Author: The Gazelle News

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has felicitated with former President Olusegun Obasanjo as the elder statesman marks his 83rd birthday on Thursday March 5. Lawan joined family members, friends and associates of the former president in rejoicing with him for attaining his advanced age in good health and sound mind. He said the former president has made indelible contributions to the unity and development of Nigeria in over five decades at the vanguard of nation-building. Lawan recalled former President Obasanjo’s pivotal roles at different epochs in the tasks to keep Nigeria one, stable, democratic and prosperous. He said the elder…

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has asked the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, to immediately release the sum of N620m to the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), an amount budgeted for emergency response to the Coronavirus (COVID – 19) outbreak. Lawan made the call on Wednesday when the leadership of the Senate undertook a tour of Isolation Centres located at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada. The Senate President, while speaking to journalists after an inspection of two facilities, bemoaned the lack of preparedness and expressed frustration at the state of the isolation centres which were yet…

A bill seeking to establish the South-West Development Commission on Wednesday, 4 March, 2020 scaled second reading in the Senate. The bill, which was sponsored by Senator Ibikunle Amosun (APC – Ogun Central), “is an attempt to address the dwindling fortunes of the South West region by implementing a regional development plan”, the lawmaker said. According to him, “The Commission, if passed into law, will enhance regional integration which is capable of delivering the benefits of large economies of scale.” He added, “The bill seeks to resolve issues of under development by redirecting Federal attention to the challenges of the…

•By Dare Ojelade, Lagos The Chairman of the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB), Hon Wahab Alawiye-King, has stated that the need to make the state primary education sector conform with present international standard was the main reason the Board is reviewing some of its policies, The Gazelle News.com can report. Alawiye-King, The Gazelle News.com reports, spoke in Lagos on Wednesday, 4 March, 2020, at a capacity development workshop organised by the Board. The workshop was organised management staff of the Board, Secretaries of Local Government Education Authorities (LGEAs), members of the state Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) and…

On Wednesday, 4 March, 2020, Lagos bigwigs gathered to celebrate the All Progressives Congress’s Vice Chairman for Lagos Central Senatorial District, Hon. Akeem Bamgbola, on his birthday celebration and the official launch of the Hakeem Adisa Bamgbola (HAB) Foundation, in the Surulere area of Lagos State. The event marked the celebration of the meritorious service of the former council boss to the people. Eulogising the leadership qualities of Hon. Akeem Adisa Bamgbola; the Lead Visioner of Team Jandor, Mr. Abdulazeez Olajide Adediran; described the Lagos APC Vice Chairman as a leader who leads by example, evident is the ideas initiated…

The Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to Governor John Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State and Chairman of the Nigeria Governor’s Forum, Segun Dipe, has dismissed the insinuation that his principal was nursing a presidential ambition towards 2023, saying it was a fallacy and a misrepresentation of Fayemi’s personality and conduct. The governor’s aide said those who were spreading such rumour must have been studying Fayemi from afar and must have misread his relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari, thus taking his reconciliatory efforts for an ambition-driven one. According to Dipe, while Fayemi could be seen as eminently qualified and a…

The Abuja Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, arraigned one Mohammed Abubakar, before Justice S. Belgore of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT High Court, Apo, on a one-count charge, bordering on breach of trust, dishonesty and diversion of funds to the tune of about N21million. The petitioner, Finlab Nigeria Limited, alleged that the defendant collected goods on credit with a promise to pay as soon as the contract sum was paid.  However, when the money for the contract was received by Abubakar, he diverted the money to his personal use, and failed…

The trial of Fatimoh Yusuf, the immediate past Chairperson, Kwara State Scholarship Board; Fatai Lamidi, Secretary of the Board, and Stephen Ajewole, the board’s Accountant, who are being prosecuted by the Ilorin Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for allegedly diverting N50million meant for payment of 2018 students’ bursary, commenced on March 4, 2020 with the EFCC presenting its first witness. The defendants were arraigned on January 15, 2020 before Justice Sikiru Oyinloye of a Kwara State High Court, Ilorin, on a seven-count charge for their alleged involvements in bursary fraud; but they pleaded “not guilty”.…

Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court sitting in Makurdi, Benue State has sentenced one Ifeanyi Uche to two years imprisonment with an option of fine of N100,000 (One Hundred Thousand Naira) for obtaining money by false pretence to the tune of N325,000.00 (Three Hundred and Twenty-five Thousand Naira). The convict was arraigned on a one-count charge by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Makurdi Zonal office, on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. The count reads: “That you, Ifeanyi Uche, sometime in October, 2019 in Gboko within the jurisdiction of this honourable Court with intent to defraud obtained the…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Lagos Zonal office, on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, re-arraigned Ismaila Mustapha (aka Mompha), before Justice Mohammed Liman of a Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, for alleged N32.9billion fraud. Mompha was first arraigned alongside his company, Ismalob Ventures on November 25, 2019 on a 14-count charge bordering on fraud, money laundering and running a foreign exchange business without the authorisation of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. The defendant had pleaded “not guilty” to the charge and was granted bail in the sum of N100million with one surety in like sum. The…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, arraigned four suspected criminals and a vessel before Justice A.M. Liman of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos on a three-count charge bordering on illegal dealing in petroleum products. The defendants, Ukwuoma Ahamefula, Omeogor Nelson, Efemuaya Evans and Jude Eghreriniovo, were arrested alongside a vessel, MV Tim Begele, by the Nigerian Navy and subsequently handed over to the EFCC for prosecution. One of the counts reads: “That you, MV Tim Begele, Ukwuoma Ahamefula, Omeogor Nelson, Efemuaya Evans, Jude Eghreriniovo and others now at large on the…

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has said agriculture remains a viable means for employment creation in Nigeria. According to him, substantial investment in the sector by the Federal Government would guarantee food security for the country. Lawan stated this against the backdrop of a bill under consideration by the National Assembly seeking to establish the Agricultural Development Fund. “The agricultural sector remains unarguably the most viable means of ensuring that we create employment opportunities and that we create wealth for our people as well. “If there is anything that needs to be done to enhance this sector, we should…

The Acting Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Professor Kemebradikumo Pondei, has warned that the Commission will not pay any project that is not fully verified. The NDDC Chief Executive Officer stated this when a delegation from Ogboin-EbeUnity Forum in Bayelsa and Delta states, led by their President, Ambaiowe Betebekurogha, paid him a courtesy visit at the Commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt. Pondei said: “We are aware that a lot of contractors are being owed for work they have done. Verification is on-going, the Ag. Executive Director of Projects just returned from projects site assessments. When the budget…

The successful implementation of the National Livestock Transformation programme (NLTP) of the Federal Government would drive productivity in agriculture, improve standards of living and help the country achieve self sufficiency in food production, Kwara State Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Harriet Afolabi-Oshatimehin said on Monday. Declaring open a three-day training workshop on the NLTP ahead of its implementation in the state, Afolabi-Oshatimehin explained that Kwara was participating in the programme to empower the citizens, guarantee food security and boost productivity.  “In achieving the Plan, Kwara has assembled a robust and highly experienced project management team. The team will be…

The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, is partnering with the Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture to promote mechanized agriculture and move the Niger Delta region away from subsistence farming. The NDDC Acting Managing Director, Professor Kemebradikumo Pondei, said this during a courtesy visit by officials of the Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, led by the Commissioner, Dr Fred Kpakol, at the Commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt. Pondei observed that the reliance on subsistence farming had made it difficult to achieve food security in the Niger Delta region, adding that a collaboration with the Rivers State Government would go a…

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Wednesday hailed the border closure policy of the Nigerian government, saying regional economic agreements should not be an excuse to dump goods on or compromise the security of the country. AbdulRazaq said Kwara would continue to support the government policy, including offering necessary supports to the joint security architecture mandated to enforce what Abuja said was necessary to check illegal trade, proliferation of small arms and light weapons, and cross border crimes in Nigeria.  “Despite several international agreements Nigeria has entered into, our borders need to be properly secured so that the country does…

Nigerian men are in the news again for the wrong reason, The Gazelle News.com can report. In far away Cambodia, four Nigerian men were arrested by the Cambodian police. Their offences, The Gazelle News.com learnt, were alleged online fraud and kidnapping. The four were arrested on Tuesday, 3 March, 2020. Deputy Prosecutor Seng Heang and his team in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior searched a condominium ( Zong Ruby) in Sen Sok district, Phnom Penh at 12:20 and arrested the Nigerian nationals. The four men were wanted in connection with a case of kidnapping in Vietnam and have been…

•Rumen Radev, President of Bulgaria and Adesola Adeduntan, Chief Executive Officer, First Bank of Nigeria Limited following a courtesy visit by Dr. Adeduntan to the Bulgarian President at Sofia, Bulgaria. The Chief Executive Officer, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan participated as a keynote speaker in the Annual FinTech & InsureTech Summit held at Sofia Event Center, Bulgaria on 27 February 2020. The FirstBank Chief delivered a keynote speech on the topic “Banks and Clients, the New Story of Empowerment, Value Creation and Technologies” The summit served as a platform for in-depth knowledge sharing, networking, partnerships and collaborations amongst participants…

Adams Oshiomhole has been suspended as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress by an FCT High Court in Jabi, Abuja. Details later…