News

Sunday, 15 October 2017 04:20

N’Delta militants warn of ‘operation zero barrel’ in response to Buhari’s special focus on the North

A coalition of agitators in the Niger Delta said yesterday that it had set off programmed attack troops to bring to a halt further oil exploration and exportation from the region, following the current NNPC outrage and scandalous revelation by the World Bank that President Muhammadu Buhari directed the financial institution to concentrate development in northern Nigeria. The groups – Niger Delta Revolutionary Crusaders, NDRC and 21st Century Youths of Niger Delta, in a statement by Mr Izon Ebi, also expressed displeasure with the Federal Government over its purported delay strategies and frustration with Operation Crocodile Smile II to put…

Sunday, 15 October 2017 04:12

Association tasks FG over care of elderly Nigerians

Funmi Olaitan, Ibadan Nigerian Association of Social Work Educators (NASWE) has raised the alarm that inability of previous and present governments to cater for the elderly in Nigeria has deliberately condemned them to extreme poverty, slum, ill-health, loneliness and despair. The association said this in a communique issued at the end of its 3rd Annual General Meeting/National Conference themed "Social Welfare Services Under A Recessive Economy in Nigeria", held at Federal University Lafia. NASWE in the communique made available to journalists in Ibadan on Friday by its Public Relations Officer, Mr. Jamal Ali Ahmed, observed that most elderly in Nigeria…

Sunday, 15 October 2017 04:11

YouTube lifts Swazi bare-breasted dancer restrictions

YouTube has lifted restrictions from videos showing Swaziland's reed dance, which feature bare-breasted women.A spokesperson for the video-sharing platform told the BBC that YouTube allows nudity when "culturally relevant or properly contextualised". Users who had uploaded reed dance videos were angered when it was classified as age-restricted content. YouTube has denied accusations of racism, saying it was keen to be culturally sensitive. The move was in response to a campaign led by Lazi Dlamini, the head of TV Yabantu, an online video production company, featuring Africa's "finest culture... as seen, and recorded by the African people". Its YouTube channel -…

Saturday, 14 October 2017 04:27

Buhari deliberately misunderstood on statement made to World Bank President - Presidency

PRESS RELEASE Those who specialize in a deliberate twisting of information have wailed and raged endlessly on the news item credited to the World Bank Group President, Jim Yong Kim, who disclosed in Washington DC, United States of America, that President Muhammadu Buhari had requested a concentration of the Bank's intervention efforts in the northern part of Nigeria, particularly in the North-east. The ignorant and mischievous people, who twist everything for their vile purposes, are making it seem that it was a calculated attempt to give the North an unfair advantage over other parts of Nigeria. The truth of the…

Saturday, 14 October 2017 04:25

Buhari to visit South-East, pledges new roads, rail projects

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday in Abuja assured stakeholders from South-East that the region would benefit more from roads and coastal rail projects to boost the nation’s economy. He told leaders from the region led by Deputy President of the Senate, Mr Ike Ekweremadu, that 2nd Niger Bridge, East-West road and the Coastal Rail project were receiving utmost attention from his administration. The President said that counterpart funding from the Chinese government would substantially fund the projects, which when completed, would improve the welfare, well-being and economy of the region. “I know the Chinese are very competent in handling such…

Saturday, 14 October 2017 04:22

NNPC: What Buhari told me – Kachikwu

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Ibe Kachikwu, has revealed for the first time the response of President Muhammadu Buhari to the controversial memo on the Group Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Mr Maikanti Baru. It would be recalled that the minister’s memo raised issues over the conduct of NNPC GMD on contracts and appointments. Kachikwu, who spoke in Owerri, Imo State at the end of a three-day Nigerian Content Workshop organised by Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, said the content of his letter did not border on fraud but on governance. He said, “The conversation…

Saturday, 14 October 2017 04:21

Nigeria to start issuing visas on arrival for Africans - African Union

Nigeria has decided to start issuing visas on arrival for all Africans, African Union said Friday, in a major step toward the goal of free movement on the continent. The continental body's deputy chairman Mr Kwesi Quartey praised the action as a "laudable move towards Africa's integration agenda" in a Facebook post. AU has advocated for a "single African passport" that aims to improve intra-African trade and has called for "the abolishment of visa requirements for all African citizens in all African countries by 2018." A spokeswoman for AU chairperson, Ebba Kalondo, said they were waiting for details from Nigeria…

Saturday, 14 October 2017 04:19

How we fought B/Haram with mercenaries posing as instructors - Former Air chief

A former Chief of Administration at Nigerian Air Force headquarters, Mr Mohammed Alkali Mamu, a former Air Vice Marshall, yesterday told an FCT High Court how foreign mercenary pilots were engaged to combat Boko Haram terrorists, disguised as instructors. Led in evidence by his counsel, Mr Joseph Daudu, in a four-count charge bordering on bribery brought against him by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mamu said office of the National Security Adviser decided to assist Nigerian Air Force by engaging these mercenaries due to “the terrible performance of our armed forces at the height of the war against Boko…

Saturday, 14 October 2017 04:16

Trump strikes blow at Iran nuclear deal in major U.S. policy shift

President Donald Trump struck a blow against the 2015 Iran nuclear deal on Friday, defying both U.S. allies and adversaries by refusing to formally certify that Tehran is complying with the accord even though international inspectors say it is. Warning that he might ultimately terminate the agreement, Trump's move was a major change in U.S. foreign policy at a time when his administration is also in a crisis with North Korea over that country's nuclear ambitions.It was the second time in two days that Trump took aim at the legacy of his predecessor Barack Obama after signing an executive order…

Friday, 13 October 2017 03:46

Buhari asked us to focus on northern Nigeria - World Bank

President of the World Bank Group, Mr Jim Yong Kim, said on Thursday that the bank had concentrated on the northern region of Nigeria in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s request. Kim and Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, Ms Christine Lagarde, who spoke at separate press conferences in Washington DC, United States, also advised Buhari to invest in things that would enhance economic growth. Kim said, “You know, in my very first meeting with President Buhari he said specifically that he would like us to shift our focus to the northern region of Nigeria and we’ve done that. Now, it…

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Friday, 13 October 2017 03:45

Buhari appoints heads for Sovereign Wealth Fund, Nigerian Law School

President Muhammadu Buhari has re-appointed Uchechi Orji as Managing Director of Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, NSIA. He has also approved the nomination of Isa Chiroma as Director-General of the Nigerian Law School. This was disclosed on Thursday in a press statement issued by presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina. Mr. Orji was first appointed in October 2012 for an initial term of five years. In line with Section 16(2) of NSIA Act, National Economic Council in July endorsed the renewal of the appointment, which has now been made for the final term. According to Mr. Adesina, NSIA has made remarkable strides under…

Friday, 13 October 2017 03:44

NNPC: Acting Presidential approvals for financing arrangements, not contracts - Osinbajo

PRESS RELEASE Approached by reporters after the groundbreaking of the multi-billion Naira historic Bonny-Bodo road project, in Bonny, Rivers State, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, explained specifically that the approvals he granted as Acting President to NNPC while he was Acting President were for financing arrangements for the Joint Ventures between the corporation and IOCs, and not approvals for contracts. Said he : "These were financing loans. Of course you know what the Joint Ventures are, with the lOCs, like Chevron, that had to procure. In some cases, NNPC and their joint venture partners have to secure loans and they need…

Friday, 13 October 2017 03:43

Osinbajo’s denial: So who signed NNPC’s contracts in Buhari’s absence?

Earlier on Thursday, Vice President Osinbajo’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Laolu Akande in a series of tweets said that the Vice President approved financing joint ventures for Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Akande said the financing were approved after due diligence by the Vice President when he acted as President when President Muhammadu Buhari was away in the United Kingdom. The VP’s aide said his principal approved the recommendations for the financing as part of necessary actions to deal with the backlog of unpaid cash calls and incentivise investments. According to Akande, Osinbajo made the clarification…

Thursday, 12 October 2017 04:11

NNPC scandal: Baru accuses Kachikwu of getting contracts for nine firms

The war of integrity between Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Ibe Kachikwu and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director (GMD), Mr Maikanti Baru got more intense yesterday. The oil giant faulted the Minister’s claim that he was not consulted on $10billion Crude Term Contracts. NNPC said Kachikwu made an input into the shortlisting of 40 off-takers for the Crude Term Contracts by recommending seven companies, which were engaged. Also, the minister was said to have nominated two companies for the alleged Direct Sales, Direct Purchase (DSDP) transactions, which Kachikwu claimed were worth $5billion. The corporation said…

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