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Friday, 10 August 2018 05:19

BPE: why Fed Govt is holding on to 40% stake in DisCos

THE Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) is set to revive non-performing privatised enterprises in its determination to create more jobs and widen the Federal Government tax sources.It (BPE) is optimistic that the full implementation of its Post Acquisition Plan (PAP) for the enterprises will be beneficial to communities, where such concerns are domiciledA stakeholders’/investors’ forum was recently organised in Abuja by the BPE to revitalise the bricks and mining, steel, automobile industry, services and agriculture sectors.At the opening of the forum, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who doubles as the Chairman of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) Chairman, said the…

Friday, 10 August 2018 05:16

Trump's in-laws become US citizens

President Donald Trump's parents-in-law have become US citizens in a private ceremony.Viktor and Amalija Knavs, Melania Trump's Slovenian-born parents, took the oath of citizenship in New York on Thursday, their lawyer confirmed.He said the pair had been living in the US on green cards sponsored by Mrs Trump.President Trump has railed against family-based or "chain" immigration in the past.He argues instead for a merit-based system prioritising professionals over relatives, and has drawn criticism for his vocal attacks on immigration laws and immigrants.Melania Trump became a US citizen in 2006, after entering the US on a coveted Einstein visa for people…

Friday, 10 August 2018 05:12

Hamas says Gaza cease-fire reached with Israel

Gaza's Hamas rulers said late Thursday that a truce had been reached with Israel, ending an intense two-day burst of violence that had pushed the region closer to war. But the deal did not appear to address the deeper issues that have prevented the bitter enemies from reaching a longer cease-fire arrangement.Hamas' Al Aqsa TV channel reported late Thursday that the Egyptian-brokered deal has taken hold "on the basis of mutual calm." It said the deal was mediated by Egypt and other unidentified regional players.A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak…

Friday, 10 August 2018 05:08

Yemen rebels say Saudi coalition airstrike in north kills 50

An airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition fighting Shiite rebels hit a bus driving in a busy market in northern Yemen on Thursday, killing least 50 people including children and wounding 77, Yemen's rebel-run Al Masirah TV said citing rebel Health Ministry figures.The Saudi-led coalition, meanwhile, said it targeted the rebels, known as Houthis, who had fired a missile at the kingdom's south on Wednesday, killing one person who was a Yemeni resident in the area.Al Masirah TV aired dramatic images of wounded children, their clothes and schoolbags covered with blood as they lay on hospital stretchers. The International Committee of…

Friday, 10 August 2018 05:04

Koreas prepare for summit as North asks US to ease sanctions

The rival Koreas plan to hold high-level talks on Monday to prepare for a third summit between their leaders, as Pyongyang called on the United States to reciprocate its "goodwill measures" by easing sanctions and stopping demands that the North denuclearize first.The plans by the Korean leaders to meet come as Washington and Pyongyang try to follow through on nuclear disarmament vows made at a U.S.-North Korea summit in June between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.In the most recent sign of growing frustration between Washington and Pyongyang, North Korea criticized senior American officials for insisting…

Thursday, 09 August 2018 06:13

Sacked SSS extremely corrupt, betrayed Buhari - Ex-aide to Daura

A former assistant to the sacked director general of State Security Service, Lawal Daura, has accused his former principal of extensive corruption, and has portrayed him as a man who serially betrayed his boss, President Muhammadu Buhari, for money.The assistant, Abdulwahab Abdulrahman, a retired senior SSS official, said he left the agency because of the scale of corruption and abuse there.“I didn’t want my children to see news of my eventual arrest on TV,” he told PREMIUM TIMES.Mr Daura, who led Nigeria’s domestic spy agency since 2015, was abruptly fired on Tuesday by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo after he ordered…

Thursday, 09 August 2018 06:09

Saraki avoids journalists after meeting IBB in Minna

Senate President Bukola Saraki on Wednesday avoided journalists after holding a private meeting with the former Military President Ibrahim Babangida at his hilltop mansion in Minna, Niger state.Sen. Saraki arrived IBB’s residence at about 4.10p.m. and left at 5.50 p.m. for Minna international Airport, shunning journalists who wanted to interview him.Reports have it that Saraki drove straight to the hilltop home of the former military ruler in a convoy of nine vehicles.Saraki’s visit followed a press conference he addressed at the National Assembly, in the wake of the blockade of the National Assembly gates by operatives of the DSS.In a…

Thursday, 09 August 2018 06:06

EFCC freezes accounts of Akwa Ibom government

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has frozen the bank accounts of the Akwa Ibom state government.A top official of the government disclosed this to on Wednesday.The source said Udom Emmanuel, the governor, and accountant-general of the state were shocked by the development.“The governor was shocked when he was briefed about the development,” the source said.“He has demanded explanation from the EFCC. Our suspicion is that our big friend who just departed is behind the issue but we will fight this injustice.”The report of the freezing of Akwa Ibom government accounts happened 24 hours after the commission blocked those…

Thursday, 09 August 2018 06:04

EFCC freezing account of any state govt illegal – Governors Forum

The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) has described as unconstitutional the freezing of the accounts of Benue State Government by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara, the Chairman of NGF, spoke with State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday in Abuja.EFCC had on Tuesday froze the state’s account which was confirmed by Terver Akase, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Samuel Ortom.Mr Yari said that by the security situation in Benue, it was not wise to dislocate the state financially.“If EFCC freezes the accounts of any state government,…

Thursday, 09 August 2018 05:59

FEC approves N17bn for technology to track petroleum products

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the installation of technology monitoring schemes and structures under the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) for N17 billion.Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Wednesday in Abuja.He said that the deployment of the automated fuel system management and censor network would ensure 100 per cent tracking and monitoring of petroleum products.“The narrative is that we have all struggled with this whole subsidy payment; how much is consumed in Nigeria; volumes of…

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Thursday, 09 August 2018 05:43

National Assembly to reconvene for INEC’s budget

The leadership of the two chambers of the National Assembly may have resolved to reconvene the feral legislature next week, to consider the N242 billion budget proposal for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of the 2019 general elections.This was disclosed on Wednesday by the chairman of the INEC, Mahmood Yakubu shortly after a closed door meeting with the leadership of the two chambers of the federal legislature.Speaking earlier at the opening session of the meeting, Mr. Yakubu said unless something is done urgently, INEC might miss the six-month window for the procurement of certain tools and…

Thursday, 09 August 2018 05:41

Vote-buying: INEC may change voting process

To forestall vote-buying in the 2019 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission has said that it is looking at the possibility of making the process of voting more secret.The Chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, said this in Abuja on Wednesday when some Civil Society Organisations led by popular artiste, Charles Oputa, aka Charly Boy, visited the headquarters of the commission.Yakubu said there were reports of vote-buying in Anambra, Edo and the recently concluded governorship election in Ekiti State.The INEC boss said vote-buying was on the rise because the snatching of ballot boxes and other violent forms of rigging had…

Thursday, 09 August 2018 04:46

US to impose sanctions on Russia over nerve agent attack

The United States announced Wednesday it will impose new sanctions on Russia for illegally using a chemical weapon in an attempt to kill a former spy and his daughter in Britain earlier this year.The new sanctions, to be imposed later this month, come despite President Donald Trump's efforts to improve relations with Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin, and his harsh criticism of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.The State Department said the U.S. this week made the determination that Russia had used the Novichok nerve agent to poison Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, and that…

Wednesday, 08 August 2018 06:39

Osibanjo calls DSS siege on National Assembly unlawful and gross violation of constitutional order, sacks DSS, DG

The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday swiftly acted against the siege on the National Assembly by operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) by not only condemning the act as unlawful and a ‘gross violation of constitutional order’, but also directing the immediate removal of Lawal Daura, the Director General of the DSS under whose command the act took place. After announcing the sack of Daura, office of the Acting President followed it up with a press release in which it promised that all those who took part in the unlawful action would be identified and punished accordingly. The…

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