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Wednesday, 05 July 2017 06:27

Nigeria debt profile worsens as FG borrows N3.57tn in 21 months

The Federal Government said on Tuesday that it borrowed N3.57tn between June 2015 and March 2017 to finance budget deficits. The government said this in response to an enquiry by The PUNCH, which sought to know what use it had put the funds being borrowed in the last two years from both external and local sources. The enquiry, which was addressed to Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, under the Freedom of Information Act, sought to ascertain the specific projects that the borrowed funds were used to execute. The minister, however, referred the enquiry to the Debt Management Office for…

Wednesday, 05 July 2017 06:17

Stampede as thousands bid farewell to Maitama Sule

There was pandemonium Tuesday in Kano as thousands of mourners paid their last respects to the late former minister and Nigeria UN representative, Yusuf Sule, as he was buried. Due to heavy human and vehicular movement around the venues of the burial rites, many could not gain access to the Kara Burial Grounds and the Emir’s palace. At a point, as a result of the confusion which lasted for hours, the remains of the late Dansamani Kano could not be brought out of the Prison Service ambulance which had conveyed it. The remains of the revered icon had earlier arrived…

Wednesday, 05 July 2017 06:13

FG to announce policy on community policing soon - Osinbajo

Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Tuesday said the federal government would soon announce new policy on community policing for better service delivery. Osinbajo disclosed this at the presentation and launch of a book titled: ‘Law on Prevention and Detection of Crimes by the Police in Nigeria’ in Abuja. He was represented by his Special Adviser on Political Matters, Babafemi Ojudu. Osinbajo said this would pave the way for modern policing in the country. “There is no way we can continue with the way we are going with policing now,” he said. He promised that the establishment of community policing would…

Wednesday, 05 July 2017 06:10

Tensions rise as Washington says NKorea tested its 1st ICBM

United States asserted Tuesday that North Korea's latest missile launch was indeed an intercontinental ballistic missile, as the North had boasted and the U.S. and South Korea had feared. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called the development - the North's first test launch of a missile capable of reaching the U.S. - a "new escalation of the threat" to the U.S. and the world. In a show of force directly responding to North Korea's provocation, U.S. and South Korean soldiers fired "deep strike" precision missiles into South Korean territorial waters on Tuesday, U.S. military officials in Seoul said. The missile…

Wednesday, 05 July 2017 06:08

Hajj 2017: Airlift of pilgrims begins July 30

The airlift of Nigerian Pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for Hajj 2017 will begin On Friday, July 30, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, said. The commission also said it had started processing visa for about 40,000 intending pilgrims that have so far completed their payments in various states of the federation. The states with the highest number of registered pilgrims are Kaduna 6,335, followed by Niger with 4,129 while Zamfara, Kano and Sokoto each has about 3,000 pilgrims. This was revealed in a press release signed by the spokesperson of the commission, Uba Mana. Mr. Mana said “all states are…

Wednesday, 05 July 2017 06:02

Ajimobi sacks commissioner

Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi yesterday sacked the Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr. Mudathir Abdulganiyu, sparking fears of a shake-up in the State Executive Council (Exco). A source revealed that the commissioner got his sack letter after resuming for the day’s business. He quickly packed his belongings and left the office. Announcing the sack on his Facebook page, Abdulganiyu thanked his friends for their prayers and support during his short stint as commissioner. The post reads: “Alhamdulilah! Alhamdulilah!! Alhamdulilah Rabil-Alameen. Dear friends, I wish to let you know that I have finished my tour of duty as Oyo State Commissioner…

Wednesday, 05 July 2017 06:00

FG to conduct mass vaccination of goats, sheep

The Federal Government says it will soon commence the mass vaccination of sheep and goats across the country to protect them against the Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) disease. PPR is an acute viral disease of goats and sheep characterised by fever, necrotic stomatitis, gastroenteritis, pneumonia, and sometimes death. Mr Gideon Mshelbwala, Director, Pests Control Services Department of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, disclosed this during an interview with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday. Mshelbwala said that the exercise, which would last for the next seven years, would help extend the life span of animals across the…

Tuesday, 04 July 2017 03:59

Buhari writes Kano Governor over Maitama Sule’s demise - Presidency

PRESS RELEASE President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a personal letter of condolence to Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, in which he expressed profound shock over the death of elder statesman, Yusuf Maitama Sule, the presidency said Monday night. The letter, said to have been personally signed by the President, also described the death of Sule as a “heavy loss.” It will be delivered by the federal government delegation to the burial as constituted by the Acting President, a statement by Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, said. The President’s letter reads thus: “I…

Tuesday, 04 July 2017 03:58

Maitama Sule: Kano declares work-free day

Kano State government has declared Tueday work-free to mourn the former Nigerian permanent representative to the United Nations, Maitama Sule, who died Monday. A statement by Commissioner of Information, Garba Garba, said funeral prayer for Mr. Sule will be conducted Tuesday at the Kano Emir’s Palace, Kofar Kudu, by 4:00 p.m. Sule died at a hospital in Cairo, Egypt where he was receiving treatment for pneumonia. He served as minister in the first and second republics. PT

Tuesday, 04 July 2017 03:56

Osinbajo signs Diaspora Commission Bill

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has assented to Nigerians in Diaspora Commission Establishment Bill 2017. He also signed the Petroleum Training Institute Amendment Act 2017. Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, said in a statement in Abuja on Monday that the acting president assented to the bills on Friday. He explained that the Diaspora Commission Act “establishes the commission under the supervisory jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “It has the responsibility to coordinate and organise Nigerians in and from the Diaspora to contribute human capital and material resources, including their expertise,…

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Tuesday, 04 July 2017 03:54

Nigeria now in state of emergency - Dogara

Speaker of House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, on Monday raised the alarm over the deployment of military personnel in over 28 states in the country. Dogara said the development was an indication that Nigeria was already in a state of emergency in peacetime. The Speaker expressed shock over the growing trend of soldiers taking over civil and security duties constitutionally reserved for the Nigeria Police. According to him, in peacetime, soldiers are merely to complement the police and other civil authorities. He expressed surprise that they were visible in almost all parts of the country doing the work of…

Tuesday, 04 July 2017 03:53

North Korea fires missile towards Japanese waters, officials say

North Korea has fired a ballistic missile from its western region, say Japanese and South Korean authorities. It was launched at 09:40 local time (00:40 GMT), from Banghyon in North Pyongan Province, reported Yonhap news agency citing South Korea's military. Tokyo said the missile may have landed in their exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan. North Korea has ramped up nuclear and missile activities in recent months despite international sanctions. Tuesday's missile travelled about 930km (578 miles) and flew for about 40 minutes, according to South Korean and Japanese authorities. Have North Korea's missile tests paid off? Japan's…

Tuesday, 04 July 2017 03:51

Sultan has a price tag which I can afford - Sardauna’s grandson

Hassan Danbaba, a businessman and grandson of late Premier of Northern Nigeria, Ahmadu Bello, has accused Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar of plotting to jail him over chieftaincy tussle that led to exit of the former from the Sultanate Council. In a statement he signed and circulated to journalists in Abuja on Monday, Mr. Danbaba insisted that he voluntarily left his position, even as he accused the Sultan of character assassination. Mr. Danbaba had on Wednesday walked out of a meeting with the Sultan and declared that he was no longer interested in the Magajin Gari title which he had…

Tuesday, 04 July 2017 03:47

Kano Assembly Speaker resigns over Emir Sanusi probe

Speaker of Kano State House of Assembly, Mr Kabiru Rurum, has resigned amidst allegation of collecting money to scuttle the investigation of Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II. The House had moved to investigate the Emir for alleged corruption, but later backed down. Kano’s anti-corruption agency also suspended its investigation of the monarch after prominent Nigerians, including Acting President Osinbajo, intervened. The speaker, Rurum, faced allegation of being bribed to discontinue the probe, an allegation he denied. Rurum resigned on Monday in a letter read at plenary by Deputy Speaker, Mr Ibrahim Chidariof, who presided over the sitting on Monday.…

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