Author: The Gazelle News

A member of the Lagos state House of Assembly, Hon Ibrahim Ajani Owolabi has described education as the key to the nation’s development and best legacy parents can bequeath on their wards. He said Nigerians should be inspired by countries that have maximized the potentials in education to proffer solutions to most of their challenges. Hon Ibrahim Ajani Owolabi who represents Lagos Mainland 1 Constituency in the assembly was speaking ahead of one Month FREE UTME Revision Class for all the indigent students and youths that benefited from the Free UTME Forms which he distributed in February. Also to benefit…

•By Ademola Rasak, Akure The First Lady of Ondo State, Mrs Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu is older than her husband by three years, The Gazelle News.com can report. However, The Gazelle News.com reports, their union has proved that age is no barrier to love as their love story continues to wax stronger till today. This medium can also report that Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu could not even afford to take then girlfriend now wife out when they first met in Enugu as youth corps members. “We met 37 years ago in Enugu, then we were both youth corps members serving in the then…

A prosecution witness, Johnson Abidakun, a former Head of Operations, Zenith Bank Plc, Ado-Ekiti branch, in the ongoing N2.2bn fraud trial of a former governor of Ekiti, Ayodele Fayose, has told Justice C.J. Aneke of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos how the sum of N200m cash was moved from Fayose’s residence for lodgment in an account in the bank sometime in April 2016. Fayose is standing trial alongside his company, Spotless Investment Limited, on an 11-count charge bordering on fraud and money laundering to the tune of N2.2bn. The matter started before Justice Olatoregun, but was subsequenetly…

Lagos politician, Hon Adeyinka Adedoyin, on Friday, 6 March, 2020 extolled the sterling qualities of the House of Representatives Speaker, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, describing him as a man of tremendous honour and real integrity. Adedoyin spoke at a special event to honour Gbajabiamila for effective representation, commitment to public service and prudent management of resources. He praised the Speaker for giving the House of Representatives the desired sense of purpose and direction. “The Rt Hon Speaker is carrying himself with grace and dignity” he said. The Lagos All Progressives Congress (APC)  leader spoke on the humility, simplicity, purposefulness and…

Premier League players and officials will not take part in the traditional pre-match handshake from this weekend over fears about the spread of the coronavirus. Teams have been told by Premier League chiefs that they will still line up as usual before kick-of, but the home team will walk past the away side without shaking hands. The measure is in respond to the threat of the potentially deadly virus, with more than 90,000 cases reported in 87 countries. “The Premier League fair-play handshake will not take place between players and match officials from this weekend until further notice based on…

The Senate on Thursday, 5 March, 2020, approved the sum of Three Hundred and Forty-Six billion, Three hundred and eighty-eight million, Nine hundred thousand naira (N346,388,900,000.00) as budget for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for the 2019 fiscal year. The approval came following an engaging debate between Senators who were divided over the passage of the Commission’s budget. Chairman of the Committee on NDDC, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, in his presentation, gave a breakdown of the budget. According to him, the sum of N22,338,190,000 is for Personnel Expenditure; N13,466,810,000 for Overheads; N4,083,000,000 for Internal Capital Expenditure and N306,500,900,000 for Development…

Justice A. M. Liman of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on March 5, 2020, adjourned until April 24, 2020 for ruling on the final forfeiture of two properties belonging to a former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is seeking the final forfeiture of Saraki’s properties situated at 17 & 17A, McDonald Road, Ikoyi, Eti-Osa, Lagos. Moving the application for the final forfeiture of the properties, counsel to the applicant, Nnaemeka Omewa, told the court that the motion, dated February 2, 2019 was supported by a 10-paragraph affidavit deposed to…

For Nigeria as a democratic project, the ideal government that can build the nation is not one in which the winner takes all. It should be an inclusive government in its constitution or composition. It should be a representation of the interests and needs of all the constituent stakeholders in the nation. Necessarily, this would include the opposition, giving it consideration or factoring its input in decision making, policy design and implementation. It should also learn from the best practice of past governments’ and sustain the prospects of their public interest-based programmes and projects.   This will be found in…

Cogent observations by the Supreme Court and the need to ensure full compliance with INEC’s rules motivated the 9th Senate’s ongoing efforts towards amending the Electoral Act, Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has said.  Addressing participants at a retreat organized by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the National Assembly on the ‘Reform of the Electoral Legal Framework’, Senator Omo-Agege who also chairs the Senate Committee on Constitution Review, gave an overview of the Bill to amend the Electoral Act, 2010 which he presented before the Senate.  During the retreat which took place at Radisson Blu…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on March 5, 2020, arraigned Charles Adonyi, a former Internal Auditor with the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), before Justice Ajoke Adepoju, of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, on a one-count charge bordering on corruption and gratification. The defendant was alleged to have extorted pensioners, and in some instances their relatives, claiming to assist to facilitate the processing of their entitlements. The count reads: “That you, Charles Adonyi, a Public Servant, whilst being an auditor with Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate, PTAD, sometimes in March 2016,  at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Maiduguri Zonal office, on Thursday, March 5, 2020 arraigned Aisha Alkali Wakil (aka Mama Boko Haram) alongside Tahiru Alhaji Saidu Daura and Prince Lawal Shoyade on a fresh two-count charge involving an alleged N25million fraud. They were arraigned before Justice Umaru Fadawu of the Borno State High Court, Maidugur. Count two of the charges reads: “That you, Aisha Alkali Wakil, Tahiru Alhaji Saidu Daura and Prince Lawal Shoyade whilst being the Chief Executive Officer, Programme Manager and Country Director respectively of Complete Care and Aid Foundation, (a Non-Governmental Organisation) and Saidu Mukhtar (at…

•L-R: Representative  of the Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Anita Shittu; Chairman, NIPOST board, Barrister Maimuna Yaya Abubakar; Postmaster General and CEO, NIPOST Dr. Ismail Adebayo Adewusi;  Managing Director of the company, Chief Ewie Aimienwauu; Director, Ukpa Hansa Energy Solutions, Mr. Thanveer Hussain, at the Unveiling of New energy solutions by NIPOST’s Agency Service at the Head office of NIPOST in Abuja on Thursday  The Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) on Thursday, 5 March, 2020 moved a step further in its diversification strategies with the unveiling of new solar energy equipment product through its Agency Services arm. At Thursday’s unveiling of Hansa…

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has assured Nigerians that the National Assembly will take full responsibility for the application of President Muhammadu Buhari’s $22.79 billion loan request to various projects domiciled with Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government. Lawan stated this in his remarks after the Senate approved President Buhari’s loan request on Thursday. The Senate President, while expressing optimism that the loan will turn around the economic fortunes of the nation, said its strict application to relevant projects will be supervised by Committees of the National Assembly. “Let me emphasis here, that we are going to follow…

Inside sources in the seat of power have confirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Bashir Jamoh PhD. as the Director-Deneral of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). Dr. Jamoh is the current Executive Director (Admin & Finance) at NIMASA. He will replace Dakuku Peterside who was appointed in 2016 to head the maritime agency whose tenure as NIMASA DG ends on March 10, 2020. Dr. Jamoh is a Ph.D. holder from the University of Port Harcourt, specializing in Logistics and Transport Management. He has 32 years of professional and technocratic experience in the transportation…

Becoming a star is not as taxing as maintaining stardom. Maintaining stardom is not as crucial as preparing for life after your reign. This is because life and living come in turns and no one will be a champ forever, except those like Bola Hammed Tinubu and Olamide Baddo. Before I proceed on the self-imposed journey of this short and straightforward essay, may I inform my dear readership that this piece is not propaganda or an attempt to eulogise the duo. Again, you will appreciate the essence of the piece if you look beyond your personal opinion of the personalities…

Oyo State Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Finnish Consortium, which included a number of listed companies, to establish an Energy Innovation Centre for Excellence in the state. The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the Nigerian-American Business Forum holding in Tampa, Florida, United States of America, which was attended by a state delegation led by Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde. Speaking shortly after the signing of the MoU, Oyo State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Barr. Temilolu ‘Seun Ashamu, who signed the MoU on behalf of the…

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, on Wednesday advocated stiff penalties for electoral offences such as election rigging and ballot snatching. Lawan made this known in his concluding remarks after the Senate considered a bill that seeks to establish the Electoral Offences Commission. According to the Senate President, the move to establish the Commission was in line with the legislative agenda of the Ninth National Assembly at sanitising Nigeria’s electoral process. He said, “It is in pursuit of our legislative agenda at ensuring that we sanitise the electoral environment in the right direction. “So, this bill is one of many…

Lagos Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has called on all elected public officials in the State to close ranks and leverage partnership in order to enhance quality of governance and raise the bar of service delivery to the people. Achieving his administration’s ’Greater Lagos’ agenda, the Governor said, is predicated on creating a responsive public service that would serve the interest of the people and bring about purposeful development. The Governor said those elected and appointed in public offices must resolve to collaborate and maintain harmonious relationships in the discharge of their duties. Without collaboration, he said, public officers may not…

At 83, former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has played critical roles that have etched his name in Nigeria’s historical records forever, Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has said. The Senator, in a special felicitations letter personally signed by him, noted that Chief Obasanjo will always look large in Nigeria’s post-independence political history. Senator Omo-Agege who chairs the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, applauded the elder statesman for his commitment to the unity of the country as well as service to fatherland. “As we express our felicitations with former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on…