News

Thursday, 20 April 2017 03:32

N’Assembly panels, SANs, others hail suspension of SGF, NIA boss

Prominent individuals and eminent persons, groups, on Wednesday, hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for suspending Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. David Lawal; and Director-General of National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ayo Oke. Among the groups that commended the President for suspending the SGF are Socio-Economic Rights Accountability Project, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights and Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders. The suspension of Lawal and the NIA boss was contained in a statement on Wednesday by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina. While Lawal was suspended in connection with the award of contracts…

Thursday, 20 April 2017 03:30

Suspension of SGF Lawal, NIA DG is a grand cover-up - Fayose

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has described the suspension of Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Babachir Lawal; and Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency NIA, Ayo Oke over their alleged involvement in controversial matters as an afterthought and a deliberate cover-up. Mr. Oke was suspended after his agency claimed ownership of over N13 billion cash recovered by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos. The SGF, on his part, was suspended following allegations of his involvement in the shady award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on North East,…

Thursday, 20 April 2017 03:29

NOI polls: Buhari’s performance rating improves

President Muhammadu Buhari’s performance rating has increased by five points, according to a poll conducted by NOIPolls. Results of the poll which were made public, indicated that the rise was due to the president’s return from medical leave, his Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy intervention in the foreign exchange market, among others. NOIPolls revealed that with the five-point increase, Buhari’s job performance evaluation for the month of March 2017 now stands at 55 per cent in March 2017. NOIPolls also revealed that the marginal increase was laudable but massive inroads still have to…

Thursday, 20 April 2017 03:26

FG may extend whistle blowing to arms possession

President Muhammadu Buhari is looking at suggestions to extend the whistle-blowing policy to illegal weapons’ possession by politicians and other public figures. Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, told State House reporters yesterday that this was aimed at exposing those keeping deadly arms for ‘communal violence and sinister political motives’. He said: “Yes, it is true; the Presidency has received suggestions that call for the whistleblower policy to be extended to possession of illegal weapons by powerful individuals in the country. The government will look at all that and make a pronouncement. Nigerians would…

Thursday, 20 April 2017 03:19

745 so far dead in meningitis outbreak - Officials

Health officials say Nigeria's meningitis outbreak has killed at least 745 people as of Monday. Nigeria Centre for Disease Control says 8,057 suspected meningitis cases have been reported. Most have been located in the northern states of Zamfara, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger and Sokoto since the disease surfaced in December. The federal government has kicked off a nationwide vaccination campaign for millions of people, though there is a worldwide shortage for the strain, which inflames the spinal cord and brain. Most of the victims have been children. A meningitis epidemic killed 1,100 people and infected more than 10,000 in Nigeria and…

Wednesday, 19 April 2017 16:55

Osinbajo meets Lawal, NIA chief dodges press

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has met with Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Babachir Lawal, barely an hour after announcement of his suspension from office. The closed door meeting of the Vice-President with the suspended SGF might be connected with the committee set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate allegations of misconduct against the SGF. The three-man committee, headed by the Vice-President, is also to investigate the discovery of large amounts of foreign and local currencies by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, over which National Intelligence…

Wednesday, 19 April 2017 16:53

Why FEC didn't hold - Presidency

Mr Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, says the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) could not hold due to logistic issues, arising from the Easter break. Shehu made this known to State House correspondents in Abuja on Wednesday. He explained that the meeting was cancelled as the FEC secretariat workers were unable to distribute necessary documents for the meeting because of the Easter holiday. According to him, by practice, ministers must receive memos two or three days ahead of meetings to enable them undertake research, if necessary. “I think it is because…

Wednesday, 19 April 2017 13:44

Buhari suspends, SGF Lawal, DG NIA Oke

PRESS RELEASE President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered an investigation into allegations of violations of law and due process made against Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr David Babachir Lawal, in the award of contracts under the Presidential Initiative on the North East (PINE). The President has also directed the suspension of the SGF from office pending outcome of the investigations. In a related development, the President has ordered a full scale investigation into the discovery of large amounts of foreign and local currencies by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers,…

Wednesday, 19 April 2017 03:22

I defied pressure to disqualify Buhari in 2015 – Ex-AGF, Adoke

Former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Adoke has disclosed how he came under pressure to disqualify President Muhammadu Buhari from the 2015 election upon claims the then All Progressives Congress, APC presidential candidate was guilty of certificate forgery. Adoke now on exile from the country in a lengthy interview also disclosed how former President Goodluck Jonathan was denied access into the Presidential Lounge at the Abuja airport within two hours of handing over power on May 29, 2015. He said the incident gave him apprehension of more humiliation for him. In an interview with online…

Wednesday, 19 April 2017 03:16

Bringing back Chibok girls may take years, Defence Minister says

It may take years to find all the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by the Nigeria-based Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, the country's defense minister warned Tuesday. Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from a secondary school in the northeastern town of Chibok in April 2014. Some escaped and 21 were released last year after negotiations with Boko Haram, but 195 remain missing. Nigeria's military is searching Boko Haram's hideouts in the Sambisa Forest, a vast area covering parts of three states in the northeast, Gen. Manir Dan Ali told Voice of America's Hausa language service. He said even the United States needed…

More...

Wednesday, 19 April 2017 03:14

Boko Haram leader’s ‘ex-wife’ nabbed in Maiduguri

An ex-wife of a factional leader of the Boko Haram terrorist group, Mamman Nur, was one of the two teenage suspected suicide bombers intercepted by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Borno State, Punch newspaper reported on Tuesday. According to the report, the 15-year-old Fatima Kabir was married to Mr. Nur as her first husband but divorced him and later married two other insurgents in a space of two years during her captivity. The teenager was four months pregnant and tested positive to HIV after she was caught loitering at a Maiduguri motor park. Speaking to journalists, Fatima…

Wednesday, 19 April 2017 03:13

Ebonyi bans consumption of coke, fanta, sprite from its events

Apparently worried by reports alleging that some soft drinks in the country could be dangerous to health, Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State on Tuesday banned the serving and consumption of Coke, Sprite and Fanta at government functions in the state. The governor gave the directive during a meeting with traditional rulers and town union executives in the state. A Lagos State High Court in a suit between Fijabi Adebo Holdings Limited and Emmanuel Fijabi Adebo against the Nigerian Bottling Company Ltd and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, alleged that Fanta Orange and Sprite may…

Wednesday, 19 April 2017 03:11

Life expectancy in Nigeria now 53.1 years – Report

Life expectancy in Nigeria has increased from 46.1 years in 1990 to 53.1 years in 2015, according to 2016 UNDP Human Development Report. The report, which was launched in Abuja yesterday, however showed that Nigeria dropped to 152 in Human Development Indices (HDI) against her 151 ranking in 2014. “The report shows that between 2005 and 2015, Nigeria’s HDI increased from 0.466 to 0.527 - a 13.1 per cent increase”, said UNDP Resident Representative Edward Kallon. “This is encouraging, but given the humanitarian challenges already alluded to, and the economic recession witnessed in 2016, there is an urgent need to…

Wednesday, 19 April 2017 03:09

Trump orders review of visa programme

President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered a review of the U.S. visa programme for bringing high-skilled foreign workers into the country, putting technology firms and the outsourcing companies that serve them on notice that possible changes may be ahead. Seeking to carry out a campaign pledge to put "America First," Trump signed an executive order on the H-1B visa programme. It was vague on many fronts, and did not change existing rules, but one objective, said Trump aides, is to modify or replace the current lottery for H-1B visas with a merit-based system that would restrict the visas to highly…

Page 751 of 826

News

More...

Search

Most Read

Editorial

News

Business

Politics

Opinion

Features

Strangely

Crime

Wars

SCIENCE & TECH

SPECIAL REPORTS

Sports

VIDEOS