Author: Akanimo Sampson

Akanimo Sampson is a seasoned Nigerian journalist and editor.
Nigeria: Okorie Drags Zenith Bank to CBN Over ‘Disappearance’ of $64.1 Million
Corruption, Crime, Economy, News, Nigeria

Nigeria: Okorie Drags Zenith Bank to CBN Over ‘Disappearance’ of $64.1 Million

An alleged disappearance of over $64 million from the vaults of the Zenith Bank has landed the multinational financial services provider in trouble. Zenith bank is rated as a large financial service provider in Nigeria and Anglophone West Africa. As at the ending of 2016, her total assets was N4.7 trillion with shareholders’ equity of N616.3 billion. She is listed  on the Nigeria Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. But the Managing Director of Owigs and Obigs, Emeka Okorie, has dragged the bank before the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over an alleged unethical conduct which resulted in the termination of a foreign business transaction of over $64 million, with a Chinese firm, King-Tan Tantalum Industry. Okorie is praying the apex bank for clarification on the validity of...
Nigeria: Wike Snubs Media, Presents N.5 Trillion Budget
Economy, News, Nigeria

Nigeria: Wike Snubs Media, Presents N.5 Trillion Budget

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State on Christmas eve presented the 2019 Appropriation Bill of around half a trillion naira to the state House of Assembly for necessary legislative action without inviting the press for the presentation ceremony. Wike does not seem to be enjoying getting the press closely involved in the activities of his administration. Neither his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu nor Information Commissioner, Emma Okah, enjoys picking calls and responding to text messages from journalists. The cold shoulder the Wike administration has been offering journalists practicing in the state has been a matter of serious concern to the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists. Local sources in Port Harcourt, the state capital, say as...
Nigeria: Dogara Dissects Buhari’s Admin, Says It’s Repressive
News, Nigeria

Nigeria: Dogara Dissects Buhari’s Admin, Says It’s Repressive

Ahead of the 2019 elections, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has methodically cut up the re-election seeking President Muhammadu Buhari administration, disclosing that the Constitution and the laws of the country are often trampled upon with impunity by the administration. As the fourth highest ranking officer in the country and a lawyer, Dogara certainly knows what he is talking about. It is also a seeming indictment of the Legislative arm of the Federal Government for not patriotically standing up against such noticeable acts of impunity. ‘’There is a growing phenomenon of disobedience of rulings of courts of competent jurisdiction by many chief executives of government’’, he added. According to the speaker, ‘’this is an ominous development that can only ...
Nigeria: Reject APC, Buhari, PDP Urges North-West As They Storm Sokoto For Atiku
News, Nigeria

Nigeria: Reject APC, Buhari, PDP Urges North-West As They Storm Sokoto For Atiku

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential campaign train is in Sokoto, an ancient  city located in the extreme North-West Nigeria,near the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River this Monday to market their candidate, Atiku Abubakar, as part of their North West Presidential zonal rally Those who know better say the name Sokoto, a modern/anglicised version of the local name, Sakkwato, is of Arabic origin, representing suk, 'market'. It is also known as Sakkwato, Birnin Shaihu da Bello or Sokoto, capital of Shaihu and Bello. Being the seat of the former Sokoto Caliphate, the city is predominantly Muslim and an important seat of Islamic learning in Nigeria. The Sultan who heads the caliphate is effectively the spiritual leader of Nigerian Muslims. Against this...
Nigeria: Angry Youths Disrupt Oil Production As Akwa Ibom Crisis Takes Toll On American Oil Major
Economy, News, Nigeria

Nigeria: Angry Youths Disrupt Oil Production As Akwa Ibom Crisis Takes Toll On American Oil Major

The unfolding political crisis in Akwa Ibom State, one of the big oil states in Southern Nigeria that has been relatively very peaceful till the advent of a seeming czarist regime in 2007, could trigger off some dangerous economic consequences for Nigeria if not contained urgently. Though what is playing out in the state is being stoked by a few political demi-gods masking as the face of the All Progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammadu Buhari’s party, the crisis has no ideological basis other than incurable personal greed for accumulation of the common patrimony. From 1999 when the current democracy came into, political gangsterism was alien to the peoples of Akwa Ibom. But a club and dagger politics was foisted on the state when Obong Victor Attah left office in 2007. The po...
Nigeria: 38 Groups On Warpath Over Agricultural Biotechnology
Agriculture, News, Nigeria

Nigeria: 38 Groups On Warpath Over Agricultural Biotechnology

The move by the Federal Government of Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari’s watch to sway the citizenry to accept agricultural biotechnology has drawn the ire of 38 civic groups in the country. The groups have also denounced the release of Genetically Modified Cotton into the country The GMO-Free Nigeria Alliance, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and over 35 other groups in a statement wired to this reporter on Tuesday condemned efforts by government and biotech corporations to persuade Nigerians to accept agricultural biotechnology and denounced the registration and release of genetically modified (GM) cotton varieties (Maycho C567 BG II and Maycho C571 BG II) into Nigeria. This is coming as the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Agriculture in con...
Opinion: Can Buhari Still Hold On Beyond 2019?
News, Nigeria

Opinion: Can Buhari Still Hold On Beyond 2019?

The battle for the Presidential power of Nigeria is on. There are the main front runners like President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as well as a number of ‘’lesser’’ power seekers in the race who are equally capable of causing a major upset. The race is on against the backdrop of some core issues in the polity. For instance, prospects for enduring electricity supply in the country are still not appearing very positive. With the current power situation, the obvious implication is that poverty and unemployment will continue to bit harder except government determines to take the bull by the horn. Electricity demand in Nigeria is estimated at 297,900MW by 2030, less than 12 years from this outgoing year. To meet that target, investors in the sector are expec...
Nigeria: Snake Attacks Pastor In Abuja
News, Nigeria, Religion

Nigeria: Snake Attacks Pastor In Abuja

A deliverance pastor in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, who was recently attacked by a mysterious big snake, says no form of attack will stop him from preaching the gospel of Christ and restoring destinies of the oppressed. An eye-witness told this reporter on Thursday that the pastor organised a thanksgiving on Saturday, praising God for His ''marvelous works'' in his life and family. Our source said the pastor, Levi Ogbonna of the House of Restoration in Jikwoyi, Abuja, has not been finding it easy in the area since he began the deliverance ministry. ''He occasional receive phone calls from persons who hid their numbers, warning him to back out. But he keeps insisting that he was called by God to set the captives free'', our source who is a member of the church said. Ogbon...
Nigeria: As Buhari Engages Big Oil Firms On PIGB, Concerns Are Growing In Niger Delta
Economy, News, Nigeria, Security

Nigeria: As Buhari Engages Big Oil Firms On PIGB, Concerns Are Growing In Niger Delta

Ahead of the 2019 general elections coming up in a matter of weeks, there are disturbing concerns in the Niger Delta, Nigeria's main oil and gas basin, as the restive circles are considering to return to the creeks to halt continued oil production if Abuja fails to play ball. Before now, President Muhammadu Buhari's administration was said to be locked in a backstage consultation with oil industry operators in the country on the new Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) which the Legislative arm of the Federal Government passed and communicated to him for his signature. The outcome of the secret parley is not yet public. But, it will determine whether President Buhari will sign the bill into law. Presidential Villa insiders say there is a political mileage to be gained by the All...
As FAO Marks World Antibiotic Awareness Week, Farmers Tasked To Boost Farm Hygiene
Agriculture, News, Nigeria

As FAO Marks World Antibiotic Awareness Week, Farmers Tasked To Boost Farm Hygiene

Boosting farm hygiene is currently an added key task to farmers around the world. As the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), an agency of the United Nations is marking the World Antibiotic Awareness Week, farmers are being reminded that they are frontline defenders against antimicrobial resistance. They are being reminded that they have a vital role to play in stemming the spread of antimicrobial resistance among disease-causing pathogens, and can make a significant contribution simply by adopting good hygiene practices during their day-to-day farm operations. This is the message that the UN agency is stressing this week, as the international community marks World Antibiotic Awareness Week. The responsible use of antimicrobial medicines is not just an issue in the human healt...