News

Monday, 20 January 2020 05:28

Massive shake-up in FIRS as new boss settles in

A massive shakeup in Nigeria’s tax agency, FIRS, is underway with about 50 directors affected. About 50 directors, deputy directors, assistant directors and over 100 other staff of FIRS have been transferred by the new Executive Chairman, Mr Muhammad Nami. Sources at the tax agency said the movements were means of shaping FIRS along the lines Nami believes could fetch him the N8.5 trillion target for 2020. While some of the directors were said to have moved up in relevance and ranking, one senior management staff got a tacit boot away from the agency. A new director also joined the…

Monday, 20 January 2020 05:26

17 soldiers, scores of Boko Haram insurgents killed in fierce two-day battle in Borno

No fewer than 17 soldiers were killed, while many others were abducted in two confrontations on Friday and Saturday between the military and Boko Haram insurgents on Bama-Gwoza highway. It was, however, gathered that the number of casualties on the Boko Haram side were high, although it could not be ascertained as of press time. The insurgents were said to have initially attacked Firgi, 20 kilometres north of Pulka along the road from Gwoza to Bama on Friday. They were said to have killed 13 soldiers in the crossfire that took over two hours. The insurgents were said to have…

Monday, 20 January 2020 05:25

Pipeline fire kills three in Lagos

A fire on a pipeline owned by Nigeria’s state oil company in Lagos killed three people on Sunday, a Reuters witness said. The blaze broke out in Abule-Egba, Lagos. Residents said it started shortly before 8 p.m. A Reuters television camera operator counted three dead bodies at the scene. The fire burned nearby houses and vehicles. Another witness, Ayo Adewale, said there were “many dead people”. Reuters was unable to verify the claim. Many fires on pipelines in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude oil producer, are caused by theft and sabotage. The methods used to steal oil often result in accidents…

Sunday, 19 January 2020 06:34

Trump gives dramatic account of Soleimani's last minutes before death

U.S. President Donald Trump gave a minute-to-minute account of the U.S. drone strikes that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in remarks to a Republican fund-raising dinner on Friday night, according to audio obtained by CNN. With his typical dramatic flourish, Trump recounted the scene as he monitored the strikes from the White House Situation Room when Soleimani was killed. The president spoke in a ballroom at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, at a Republican event that raised $10 million (£7.7 million) for Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign and for the Republican National Committee. Reporters were not allowed in…

Sunday, 19 January 2020 06:33

Harry and Meghan drop royal duties and HRH titles

Prince Harry and Meghan will no longer use their HRH titles and will not receive public funds for royal duties, Buckingham Palace has announced. The couple will also no longer formally represent the Queen. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex intend to repay £2.4m of taxpayer money for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their UK family home, the statement added. The new arrangement comes into effect in spring this year, the palace said. The statement comes after the Queen held talks with the couple on Monday about their future, following their announcement that they wanted to "step…

Saturday, 18 January 2020 06:02

Nigeria’s public debt has more than doubled under Buhari - DMO

From the N12.118trillion level of indebtedness at takeover by June 2015, the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has grown Nigeria’s public debt to a new height of N26.215 trillion as at the end September last year, the country’s debt agency, Debt Management Office (DMO) announced yesterday. The new level represents a growth of over N14 trillion of additional borrowings by the Federal and State Governments in the country in less than five years of the current administration in Nigeria. The new debt stock represents the country’s almost thee years fiscal spending, going by this year’s fiscal plan. Presenting the…

Saturday, 18 January 2020 06:01

Buhari meets security chiefs, reiterates support for community policing

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday had a closed door meeting with heads of the nation’s security agencies at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The meeting came ahead of the takeoff time of the President’s scheduled visit to London later in the day, to participate in the inaugural UK-Africa Investment Summit. The summit itself opens on Monday, January 20. Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Mr Femi Adesina, in a statement on Thursday said that Mr Buhari is expected back in Nigeria on Thursday, next week. Addressing State House Correspondents after the meeting, Chief of Air Staff, Mr Sadique Abubakar…

Saturday, 18 January 2020 06:00

Emir whose convoy was attacked by gunmen narrates how he escaped while 30 people died

Emir of Potiskum, Mr Umaru Bubaram Ibn Wuriwa Bauya, has revealed how he escaped being killed in an attack against his convoy by Boko Haram. The royal father said he trekked in the bush for about two hours to escape the deadly attack. The emir said this in an interview with Emergency Digest when he returned to his palace in Potiskum, Yobe State. He lamented the attack on his convoy which left four of his aides dead in addition to 26 others killed. The royal father, who underwent medical checks in a hospital in Kaduna after the incident said the…

Saturday, 18 January 2020 05:59

Rich people are staying healthy for almost a decade longer than poor people

Rich people live healthy, disability-free lives an average of nine years longer than less wealthy people, according to a major study that lays bare the troubling economic inequalities behind lifespans in the US and UK. Researchers analyzed data on more than 25,000 adults over 50, looking for factors that could predict how long they lived before they started suffering from age-related disabilities, like being unable to get out of bed or cook for themselves. The biggest socioeconomic factor in predicting when those problems began was wealth, the team discovered, with richer people enjoying almost an extra decade before experiencing difficulties.…

Friday, 17 January 2020 06:17

Buhari off to London today on six-day trip

President Muhammadu Buhari will embark on a six-day trip to London on Friday (today) according to the State House. He is to participate in the inaugural UK-Africa Investment Summit, while in London. The summit itself opens on Monday, January 20, but Buhari jets out of Abuja today. Buhari is expected back in Nigeria on Thursday, next week. It will be his first foreign trip this new year. The Presidency, in a statement by Mr Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, explained that British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, would play host to the summit. African leaders, business…

More...

Friday, 17 January 2020 06:15

FG, states, LGs get more money for Dec as FAAC share N132bn more than previous month

Federal government, the 36 state governments and the 774 local councils, on Thursday, shared about N717 billion as allocation for December 2019. The allocation was announced at the end of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting in Abuja. Details of the allocation as announced by Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Ahmed Idris, showed that as at January 15, 2020, the balance in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) was about $325 million. The meeting was chaired by Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mr Mahmoud Isa-Dutse. The N717 billion comprised revenue from Value Added Tax…

Friday, 17 January 2020 06:14

Buhari appoints new CBN deputy gov

President Muhammadu Buhari has sent the name of Mr Kingsley Obiora to Senate for confirmation as Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria. In a letter to Senate President Mr Ahmad Lawan, Mr Buhari said the nomination was in accordance with the provision of Section 8(1) (2) of Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) Act 2007. Obiora, upon confirmation by Senate, replaces Mr Joseph Nnanna, who retires on February 2, 2020. Obiora holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Statistics from University of Benin, a Masters in Economics from University of Ibadan, and a Doctorate in Monetary and International Economics, also…

Friday, 17 January 2020 06:10

Hurdles as Nigeria, Ghana, 4 others reject ‘Eco’ currency

The six member countries of West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) comprising Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, have rejected the adoption of ‘Eco’ as the name of the proposed single currency for West Africa. Rising from an extra-ordinary meeting of ministers of finance, and governors of Central Banks of the West African Monetary Zone on the ECOWAS single currency programme, held yesterday in Abuja, WAMZ rejected the adoption of Eco by mostly French speaking West African states. Recall in December 2019, Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo announced they were migrating from their…

Friday, 17 January 2020 06:06

Mbaka’s conducts embarrassing to Catholic Church - Archbishop

Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Mr Adewale Martins, says the Spiritual Director of the Adoration Ministry, Enugu, Mr Ejike Mbaka, could be banned from preaching if he continues to deviate from the doctrines and tenets of the Catholic Church. Martins, appointed Archbishop of Lagos by the Pope in 2012, said this during an interview with BBC Igbo while reacting to Mbaka’s prophecy that Hope Uzodinma would emerge as governor of Imo State. Mbaka had on New Year’s Eve prophesied that Uzodinma would emerge as governor in 2020, a prophecy which came to pass on Tuesday when the Supreme Court sacked Emeka…

Page 458 of 826

News

More...

Search

Most Read

Editorial

News

Business

Politics

Opinion

Features

Strangely

Crime

Wars

SCIENCE & TECH

SPECIAL REPORTS

Sports

VIDEOS