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Wednesday, 26 June 2019 05:48

Nigeria ‘is bankrupt and we are heading to more bankruptcy’ - Sanusi

Emir of Kano, Mr Muhammad Sanusi II, has warned that Nigeria is on the verge of bankruptcy as fuel and electricity subsidies, as well as debt servicing, continue to eat into government revenue. Sanusi, who is a former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, said this while delivering his address at the ongoing third National Treasury Workshop, organised by the office of Accountant-General of the Federation in Kano. He advised President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to scrap fuel and electricity tariff subsidies in order to stabilise the economy. He said, “In 2011, when I was CBN governor, Nigeria made $16bn from…

Wednesday, 26 June 2019 05:47

FG sets up settlements for herdsmen

Federal government says it has started establishing settlements for herdsmen across the nation. Mr Mohammadu Umar, permanent secretary in ministry of agriculture and rural development, made this known in Abuja on Tuesday. He said the farm settlements when fully established would address incessant clashes between cattle rearers and farmers. Umar explained that the pilot programme had already commenced on a 31,000-hectare in Kotongora, Niger state. According to him, the required facilities for a basic life and treatment of cattle are being provided to enhance productivity. He said the government would replicate the programme in selected states as work “is ongoing…

Wednesday, 26 June 2019 05:44

S’East govs, Ortom, Akeredolu, Ishaku, reject FG’s settlements for herdsmen

Federal Government on Tuesday said in the next five years, the establishment of Ruga settlements in the country would stop open grazing by herdsmen and end herdsmen-farmers’ clashes across the country. It explained that the establishment of Ruga settlements, which had been approved by President Muhammadu Buhari and had started in 12 states, would allow herdsmen to stay in specific areas, where they could graze their animals. But all the five South-East state governors, Samuel Ortom (Benue); Darius Ishaku (Taraba) and the Ondo State Government have rejected the Ruga settlements, saying they would not give out their land for herdsmen’s…

Wednesday, 26 June 2019 05:43

Insecurity: South West govs advocate state police

South West governors, yesterday, unanimously demanded for state police; to tackle rising kidnapping, armed robbery, drug abuse, cultism, farmer/herders clashes, ritual killings, and other vices in the region. The governors reached the conclusion during Western Nigeria Stakeholders Security Summit at Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall, opposite main gate of University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State capital, yesterday. The summit was organised by Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission. The governors highlighted security challenges in the region and how people there have been living in fear, and that state police should be major panacea to the security menace. The summit was…

Wednesday, 26 June 2019 05:41

Soyinka reacts to airplane seat incident; says it was ‘very minor thing’

Nobel Laureate, Mr Wole Soyinka, has finally reacted to an incident on an airplane where a younger traveller reportedly asked him to vacate his seat. The matter was first shared on social media by former Rivers State APC governorship candidate, Mr Tonye Cole. Cole sparked a huge debate online after explaining how the yet-to-identified man defied pleas to allow the 84-year-old writer and former professor keep the seat. Some Nigerians sympathised with Soyinka while others defended his seatmate. Others criticised Cole for making an issue of what should pass as a minor event. The debate continued Tuesday, trending on Twitter…

Wednesday, 26 June 2019 05:38

Iran's president says Trump administration is 'afflicted with mental retardation’

• Iran's President Hasan Rouhani accused the Trump White House of being "afflicted with mental retardation" in a TV address on Tuesday. • Rouhani said that new sanctions, targeted at Iran's Supreme Leader, show that the US is not serious about finding a diplomatic end to their current conflict. • The US on Monday imposed new sanctions on Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. • In recent weeks tensions between Iran and the US have surged. Iran shot down a US drone, and President Donald Trump almost responded with military action. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has accused the…

Wednesday, 26 June 2019 05:37

US-Iran crisis: Trump lashes out at 'ignorant and insulting' statement

Donald Trump has lashed out at the "ignorant and insulting statement" released by Iran after the US president announced fresh sanctions against the Middle Eastern nation. The tweets came after Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said the move proved the White House was "mentally retarded". Mr Trump said it showed Iran's leaders "do not understand reality". He unveiled the sanctions on Monday, saying they were a response to recent "aggressive behaviour" by Iran. The sanctions target a number of individuals, notably Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who Mr Trump said was "ultimately responsible for the hostile conduct of the regime".…

Tuesday, 25 June 2019 05:49

Rich, powerful Nigerians to get multiple international passports - NIS

Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has said it is contemplating the idea of issuing multiple standard international passports to high net-worth Nigerians who are frequent travelers to facilitate their business trips overseas. This is just as the service will today officially roll out the 10-year security enhanced validity standard, official and diplomatic passports. Besides, NIS said it will soon begin the registration of migrants to curtail activities of other nationals who engage in banditry, terrorism and other illegal activities across national borders. Its Comptroller General (CGI) Muhammad Babandede, who spoke in Lagos, said the initiative followed pressure from businessmen and frequent…

Tuesday, 25 June 2019 05:46

Trump signs order imposing sanctions on Iran supreme leader

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday targeting Iran’s supreme leader and his associates with financial sanctions, the latest action the U.S. has taken to discourage Tehran from developing nuclear weapons and supporting militant groups. The sanctions follow Iran’s downing of a more than $100 million U.S. surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz. Trump pulled back from the brink of retaliatory military strikes on Iran last week but is continuing his pressure campaign against the nation. “These measures represent a strong and proportionate response to Iran’s increasingly provocative actions,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We…

Tuesday, 25 June 2019 05:45

Iranians becoming irritated with their leaders, say ‘our bones breaking’ under US sanctions

As the U.S. piles sanction after sanction on Iran, it’s the average person who feels it the most. From a subway performer’s battered leather hat devoid of tips, to a bride-to-be’s empty purse, the lack of cash from the economic pressure facing Iran’s 80 million people can be seen everywhere. Many blame President Donald Trump and his maximalist policy on Iran, which has seen him pull out of Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and levy punishing U.S. sanctions on the country. In recent weeks, Iran has threatened to break out of the deal unless European powers mitigate what…

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Tuesday, 25 June 2019 05:42

School suspends teenager for insisting ‘only two genders exist’

A teenager suspended from school after insisting there are ‘only two genders’ has revealed he spoke out in protest at the ‘dangerous’ views being forced on to pupils. The 17-year-old sparked an international debate about transgender rights and free speech after a secretly filmed video clip of him being reprimanded by his teacher went viral. He was thrown out of class after arguing that only two genders exist – male and female – a position which his teacher claimed was ‘not inclusive’. The schoolboy has now been told he will be suspended for three weeks following the clash during a…

Monday, 24 June 2019 05:35

2019 budget: Anxiety mounts as debt service-to-revenue hits 70%

As Nigeria’s external reserves ebbed to $44.8 billion last Monday, from over $45 billion announced by Central Bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, the prior week, anxiety is now mounting over its trajectory as debt service-to-revenue ratio, outlined in the 2019 Budget, is set to hit 70 per cent. This is coming barely seven months after Senior Resident Representative of International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Nigeria, Mr. Amine Mati, warned fiscal and monetary authorities that “debt servicing, which currently takes about 50 per cent of the country’s revenue, is certainly high.” He then advised that it was high time the government…

Monday, 24 June 2019 05:34

Citing ‘controversy’, media aide to Senate President resigns appointment

Mr Olu Onemola, appointed Special Assistant on New Media by Senate President, Mr Ahmad Lawan, has rejected the appointment. He announced his decision in a statement on Sunday. Onemola’s appointment was announced in a letter from Senate President to Clerk to the National Assembly on Monday. Lawan wants the former aide to serve in the same capacity he did with former Senate President, Mr Bukola Saraki. However, the appointment has generated rife criticisms. Nigerians loyal to ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) criticised Lawan for making such appointment outside the circle of party loyalists. A similar controversy had last week led…

Monday, 24 June 2019 05:33

Ex-gov spent N460m monthly on burial, Bauchi govt alleges

Bauchi State Governor, Mr Bala Mohammed, has alleged that his predecessor, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, spent N2.3bn in five months to buy materials for burial in the state. This translates to an average of N460 million monthly. But Abubakar has dismissed the allegation, describing it as laughable. The governor, who spoke through his spokesperson, Mr Ladan Salihu, in an interview with journalists in Bauchi, said the funds were spent between January and May, 2019. He explained that over N900m was spent on the purchase of white cloth used for wrapping corpses while over N1.4bn was used to buy the wood for…

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