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Friday, 13 September 2019 05:41

RUGA, Almajiri, insecurity dominate Northern Govs meeting in Kaduna

Northern States Governors Forum yesterday rose from an emergency meeting in Kaduna, adopting the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) as a system that would engender modernisation of pastoral activities. It clarified that the scheme was different from Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) settlement project. In a communiqué read to newsmen by its chairman and Governor of Plateau State, Mr Simon Lalong, the body said the plan would ensure resettling of dislocated populations in conflict zones and incorporating them in the new scheme of things. Pleading with other states to key into the pilot project, Lalong stated that the programme provides a…

Friday, 13 September 2019 05:39

Amaechi, Saraki divide roles in Transport Ministry

Federal Government has given approval for the construction of $5.3 billion Ibadan-Kano standard gauge rail line. Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, disclosed this on Thursday at the third Maritime Stakeholders’ Interactive Forum. “Just yesterday, we got the approval to complete the $5.3bn Ibadan to Kano rail project. We have also applied for funding to commence a coastal rail for the Port Harcourt to Warri segment,” he said. According to a statement issued by Federal Ministry of Transportation in Abuja, the minister also revealed that Minister of State for Transportation, Ms Gbemisola Saraki, would be in charge of all maritime…

Friday, 13 September 2019 05:37

Women, youths block major N’Delta road over 3-year power outage

Unable to endure further three years blackout, residents of Agbarha-Otor community in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State on Thursday halted commercial activities at Ughelli axis of the ever-busy East-West Road over three years power outage by Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC). Agbarha-Otor community is the country-home of the Ibru dynasty which is host to Michael and Cecilia Ibru University and the East West Road connects the oil-rich states of Edo, Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers in the South South. The angry protesters, comprising women, children and youths armed with banners and twigs of trees, besieged the road chanting…

Thursday, 12 September 2019 05:48

Nine soldiers killed, 27 missing in latest Boko Haram attack on military base in Borno

Boko Haram Islamist militants killed nine Nigerian soldiers in an attack on a military base in Gudumbali, Borno state, three soldiers and an official from a security agency said on Wednesday. A decade-long insurgency in the northeast, started by Islamist group Boko Haram in 2009, has claimed more than 30,000 lives. A breakaway faction that pledges allegiance to Islamic State has become the dominant group in the insurgency, carrying out attacks on military bases over the past year. The soldiers and security officer, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity, said Islamist militants attacked troops on Tuesday at a…

Thursday, 12 September 2019 05:46

Nigeria land borders remain shut – Customs CG

Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr Hamid Ali, says Nigerian borders will continue to remain closed until countries sharing border with Nigeria come into term with the conditions laid down by federal government. The Customs CG made this known when he visited Maigatari Nigeria/Niger Republic border on Wednesday, saying Nigeria could no longer fold its arms watching such countries flourishing at the detriment of Nigerian economy. Ali, who arrived border town of Maigatari in a chopper, told journalists that countries sharing border with Nigeria had continued to encourage the importation of all forms of contraband that are known…

Thursday, 12 September 2019 05:44

UK relaxes rules on foreign students staying back for jobs

Laws limiting how long foreign students can stay in the UK after graduating are to be relaxed. International students will be able to remain in Britain for two years after graduating, to find work. The Prime Minister said the changes, due to come into effect for those starting courses next year, would help those studying in the UK begin their careers in the UK. It marks a shift in policy designed to add flexibility to the system for graduates from the era, when student numbers were included in overall targets. The announcement coincides with the launch of the world's largest…

Thursday, 12 September 2019 05:42

Xenophobia: 187 Nigerians return as S’African govt frustrates others from making trip

The number of Nigerians that made it back to Nigeria drastically reduced following moves by South African government to frustrate the evacuation efforts. Only about 187 adults and children were successfully evacuated on Wednesday as against the 320 Nigerians expected back home. The flight arrived Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, at 9.43pm. One of the returnees, Mr Uche Victor, told journalists that he left his wife who he said was a Cameronian and a young daughter behind. He said, “I’m bleeding because I left my wife and baby but I have to come back because my mother cries for me…

Wednesday, 11 September 2019 05:33

FG proposes N9.79 trillion budget for 2020

Federal Government will propose to National Assembly about N9.79 trillion as total expenditure in the 2020 budget, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has said. Ahmed announced this on Tuesday in Abuja at a public consultation forum with civil society groups and agencies on the draft 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework. The amount represents an increase of 9.75 per cent over N8.916 trillion spending for 2019. The projection includes a proposed revenue of about N7.64 trillion and a total proposed fiscal deficit component of about N2.142 trillion. She said the key assumptions of the budget were…

Wednesday, 11 September 2019 05:32

Power generation slides below 3,000MW as 10 power plants become idle

Electricity generation in the country has fallen again below 3,000 megawatts, as the number of idle plants rose to 10 on Monday. Total power generation plunged to 2,866.1MW as of 6am on Monday from 3,141.8MW on Sunday, latest data obtained from Nigeria Electricity System Operator on Tuesday showed. The plants that did not generate any megawatt of electricity included six built under the National Integrated Power Project, namely Sapele, Alaoji, Olorunsogo, Omotosho, Ihovbor and Gbarain. Others were Afam IV&V, Ibom Power IPP, AES IPP and ASCO IPP. Last Friday, when total generation stood at 3,142.1MW as of 6am, only four…

Wednesday, 11 September 2019 05:30

IMN says police killed 12 members across Nigeria during Tuesday processions

A Nigerian Shiite organisation, Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), said 12 of its members were killed in a nationwide crackdown on Tuesday. The Shiites were embarking on their annual religious rite, Ashura, across many states in Nigeria. The group’s spokesperson, Mr Ibrahim Musa, in a statement Tuesday said the killings took place after attacks on Ashura mourners in Kaduna, Bauchi, Sokoto and Katsina states. The statement, however, said similar processions in Abuja, Jos, Kebbi, Minna, Lafia, Yola, Gusau, Zaria, Kano, Jalingo, Damaturu, Hadejia and Potiskum, ended peacefully. Ashura, a Shiite mourning period in commemoration of the killing of Imam Hussein,…

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Wednesday, 11 September 2019 05:29

One killed, many injured as protesting students lay siege to gov’s wife’s convoy in Ekiti

A 100 level student of Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Mr Oluwaseyi Kehinde, has been shot dead by operatives of Nigeria Police Force. Several other students were also reportedly injured while students were protesting poor electricity supply in Oye and Ikole Ekiti on Tuesday. Wife of Ekiti State Governor, Mrs Bisi Fayemi, was also reportedly attacked during the protests. Many students of the institution who witnessed the protest told our correspondent that the response from police officers attached to Mrs Fayemi’s convoy turned the protest bloody. This newspaper gathered that the protesting students blocked Mrs Fayemi’s convoy while she was returning…

Wednesday, 11 September 2019 05:27

Isreali PM whisked offstage at campaign rally after rockets fired from Gaza Strip

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was briefly pulled offstage during a campaign rally in southern Israel on Tuesday night after two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip toward the cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod. Netanyahu told the audience at the Likud rally in Ashdod to remain calm as security guards led him away and air raid sirens blared. He returned minutes later and continued addressing the crowd. Israel Defense Forces said both rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. No injuries were reported and there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket launches. The…

Wednesday, 11 September 2019 05:24

Fayemi’s cultural rejuvenation policy excellent – Deji Fasuan

A nationalist and elder statesman, Mr Deji Fasuan has applauded Governor of Ekiti state, Mr Kayode Fayemi for his vision at bringing out a cultural policy aimed at reviving and resuscitating the pristine values, ethics, norms, mores, heritage and the tradition which Ekiti is noted for. Fasuan, one of the foremost elders who worked tirelessly for the creation of the state made this remark while taking Director-General Ekiti State Council for Arts and Culture, Mr Wale Ojo-Lanre on a tour of his house in Afao Ekiti after the celebration of Aeregbe Festival, on Saturday 7 September 2019. Fasuan, who was…

Tuesday, 10 September 2019 04:53

Buhari gets report from Special Envoy to S’Africa, gives directives

PRESS RELEASE In the wake of the xenophobic attacks by South Africans against other Africans including Nigerians, President Muhammadu Buhari sent Mr Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (DGNIA) as his Special Envoy to South Africa, to convey a Special Message to his counterpart, President Cyril Ramaphosa. The Special Envoy, who was in Pretoria from Thursday, 5th to Saturday, 7th September 2019 conveyed: * The deep concern of Mr Buhari and Nigerians about intermittent violence against Nigerians and their property/business interests in South Africa. Buhari stressed the need for South African Government to take visible measures to stop violence…

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