Author: Khadijah Olowode

Kaduna State Government on Sunday, 9 June, 2024 disclosed that troops of Operation Whirl Punch killed five bandits in the Dantarau general area of the Kajuru Local Government Area the state. The state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, who made this disclosure through a statement on Sunday, 9 June, 2024, said the troops took a fighting patrol to the Kachia-Kajuru general area when they encountered the bloodthirsty bandits. According to Aruwan, scores of bandits that engaged the troops in a gun duel sustained fatal injuries while warning locals against providing medical support to questionable individuals without recourse to…

A Catholic priest, Gabriel Ukeh, presiding over St. Thomas Parish, Zaman Dabo Community, Zango Kataf LGA of Kaduna was Kidnapped by gunmen on Sunday, 9 June, 2024. The Vicar General (Pastoral), Emmanuel Kazah, who confirmed the abduction of the priest through a statement issued on Sunday, 9 June, 2024, condemned the incessant kidnappings for ransom of citizens in communities. “While we solicit for fervent prayers for his urgent and safe release, we equally condemn this act of incessant kidnappings for ransom of innocent and defenceless citizens of our communities, and we call upon the government to horn its security intelligence as we…

Candidates of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the local government elections held on Saturday, 8 June, 2024 cleared all the chairmanship and councillorship seats in the state. The Chairman of the Yobe State Independent Electoral Commission (YOIEC) Dr Mamman Muhammad, who made the announcement at the commission’s headquarters in Damaturu on Sunday, 9 June, 2024, said APC won all the 17 local government chairmanship seats and the 178 councillorship seats. Muhammad commended the electorate in the state for ensuring that the polls were free and peaceful. “APC has won all the 17 chairmanship and 178 councillorship in the local…

By Temitope Ogunbanke Compassion is one of the virtues of a good leader. The two most acceptable Holy books, the Bible and the Quran teach us to be kind and compassionate to one another. Today, there are thousands of public office holders at the federal, state, and local government levels, but Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has distinguished himself in compassion, love and kindness to the people he administers, as the Governor of Lagos State. In the last one year of the second term of his administration, Governor Sanwo-Olu has taken several steps to show that he is a compassionate leader. He has initiated…

After worse-than-expected election results left him to rely on coalition partners to govern, India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi was on Sunday, 9 June, 2024 sworn in for a third term. Immediately after his declaration as Prime Minister, Modi vowed in a ceremony marking his formal assumption of power to “bear true allegiance to the constitution of India”. Modi was flanked by officials from his Hindu nationalist party and leaders of his coalition members at the ceremony. His Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party ruled outright for the past decade but failed to repeat its previous two landslide wins this time around, defying…

By Dr. Falade Muritala Adesola With more investments and higher expectations, the Nigerian telecoms sector has consistently contributed to the growth of the Nigerian economy. While the market size and loquacious nature of the country’s population are significant factors in the sector’s viability, the crucial role of the regulatory body, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), currently led by Dr Aminu Maida, cannot be overstated. Effective regulation is a critical variable in the success of any industry, and the NCC’s leadership has been instrumental in shaping the sector’s progress. However, current realities in the country suggest that a lot remains to…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The membership of the Presidential Committee on Climate Action and Green Economic Solutions has been expanded by President Bola Tinubu. Recall that On 19 May, 2024, Tinubu announced the names of 26 members of the same committee led by him. The Green Economic Programme is a United Nations initiative to encourage and enable member states to support investment in low-carbon development and green sectors The Director, Information and Public Relations, Segun Imohiosen, who made this disclosure through a statement issued on Sunday, 9 June, 2024, stated that the president had added more members to the committee. “The President…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike Dr Nkiruka Maduekwe has been appointed as the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Council on Climate Change by President Bola Tinubu, Maduekwe is to remain in that position in an interim capacity, pending confirmation of her appointment by the Supervisory Council of the NCCC. This was contained in a press release issued on Sunday, 9 June, 2024 by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale. According to the statement, Tinubu has also approved Dr Maduekwe, 39, to serve as the Co-Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Committee on National Carbon…

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured the conviction of one Mr. Quadri Ismail Adeyinka, a staff of the Nigeria Immigration Service for committing a travelling passport fraud. The Commission had arraigned the convict before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Apo, Abuja on a four-counts charge bordering on gratification, conferment of corrupt advantage and cheating contrary to extant provisions of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and the Penal Code Act. Counsel to the ICPC, Dr. Osuobeni Ekoi Akponimisingha had, in the course of the trial, led…

Nigeria’s economic experts and stakeholders in the telecom industry have sounded the alarm, warning that the sector’s decline could have far-reaching consequences for the country’s economic growth and development. At a breakfast session hosted by the Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University on Tuesday, 5 June, 2024, leading voices in the private sector gathered to discuss the theme “Telecom Sector: The Fulcrum for Economic Dynamism in Nigeria.” Keynote speaker Bismarck Rewane, CEO of Financial Derivatives Company, emphasized the telecom sector’s critical role in driving economic growth, innovation, and productivity across various industries. Rewane, in his presentation titled, “Nigerian Economy on the…

By Hassan Gimba For the past four years, I have been insisting that our problem and even need now is not about salary increment but about being a productive nation that produces what it needs and uses what it produces. This would galvanise our economy and strengthen the naira. With a strong currency, ₦30,000 is more than enough as a basic salary. Just imagine the naira to be equal to the dollar and there was a time when ₦60 was equal to $100. Here I have reproduced an old writeup on this topic. There is no Nigerian that will tell you he is not…

The Ilupeju secretariat of Odiolowo/Ojuwoye Local Council Development was a beehive of activities on Saturday, 8 June, 2024 as residents stormed the secretariat to buy subsidized food items procured by the Rasak Ajala led administration. As early as 7am, the secretariat was packed full of people from all parts of the state who came to buy the food items. According to the Council Chairman, Honourable Razaq Olusola Ajala, the essential but common food items were being on sale on 50 percent discount from their current market value. Items offered for sale at 50 percent reduced price are: garri, rice, pepper,…

The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has called on West African police chiefs to collaborate and devise innovative ways to tackle emerging complex security challenges facing the subregion. . Egbetokun made this call at a meeting of the West African Police Chiefs Committee (WAPCCO) technical sub-committee on training and operations in Abuja. He decried that the West African subregion had in recent times been confronted with complex national security challenges, which had been accentuating transnational crimes. He said: “The activities of these cybercriminals has imposed on us all the additional burden of developing our national security capacity to dominate cyberspace…

Yobe State Government has revealed that the Damaturu International Cargo Airport would soon commenced commercial operations. Speaking to journalists at the airport in Damaturu, the Managing Director of the airport, Engr. Muhammad Surajo Wakil said all that is needed to commence commercial operations was almost ready. 
Surajo when fully operational, the airport will create more job to the people especially the state indigenes and contribute to the state’s economy. In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport and Energy, Engr. Isyaka Lawan, revealed that N39 billion was spent to execute the project since 2007.
 He added that the airport’s…

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have intercepted another consignment of 175,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup imported from India at the Port Harcourt Ports complex in Onne, Rivers state This is barely a week after a shipment of the same drug with equal quantity was seized at the same port, according to the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi. He said the two seizures followed earlier intelligence, which made the agency request that the shipment be stepped down for 100 percent examination, noting that the latest seizure of 875 cartons of codeine containing 175,000 bottles and…

Operatives of the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested 127 suspected internet fraudsters in Ondo State. The alleged internet fraudsters were arrested in an early morning sting operation at a “Yahoo Party” held simultaneously at Signature and Abah Clubs on Saturday, June 8, 2024 in Akure, Ondo State. Credible intelligence showed that the alleged party was initially scheduled for Wednesday, June 5, 2024 but was later moved to Saturday to beat security and intelligence networks of the EFCC. The suspects have given useful information to Investigators of the Directorate. Items recovered from them include…

By Yushau A. Shuaib Upon completing the routine security check, we ascended to the impressive Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) complex in Abuja. Led to a spacious yet modest hall where an event was unfolding, we found seats beside a woman modestly dressed in a Muslim Hijab. She greeted us warmly and invited us to sit beside her. Her humility and warmth immediately put us at ease. We initially assumed she was a guest or another participant at the briefing. However, as we discussed the media industry, she listened intently, nodding in agreement. When she finally spoke, her insightful comments…

By Tunde Rahman With the conclusion last Wednesday June 5, 2024 of the first-ever South Korea-Africa summit attended by no fewer than 30 African Heads of State and South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol, the big question on the lips of many analysts is whether a new chapter has been opened in the relations between the Republic of Korea and Africa, which began in the 1950’s. This question has become pertinent because, though the relationship between the two has always been cordial, it has not been impressive enough in terms of economic cooperation, particularly in the areas of trade and…

Howard University has revoked Sean “Diddy” Comb’s honorary degree and returned a $1 million donation amidst his mounting legal troubles. The prestigious institution announced that its decision comes in light of a 2016 hotel surveillance footage that showed the music mogul assaulting his then-girlfriend, Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura. Grammy award-winning rapper Diddy faces multiple sexual assault lawsuits and a sex-trafficking investigation, as sources say the Department of Justice is gearing up a “bulletproof” indictment against him. Howard University has announced its decision to invalidate an honorary degree award it conferred on Diddy in 2014. The university notes that all privileges and…

Following a rigorous pitch process, Airtel Nigeria has appointed three marketing communications consulting agencies to collaborate with the internal teams to drive Airtel brand communications, beginning July 1, 2024. Insight Publicis and The Hook were successful with their RFPs and have thus been appointed as advertising agencies while Algorithm Media has been charged with the responsibility for media strategy, planning and buying as well as digital marketing. MediaTrak Limited remains the media monitoring agency for Airtel Nigeria.