Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike has expressed the desire of the FCT Administration to collaborate with the governments of Cuba and Mexico in the areas of health, agriculture, and tourism. Wike made the disclosure when he met with Cuban and Mexican ambassadors to Nigeria, Miriam Morales Palmero and Alfredo Miranda Ortiz, respectively, in separate meetings in his office on Thursday, November 23, 2023. Wike added that the FCT Administration is also open to partnerships with both countries in the areas of skills acquisition as part of efforts by government to create employment for youths in the FCT.…

The Kogi State Government has ordered the freezing of all state and local government accounts with immediate effect. A statement signed by the Commissioner for Finance, Asiwaju Asiru Idris said no imprest or any form of payment should be made to anyone from government accounts henceforth. According to the statement, “All Standing Orders and Investment Instructions are hereby Cancelled forthwith. “All Kogi State and Local Government Accounts are hereby frozen with effect from today, Thursday 22nd November 2003.”

Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, has picked up his  certificate of return as Senator of Plateau South in the upper chamber of the National Assembly. Lalong, a two-term governor of Plateau State, had contested but lost the February 25, 2023 election. The Independent of National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Napoleon Bali of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the election. Dissatisfied with the outcome of the elections, Lalong had headed for the tribunal, which ruled in his favour. Delivering judgment, chairman of the three-member panel, Justice Mahmoud Tukur, held that the votes scored by the…

Super Eagles and Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi is set for a significant spell on the sidelines after he underwent a surgery to correct an injury he suffered on international duty. Awoniyi has been in fine form at club level this year, scoring almost at will for the Reds since the end of last season. The 26-year-old striker will now surely miss the rest of the year and possibly the AFCON in January through injury. Forest manager Steve Cooper revealed that the striker will miss out on a few months of action after his surgery. The former Liverpool man picked…

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas has called for the privatisation of the nation’s refineries. According to him, it has become evident that the Nigerian government can not run some businesses and the time to stop the deception is now. Speaking on Thursday when he received the management of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), led by the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari in Abuja, Abbas said the privatization should be done before Dangote refineries come on stream. According to him, Dangote refineries would expose the inadequacies of the government-run refineries and the inefficiencies would become more naked due to…

Manchester United are closing in on a massive takeover by INEOS chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe, but such a deal may raise even more questions from UEFA. With multi-club ownership rules forbidding two connected teams from competing in a UEFA competition, United may be drawn into a debate with another INEOS-owned outfit, Ligue 1 side Nice, who are flying this season. Amid speculation that United could face a ban from the Champions League if the INEOS takeover goes through, here’s a closer look into the situation. Article 5 of UEFA’s Champions League regulations state that no club in any UEFA competition…

English football’s only openly gay professional male footballer, has described Jordan Henderson’s move to Saudi Arabia as a “slap in the face” after the midfielder’s previous work advocating for LGBTQ+ rights. Daniels, a forward for Blackpool in England’s League One, spoke to the BBC about Henderson’s transfer, noting the former Liverpool player sent him a message of support when he came out in May 2022. “He was backing me and said: ‘We’re proud of what you’ve done,'” Daniels said. “Seeing him move to Saudi, it kind of like, slaps me in my face really. “But I guess the money pays well, and money must mean more…

The National Teachers Institute (NTI), Kaduna, has asked for an increase in the federal government’s budgetary allocation for education. This was disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday following the conclusion of a three-day conference held at the NTI headquarters in Kaduna. The theme of the conference was “Re-directing the Focus of Education Stakeholders Towards Modern Process of Producing Competent, Dedicated and Professional Teachers in Nigeria”. The statement, signed by Prof. Musa Garba-Maitafsir, Director of the Institute, said the upward review will help to improve infrastructure, delivery and overall educational quality, among other things. ‘’There should be an improvement in…

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed the election of Abdullahi Sule as the Governor of Nasarawa State. The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of justices, voided the verdict of the Nasarawa state governorship election petition tribunal, which sacked Sule, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Delivering judgement, the three-member panel, led by Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, held that the tribunal erred in law in concluding that Governor Sule did not win majority of the votes cast in the election. The Court further held that the governor was denied a fair hearing. Recall that…

Harry Maguire has accepted an apology from the Ghanaian Member of Parliament who previously ridiculed him. Maguire has often faced significant criticism for his performances after becoming the world’s most expensive defender upon moving to United back in the summer of 2019. Though such disapproval has come from all corners of the globe on various platforms, he would have been surprised to hear his name tarnished in Ghanaian parliament last year. In December 2022, MP Isaac Adongo claimed that Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia was the ‘economic Maguire’ due to the Bawumia’s New Patriotic Party budget mismanagement. But in parliament on…

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has tasked the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) to seek ways of deepening the consumption of locally produced petroleum products. He also called for the establishment of modular refineries, as well as the renovation of existing ones “to create a multiplier effect which will include the creation of jobs for our teeming youths and more security for the country.” He spoke when the Group Managing Director of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, led the management team on a courtesy visit to him at the National Assembly yesterday. Akpabio said the Red Chamber would partner…

The Nigeria Railway Corporation, NRC, says it has sacked and demoted a number of staff found to have been involved in tickets racketeering. Fidet Okhiria, the NRC Managing Director, said this at the interactive session of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance on the 2024–2026 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, MTEF/FSP, in Abuja on Wednesday. He said the corporation was working with the security agencies to address the menace. James Faleke, the chairman of the committee, expressed worry over the meager N345 million revenue remitted by the corporation in 2023. “Our concern is that if we expect…