Author: Khadijah Olowode

Delta State Government, Friday, approved the upward review of contract sum of some of its projects that are at various stages of completion across the state. The state Commissioner for Information, Dr. Ifeanyi Osuoza disclosed this while briefing journalists on some of the decisions reached at the State Executive Council (EXCO) meeting presided over by the Governor, Rt. Hon Sheriff Oborevwori in Asaba. Dr. Osuoza said the upward review of the contract sum of the affected projects was largely precipitated by fluctuations in unit rate for the balance and additional works. He disclosed that the State Exco approved the upward…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike Operatives of the Kwara State Police Command have arrested a 46-year-old security guard, Yusuf Abdulwasiu, and a plumber with the Kwara State Ministry of Water Resources simply identified as Aro, over alleged theft of water treatment chemicals. Also in police custody with the two are six other suspects: Abdulrasheed Salawudeen, 21; Taiye Issa, 35; Olarewaju Yusuf, 40; Toyin Kazeem; and one AbdulKadri Issa Olayiwola, 34; the alleged mastermind and receiver of the ‘stolen’ facilities They were arrested around 11:30 pm on Tuesday, 4 June, 2024, following a routine patrol near the ministry’s gate, where suspicious activity was observed involving…

The National Assembly is proposing a legislation that would compel all the 36 states of the federation to adhere strictly to the new minimum wage figure that would be passed into law. The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Senator Yemi Adaramodu (APC, Ekiti South), made this disclosure during an interview with newsmen in Abuja, on Friday, 14 June, 2024. Recall that there is ongoing negotiation between the federal government and the organised labour over a new minimum wage for workers. While the federal government has proposed N62, 000 as new minimum wage, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and…

Henrietta Okojie, another staff member of the Account and Finance Department of the Rural Electrification Agency, was on Friday, 14 June, 2024 arraigned before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court Abuja. Okojie is one of the four REA staff being tried for alleged involvement in N1.85bn fraud brought against them by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission(ICPC). Before her case, other three officials have already been arraigned and two remanded in prison. While Usman Kwakwa was released on bail, Emmanuel Pada and Umar Laraye who were arraigned on Thursday were also remanded in prison. When…

The Federal Government has ran to the World Bank to ask for $500 million loan to fix rural roads, improve access to agricultural products nationwide, and tackle food price hikes. The Washington-based lender stated that the funds will address the needs of 92 million people in rural areas lacking good road networks. The Federal Government, it was gathered, made the funding request in the final draft of the Resettlement Policy Framework for the Nigeria Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project Scale-Up, implemented by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The RAAMP-SU project will finance three key components: Improvement…

Nigerian Muslim pilgrims, a diverse group from 32 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are preparing to ascend Mount Arafat. The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has successfully transported 50,865 pilgrims, including 31,726 males and 19,139 females, for the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, showcasing the unity and diversity of the Nigerian Muslim community. PRNigeria reports that the Muslim pilgrims were airlifted from 32 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), excluding Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, and Cross Rivers states in this year’s Hajj. According to the Kingdom’s General Directorate of Passports, Saudi Arabia has welcomed…

Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, has called for responsible management of funds allocated to host Communities Development Trusts (HCDT) in the Niger Delta. The Governor spoke on Tuesday, 11 June, 2024, at an event to unveil three additional HDCTs by The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), operator of the SPDC Joint Venture comprising SPDC, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), TotalEnergies Limited and Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited. Represented by the state commissioner for Chieftaincy & Community Affairs, Charles Amadi, the governor said the development in oil producing communities as envisaged in the Petroleum Industry…

The controversies and series of serious allegations surrounding the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ibrahim Lamuwa, have taken a different dimension. The Joint Negotiating Council (JNC), the labour union in the Ministry, is also up in arms against him over an accusation of high-handedness, maladministration, favouritism and financial improprieties, which have significantly affected the welfare and rights of the workers. In a petition addressed to the Minister, Ambassador Tuggar and dated Tuesday, 11 June, 2024, the staff union accused the Permanent Secretary of relegating all issues that have to do with staff welfare, allowances, emoluments, training…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI on Friday, June 14, 2024 brokered a renewed strategic alliance towards tackling the menace of internet crimes and other waves of emerging and old crimes that are of mutual interests to Nigeria and the United States. The  development came when Christopher Wray, FBI’s Director led a team of the Bureau’s top officials on a visit to the EFCC’s Executive Chairman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede at the Commission’s Abuja corporate headquarters. In his remark at the meeting, Wray expressed delight at the bond that has existed over the…

By Tunde Akanni “The love that follows us sometime is our trouble which we still thank as love” Shakespeare (Macbeth). Undaunted by the lingering severity of the separation from our respective families for months and years for some of us, many of us still defied the freezing cold of New York in the United States in the morning of January 25, 1998. All roads literally led to what used to be known as the Nigeria Corner. The main task for the day was the formal public shaming of the Abacha junta with the renaming of the Nigeria Corner to Kudi…

The deposed Emir OF kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, is in the news again this time around for good as a Federal High Court sitting in Kano presided over by Justice Simon Amobeda, has ordered the Kano State Government to pay him the sum of N10 million as damages for violating his fundamental rights. The court also ordered the state government to guarantee the deposed emir’s right to movement and personal liberty. In a ruling on Friday, 14 June, 2024, Amobeda, explained that that he was duty bound to resolve the issue of jurisdiction of the court to determine the case before delving…

An employee of the Federal Ministry of Foreign affairs, Simisola Fajemirokun Ajayi, has been invited by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for interrogation over a probe into alleged graft. Ajayi, who is married, was in the news last week after she accused Ibrahim Lamuwa, the permanent secretary of the ministry, of sexual harassment. Recall that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, had written a letter to the Head of service of the federation, Folasade Yemi-Esan, alerting her about the “persisting” allegations of segxwal harassment against Lamuwa.In a letter dated 27 May 27, Tuggar said…

The Federal Government has ordered the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), to take over the protection of transmission lines and towers across the nation. The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunjo-Ojo gave the order on Friday during the passing-out parade of the 2nd batch of mining marshals of NSCDC in Abuja, decrying that: “It is not acceptable for a country to spend billions on power infrastructure for it to be vandalized.” The Minister while expressing deep concern over the constant vandalism of transmission lines, towers and transformers, described the oft-repeated vandalism of critical national assets as economic sabotage…

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake has declared that the deployment of 350 additional operatives to the mining marshals underscores the federal government’s commitment to reforming the mining sector. Speaking at the Passing Out Parade for the new operatives at the NSCDC headquarters, the minister represented by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Mary Ogbe lauded his interior counterpart, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for their collaboration in combating illegal mining. Highlighting the successes recorded by the mining marshals, the minister noted that their efforts have significantly reduced illegal mineral haulage and…

The Federal Government has declared Monday 17th, and Tuesday 18th June 2024 as public holidays to mark this year’s Eid-ul-Adha celebration. The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo who made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, congratulated all Muslim Ummah both at home and in the Diaspora on the occasion. He called on the Muslim Ummah to continue to imbibe the spirit of peace, kindness and sacrifice, as exemplified by Prophet Ibrahim (Peace be upon Him) and to also use the period to pray for unity, prosperity and the stability of our country. The Minister assured that the…

International Labour Organisation (ILO) has called on stakeholders to double their efforts and strengthen their unity to end child labour in Nigeria and the ECOWAS sub-region. The call was made in a statement on Thursday issued to mark the World Day Against Child Labour and the 25th anniversary of the adoption of ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour. In his statement on the day, the Director of ILO Abuja Country Office for Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, and Liaison office for the ECOWAS, Ms Vanessa Phala asked all stakeholders to double their efforts and strengthen…

Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, Thursday, pledged sustained partnership with the military and other security agencies for effective security and socio-economic development of the state. Governor Oborevwori who was speaking while playing host to the General Officer Commanding (GOC) the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, in Asaba, reiterated the state government’s support for security agencies in the state. While approving the construction of internal roads at the 6 Brigade Headquarters, Asaba, he noted that the Army have been playing a significant role in the security architecture of the country. While commending the Army for their…

A 39-year-old man, who removed his condom without the consent of the lady he was having sex with, has been sentenced to 51 months in prison by a United Kingdom court. Guy Mukendi from Brixton, south London, was on Thursday, 13 June, 2024, sentenced at Inner London Crown Court for the rape of a woman last year. The woman had consented to sex with Mukendi on the condition a condom was used, but he removed it without her consent. She reported the assault on May 9, 2023 and Mukendi was found guilty by a jury in a rare conviction on…

Police operatives in Delta State have arrested a 400-level student of the Delta State University identified as Nelson Eserada for faking his own abduction. The suspect, who was arrested alongside one Jerry Lawrence on Monday, 10 June, 2024 was said to had demanded a ransom of N50 million in bitcoin. The command’s spokesperson in a statement on Thursday, 13 June, 2024, said that the suspect’s father had already paid a sum of N5 million through a bitcoin account belonging to Lawrence. According to the police, “Following complaints received from the father of one Nelson Eserada ‘M’ at Abraka Division that…

The FCT Police Command has arrested six suspects who specialise in registering SIM cards with other innocent citizens identities & selling them to criminals The suspects, identified as: Ndubuisi Okeh, John Jock, Nafiu Tijani, Nasiru Sulaiman, John Njoku & Suleiman Musa were arrested on May 29, 2024 by a team of detectives from the State Intelligence Department Parading the suspects on June 13, the FCT Commissioner of Police, said the suspects sold the SIM cards to criminals between N3,000 & N5,000 He noted that a total of 1,100 registered SIM cards; registration machines; 2 fingerprint machines & a mobile phone…