor, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole who made the announcement, said the soldiers were found dead in River Yobe, “The corpses were recovered along Kamadogou River line area in Maiduguri,” Mr. Irabor, a major general, said. Mr. Irabor said the departed soldiers included K. Yusuf, a lieutenant colonel. Prior to his kidnapping and ultimate death, Mr. Yusuf was the…

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