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FG, ASUU Trade Blame As Strike Enters 50th Day

5Apr

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Education, News, Nigeria

FG, ASUU Trade Blame As Strike Enters 50th Day

ASUU The Minister of State for Education, Mr Emeka Nwajiuba, has said striking university workers including the Academic Staff Union of Universities, the Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Education and Associated Institutions are mean and wicked for shutting down universities across the country. This is just as the ASUU’s strike enters its 50th day on Tuesday (today). The unions are currently on strike over failure by the Federal Government to honour the various agreements reached with them. Nwajiuba, in an interview with Punch, said it was an act of wickedness for the unions to go on strike for entitlements that the government would still give them. The minister said, “We are negotiating with...

5Apr

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

News, Nigeria

2023: Oshiomhole Declares For Senate

Adams Oshiomhole The former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, has declared his intention to contest under the All Progressives Congress (APC) to represent the people of Edo North Senatorial District in the 2023 election. He made the declaration at an enlarged APC meeting held in his country home, Iyamoh, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo, on Monday. The former governor said that he took the decision after due consultation with the people of his constituency, friends, family and political associates. “Many people have been asking me if I will run for the Senate, but I pleaded with them to wait until our national convention when I would have made up my mind. “Now that the APC convention is over and we now have a new National Working Committee, I have decided to ...

EFCC Releases Nigerian Socialite, Cubana Chief Priest Detained Over Money Laundering

5Apr

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

News, Nigeria

EFCC Releases Nigerian Socialite, Cubana Chief Priest Detained Over Money Laundering

EFCC The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has released popular Instagram celebrity, Pascal Okechukwu, popularly known as Cubana Chief Priest, after two days in its detention. Recall that the Cubana Chief Priest was arrested on his way to Owerri, the Imo State capital. The EFCC had arrested the Nigerian socialite on charges bordering on money laundering and tax fraud. He was arrested at the Lagos Airport on Thursday, but anti-graft officials hushed the development amidst pressure from his associates and family, who said the matter could complicate conditions for others likely connected to the alleged racket. Okechukwu’s arrest had made it impossible for him to return birthday greetings from his nearly four million Instagram followers, with only his wife being ...

Telecom Operators Block Unlinked NIN-SIM Calls

5Apr

By Chinedu IbeakanmaNo Comments

Communication, Information Technology, News, Nigeria

Telecom Operators Block Unlinked NIN-SIM Calls

SIM Cards The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has complied with the Federal Government’s order to block certain lines. ALTON says subscribers affected are those yet to link their National Identification Number (NIN) with their SIM. The Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, and Head of Operations, Gbolahan Awonuga, made an announcement on Tuesday via a statement. They confirmed that operators received a formal directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). Read Also: MTN, GLO, Other Telecoms Companies In Nigeria Threaten To Increase Tariffs The body said lines that are not in compliance with the NIN-SIM Linkage Policy requirement would remain shut out. The policy requires that all Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) must be...

Kaduna Train Attack: Falana Accuses Amaechi, NRC MD of Negligence, Wants Them Prosecuted

5Apr

By Chinedu IbeakanmaNo Comments

News, Nigeria, Transportation

Kaduna Train Attack: Falana Accuses Amaechi, NRC MD of Negligence, Wants Them Prosecuted

Rotimi Amaechi A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Femi Falana has accused the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and the Managing Director (MD) of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) Fidet Okhiria of negligence in the attack on a train plying the Abuja-Kaduna rail line last week. Falana, who issued a statement yesterday, also called for the prosecution of Ameachi and Okhiria. The legal practitioner referenced reports of attacks on the Abuja-Kaduna rail line and accused the corporation and Amaechi of not taking enough measures to forestall the latest incident. He said: “Although both Messrs Amaechi and Okhiria knew that the Abuja-Kaduna train was not safe they kept on giving passengers a false sense of security. “Since both of them knew that the tragedy that befe...

PDP Politicians Stole Soldiers’ Salaries During Tenure – Presidency

4Apr

By Chinedu IbeakanmaNo Comments

News, Nigeria

PDP Politicians Stole Soldiers’ Salaries During Tenure – Presidency

PDP The Presidency on Sunday in Abuja has faulted the Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum for declaring the All Progressives Congress unfit to participate in the 2023 general elections. It also accused the governors of playing politics of division and hate; saying that the country profits nothing from the PDP’s “gimmick.” The Presidency’s position was contained in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu. The PDP governors had recently advised Nigerians to reject the APC if it dares to participate in the 2023 elections, saying “It is impossible for a party so disorganised to offer good governance to the people of Nigeria.” But the Presidency, in a statement titled ‘Issues from the PDP fantasy communiqué from Umuah...

I Didn’t Plan To Travel In Ill-Fated Abuja-Kaduna Train — Obi of Onitsha

4Apr

By Chinedu IbeakanmaNo Comments

News, Nigeria, Security, Transportation

I Didn’t Plan To Travel In Ill-Fated Abuja-Kaduna Train — Obi of Onitsha

Train The Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, has denied a report that a phone call from an unnamed person saved him from boarding the Abuja -Kaduna train that was attacked by gunmen on March 28, 2022. No fewer than eight persons were killed during the attack, while several people sustained injuries. A number of people were also abducted. Chief of Staff of Ime Obi Onicha, Chief Osita Anionwu, said Igwe Achebe never made the statement attributed to him that a call allegedly made to him not to board the train saved him. According to him, for the records, the Palace would like to state categorically that His Majesty never made such a statement to anyone at any time.“Anionwu said that around March 28 when the Abuja – Kaduna train was attacked by armed bandits, the Obi of Onitsha...

Insecurity: Buhari’s Govt Overwhelmed – Obasanjo

4Apr

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

News, Nigeria, Security

Insecurity: Buhari’s Govt Overwhelmed – Obasanjo

Olusegun Obasanjo Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, declared that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government has been overwhelmed by insecurity. Obasanjo spoke in the light of the recent deadly attack on a Kaduna-bound train, which killed seven passengers, while 21 others are reportedly missing. “I believe that all right thinking Nigerians must know that we have a situation that has overwhelmed the present administration,” he said at his penthouse residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State, while receiving a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant, Dr. Ugochukwu Williams. Describing the attack as “a serious situation,” Obasanjo lamented that Nigerians are “no longer safe on the road, in the train and at the airport.” This was as pan-Yoruba socio-politic...

NIN-SIM Linkage: FG Orders Telcos To Bar Outgoing Calls On All Unregistered SIMs

4Apr

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Communication, Information Technology, News, Nigeria

NIN-SIM Linkage: FG Orders Telcos To Bar Outgoing Calls On All Unregistered SIMs

Isa Pantami The federal government has directed telecommunication companies to bar outgoing calls on all unlinked lines. Unlinked lines are subscriber identity module (SIM) cards not yet linked with the National Identification Number (NIN). In December 2020, Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, announced the integration policy of SIM cards into the national identification number (NIN) database. Ikechukwu Adinde, director, public affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Kayode Adegoke, head, corporate communications, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), disclosed this in a joint statement on Monday. According to the statement, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the implementation of the NIN-SIM policy with effect from the...

Insecurity: El-Rufai’s invitation of mercenaries, an ominous sign—Afenifere

4Apr

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

News, Nigeria, Security

Insecurity: El-Rufai’s invitation of mercenaries, an ominous sign—Afenifere

Afenifere The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, yesterday, described the threat by Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State to invite foreign mercenaries to fight local terrorism as an ominous sign for the country. Afenifere, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Jare Ajayi, said el-Rufai’s remarks “calls for serious interrogation and action on the part of all those who should act.” El-Rufai had threatened to import foreign mercenaries, after his meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Aso Rock Villa in Abuja. The governor, who spoke in the Hausa language, had said: “I have complained to Mr. President and I swear to God, if action is not taken we, as governors, will take actions to protect the lives of our people. “If it...