Federal government has moved the deadline for NIN-SIM data verification to June 30, making it the fifth time it would approve an extension of the exercise. The extension was confirmed in a joint press statement by spokespersons of Nigerian Communications Commission and National Identity Management Commission, Ikechukwu Adinde and Kayode Adegoke, respectively on Tuesday. The statement said the eight-week extension was announced by Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, at a virtual meeting. Pantami said the government approved the extension to make it easier for its citizens and residents to obtain the National Identity Number (NIN). The meeting…

Worried by persistent low revenue, federal government is to cut personnel cost and merge MDAs. Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, gave this indication at the on-going ‘National Policy Dialogue on Corruption and Cost of Governance in Nigeria’ held in Abuja, yesterday. The programme was organised by Independent Corrupt Practice Commission (ICPC). According to the minister the government would also remove some items from the budget , going forward, to reduce government expenditure. She said that current government spending has become unsustainable because, “We still see government expenditure increase to a terrain twice higher than our revenue.…

Prize winners in the sciences and arts will have their applications to be able to live and work in Britain fast-tracked from Wednesday, the interior ministry said, pressing its post-Brexit pledge to attract only the “best and brightest”. Since completing its exit from the European Union, Britain has introduced a new system for work visas based on points which are on a scale depending, among other things, on the type of job offer, qualifications and the ability to speak English. While the government says its new system is fair in its treatment of migrants from around the world after Britain’s…

An Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, on Tuesday urged government not to take the threat by the kidnappers of students of Greenfield University, Kaduna lightly. Gumi, who stated this in an interview with The PUNCH, said Central Bank of Nigeria should pay the N100m ransom being demanded by the kidnappers of the students. He made the call as a parent of one of the abductees lamented that the kidnappers were insisting on a ransom of N100m. The parent, who spoke to one of our correspondents in Kaduna on condition of anonymity, lamented that the bandits were still insisting on their demands…