Author: The Gazelle News

In demonstration of its commitment to consistently promote and support the growth and development of the economy and also to deepen its foothold in the retail sector, Keystone Bank Limited recently held another edition of its capacity building training for its customers in Abuja and its environs. According to the lender, the programme tagged ‘Spark Up Your Brand 2.0’ which was launched in July 2019 and is part of the bank’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, is designed to teach start-ups on how to position their brands for business growth and make them attractive to investors and for profitability. Speaking…

Chief Bode George is a good political entertainer who fits the comedy genre in a theatre studio. It is always interesting how people forget history. He, Chief George is obviously not a deep thinker when it comes reminiscencing over past roles, attainments and experiences, otherwise he would know that he has no credibility. What are the man’s attractive sell-points and credentials? What legacy did he leave behind as a former military governor and as Chairman Nigerian Ports Authority ? What stride has he made in Lagos PDP since 1999 till date and how well is he loved even within his…

Kwara State has received a net total sum of N3,255,019,095:98 (three billion, two hundred and fifty five million, nine thousand, ninety five naira and ninety eight kobo) for the month of February, a statement said at the weekend. The tally includes N2,286,737,054:07 (net) statutory revenue allocation (SRA); N958,364,447:96 value added tax (VAT); N5,783,677:33 (exchange gain); and N4,133,916:62 excess bank charges — totalling  N3,255,019,095:98, according to the statement by Finance and Planning Commissioner Oyeyemi Olasumbo Florence. The N3.2bn excludes the N610,762,826:72 deductions by the Federal government for various loans inherited by the administration. For the month, the state government spent N2,368,021,322.69…

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, on Saturday, 29 February, 2020 attended the wedding Fatiha of two daughters of the Emir of Bade, HRH Abubakar Umar Sulieman. The Emir’s daughters whose hands were given out in marriage in accordance with Islamic rites are: Aisha Abubakar Umar who is betrothed to Mohammad Abubakar Usman, and Fatima Saleh Grema to Ali Alhaji Bakari. The event was held at the Gashua Central Mosque in Bade Local Government Area of Yobe State and graced by dignitaries including traditional rulers from within and outside the state. The Senate President gave out one of the daughters…

•Prince Dele Osibote The Late (Dr.) Fredrick Fasheun’s faction of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) has removed its President Prince Dele Osibote due to alleged high-handedness and corrupt charges. Prince Osibote’s removal was contained in a statement read by the Deputy President, Alhaji Wasiu Afolabi at a crowded press conference held on Friday 28th February 2020 at OPC Base at Ago-Okota area of Lagos State. Osibote who became the leader of the group immediately after the death of OPC founder, Dr. Fredrick Fasehun was accused of working against the progress of the organisation and unity of its members. In the…

•By Dare Ojelade, Lagos Four people were feared dead, on the night of Friday, 28 February, 2020, in a clash between two rival cult gangs at the Abule Ado axis of Lagos State. Witnesses recount that the two warring groups, known as ‘V Niger’ and ‘Abule Ado Boys’, engaged one another in a gun battle that lasted several hours. Three persons from the Abule Ado Boys were allegedly killed, while the rival ‘V Niger’ group lost a member. A resident, who pleaded anonymity due to fear of retribution, said disagreement over illegal tax from oil tanker drivers, sparked the…

Marno de Jong, Vice President, Shell Nigeria (middle) presenting the Oil and Gas Banker of the Year 2019 award won by First Bank of Nigeria Limited to the Bank’s Group Executive, Energy & Infrastructure, CBG, Bashirat Odunewu (right) accompanied by Group Head, Corporate Banking Group (Energy), FirstBank, Oluwatoyin Aina (left), at the Patrons’ Dinner and Industry Awards of the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit held in Abuja. First Bank of Nigeria Limited was recently presented with the Oil and Gas Banker of Year 2019 award at the Patrons’ Dinner and Industry Awards of the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit held recently at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.…

Following the incident of Coronavirus recorded in Ogun State, the state government says 28 people who had contact with the Italian victim of the disease have been identified and quarantined. The government also said the firm, where the victim was discovered in Ewekoro, has been shut down. The state Governor, Dapo Abiodun, disclosed this on Friday while addressing newsmen on the update of the coronavirus incident in the state. Details later…

Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, on Friday, called for calm among residents of the state following the detection of the first case of Coronavirus brought in by an Italian. Obasa said the need by Lagos residents not to panic over the incident stems from the fact that the state government has always been proactive in relation to safety of lives. According to the Speaker, prior to the confirmation of the first case of Coronavirus in Lagos, the state government had kept its antennae alert and had constantly enlightened the people concerning the health concern.…

The social networking site, Facebook, has pledged to partner with Federal Government to check the spread of fake news and disinformation in the wake of the outbreak of the Coronavirus in Nigeria. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who announced this at a news briefing in Abuja on Friday, said it’s obvious that the purveyors of fake news will scale up their act to create panic and spread disinformation, following the confirmation of the disease in Nigeria. “We know that at times like this, purveyors of fake news and disinformation usually ramp up their acts. We are…

World Health Organization has called for the promotion of regular and thorough hand-washing hygiene saying coronavirus (COVID-19) can be contacted when someone infected coughs or exhales. The global health body said that people can contract the virus if droplets of infected fluid fell on nearby surfaces and objects such as desks, tables or telephones. “People could catch COVID-19 by touching contaminated surfaces or objects and then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. If they are standing within 1 or 2 meters of a person with COVID-19 they can catch it by breathing in droplets coughed out or exhaled by them.…

A CORONAVIRUS case has been reported in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial city. An Italian who travelled into Lagos tested positive, Commissioner for Health Prof. Akin Abayomi said in a statement early this morning. The statement by the commissioner said: “The case is an Italian citizen who entered Nigeria on the 25th of February from Milan, Italy for a brief business visit. “He fell ill on the 26th February and was transferred to Lagos State Biosecurity Facilities for isolation and testing.  COVID-19 infection was confirmed by the Virology Laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, part of the Laboratory Network of the…

Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, said on Thursday, 27 February, 2020,  that his administration has started reaching out to former office holders in the state, who have been discovered to have withheld state’s resources, to return same or risk being reported to the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC). The Governor, who gave the hint while receiving the chairman of ICPC, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye and his management team in his office, said that the state government “expects that the former office holders would cooperate with it and return funds traced to them.” A statement signed by…

The government of Oyo State said on Thursday that no life was lost in the attack on the Ibadan Municipal Grammar School, Oke-Bola, Ibadan by yet-to-be-identified hoodlums. A statement by the State’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, which was endorsed by the Commissioner, Barrister Olasunkanmi Olaleye, indicated that the administration would take proactive measures to curb cases of frequent clashes between hoodlums and students of its public schools. The statement quoted the Permanent Secretary, Oyo State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), Mrs. Olabisi Oderinde, who visited the scene of the incident as refuting the report that the clash was between…

•By Dare Ojelade, Lagos The Lagos State Government has given traders and business owners at the Lagos Island Central Business District (CBD) one to remove all illegal extensions on all buildings located within the CBD, The Gazelle News.com reports.  The State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, The Gazelle News.com reports further gave the directive on Thursday, 27 February, 2020 in Lagos.  This medium reports also that Governor Sanwo-Olu gave the order at an inter-ministerial stakeholders meeting which took place at the Onikan Youth Centre.  “The removal of the illegal extention is needed to pave way for the massive renewal of the…

Seyi Makinde’s Vituperation In his infantile concoction and imagination, the Lone Ranger in South West Nigerian politics , Seyi Makinde exhibits laughable exuberance that at best can only be taken as the hallucination of a drunken moron when he says Lagos APC should be ready for defeat in 2023. His chance victory in his state obviously beclouds his sanity hence his tall dream and wild goose chase of the north east whirlwind. Whatever gives Seyi Makinde this inordinate imagination or expectation, it is obvious he is bereft of the dynamics and workings of grassroots politics generally and that of Lagos…

A prosecution witness, Dr. Musa A. Musa, on Thursday, February 27, 2020 narrated before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja how Shamshudeen Bala, son of the former FCT minister and now Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, made payments for three units of four bedroom semi-detatched duplexes, located in Apo and Guzape areas of Abuja  in the name of two companies: Bal-Vac Mining Nigeria Limited and Diakin Telecommunications Limited. Dr. Musa was the general managing director and chief executive officer of the Abuja Investment Company Limited at the time of the purchase of the properties. He revealed that the defendant…

Former Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has appealed the ruling of a Lagos High court which struck out a suit seeking to stop the State House of Assembly from probing him over the procurement of 820 buses meant to revolutionize public transportation in the State. The lawmakers suspended the probe after Ambode secured a court order which directed parties to the suit to maintain status quo. However, in a ruling to the interlocutory action filed by the governor on Thursday, 27 February, 2020, Justice Yetunde Adesanya who presided over the matter struck out the suit by the former…

The Senate on Thursday, 27 February, 2020, considered a bill to provide enabling framework that would legalize all forms of electronic transactions undertaken in Nigeria. The bill, if passed and signed into law, will prohibit and criminalize online fraud, and also make it legally possible to admit evidence of electronic transactions between parties in court during proceedings. Sponsor of the bill, Senator Ibikunle Amosun (APC – Ogun Central), said the online transactions in the United States reached three trillion dollars in 2014 alone. According to the lawmaker, online transactions account for well over ten trillion dollars in sales of goods…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, February 27, 2020 kicked against move by Prof Maurice Iwu, former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to transfer a fraud case involving him to Abuja. The EFCC is prosecuting Iwu on a four-count charge, bordering on money laundering to the tune of N1,203,000,000.00 (One Billion, Two Hundred and Three Million Naira), before Justice Oweibo of the Federal High Court, Lagos. He is alleged to have concealed the sum between December 2014 and March 27, 2015 in an account, belonging to Bioresources Institute of Nigeria Limited, domiciled in the…