Army sacks Jonathan, Yar’Adua’s ex-ADCs, 58 others
The Nigerian Army Council has retired a former Aide de Camp to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan; Col. Ojogbane Adegbe; a former Principal Secretary to an ex -National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.); Col. Nicholas Achinze, a former ADC to the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, Brig. Gen. A. H. Sa’ad; and 57 other senior officers. Read more
Buhari, Saraki, others mourn ex-Eagles coach
Tributes have continued to pour in for the late Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Federation, Shuaibu Amodu, who died at the age of 58.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday described last week as a sad one for Nigerian football.
The President made his position known in a message he posted on his official Twitter handle, @NGRPresident. “This is indeed a sad week for Nigerian football, and Nigerian sports in general. May the soul of Amodu Shuaibu rest in peace. Amen,” the President wrote. Read more
No June 12 holiday in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo
Indications have emerged that this year’s celebration of the anniversary of the June 12, 1993 presidential election in the South-West may not be marked with the usual.
Unlike what obtained before, only Osun State declared a public holiday for the event while Lagos will only hold a talk cum symposium. Other states, investigations, revealed, have no definite programmes lined up for the day. There are six states in the South-West geo-political zone. Read more
Parties, ex-legislators differ on age limit for contestants
The bill seeking to reduce the age limit for Nigerians aspiring to be elected as presidents and governors from the current 40 years and above to 30 and above, has elicited divergent views from a cross section of the political class.
While some consider the development a healthy one, others expressed reservations on the intent and workability of the bill if it became law. Read more
Fuel scarcity looms in Rivers, Bayelsa
Residents of Rivers and Bayelsa states may face scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit also known as petrol as the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers has ordered owners of filling stations in the two states to shut down operations and join its ongoing strike. Read more
Army kills 10 insurgents, rescue woman, baby
The Nigerian Army has killed 10 Boko Haram insurgents and rescued a woman with her baby in Borno State.
The Army Public Relations Director, Sani Usman, in a statement issued on Saturday, said two insurgents, who were also captured alive, were being interrogated. Read more
Embrace dialogue, Tompolo urges N’Delta Avengers
Former Leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Mr. Government Ekpemupolo otherwise called Tompolo, has urged the Niger Delta Avengers to accept the Federal Government’s offer of an olive branch to it in order to resolve the crisis in the region.
He also appealed to the members of the group to stop attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta region. Read more
Economic crisis: We won’t bail out banks with public funds – FG
The Federal Government has ruled out any possibility of providing bailout funds to banks to boost their operations, following the gale of job losses in the banking sector in the last two weeks.
A top government official told one of our correspondents on Saturday that it would be wrong for the government to bail out the banks with pubic funds because all the other sectors of the economy were faced with one challenge or the other. Read more
Listen to Nigerians on Way Forward, Obi of Onitsha Urges Buhari
The Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnemeka Achebe, Saturday said the solution to the myriad problems besetting the nation lie within the Nigerian people themselves, and urged President Muhammadu Buhari to listen to the people. Read more
Ambode Appoints 57 Sole Administrators for LGs
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode Saturday approved the appointment of new sole administrators expected to oversee the 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the State. Read more
House C’ttee on Procurement Orders Post Procurement Audit of Federal Housing Authority
The House of Representatives Committee on Public Procurement has ordered an audit into the procurement processes of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) between 2011 and 2015.
This is as it also opened investigations into allegations of fraudulent practices by the interim Management and Managing Director of FHA, Prof. Mohammed Al-Amin, following a petition filed before the House Committee on Public Petitions. Read more
CAN Charges FG, Northern Govs on Security of Christians
Following recent hostilities against Christians across some states in the North, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has charged the Federal Government to do everything to ensure that adequate security is provided for the lives and properties of Christians in the region. Read more
Katsina: Succour For 2015 Flood Victims
Recently, help came the way of families who were displaced by a horrendous flood incidence that affected several communities across 17 local government areas of Katsina state as the Aliko Dangote-led presidential committee on flood relief donated relief materials worth millions of naira to them. Read more
Wike is an Agent of Genuine Development, Says Mark
Former Senate President, Senator David Mark has commended Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike for using his mandate to positively change the developmental outlook of the state.
Mark, who stated this while commissioning the 8-kilometre Ozuoba-Ogbogoro-Rumuolumeni road in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area on Saturday, also described Wike as agent of “true change” who has improved the living condition of the people by the delivery of democracy dividends. Read more
South Korea to Build N3bn Model School in Abuja
The Republic of Korea has initiated plans for a Korea Model School in Abuja. The project is conceived under the multilateral cooperation between Nigeria and Korea. It is to be built along the Airport road and will cost $15 million (about N3 billion).
Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Noh Kyu-duk, who led a delegation from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), to the Minister of FCT, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, described the project as one of the largest bilateral projects between the two countries. Read more
INEC Urges Tribunal to Dismiss APC Candidate Petition against Mark
he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has urged the National Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal sitting in Makurdi, to dismiss the petition filed by the defeated All Progressives Congress (APC), candidate at the last Benue South senatorial rerun election, Mr. Daniel Onjeh, on the ground that it was time and status barred. Read more
BUHARI’S MEDICAL TREATMENT AND MATTERS ARISING
Muhammadu Buhari, the nation’s President and Commander-In-Chief, is ill and has taken a sick leave to the United Kingdom (UK) to sort out his health issues. He has therefore, transferred his powers to Professor Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice President, for 10 days.
The president, according to reports, is battling a hearing defect, which medical doctors refer to as Endolymphatic Hydrops, also known as a Meniere’s disease. This can impair hearing and may lead to problems with balancing. Read more
Enugu: Political Undertone Of Alleged Renewed Herdsmen Attack
The recent false alarm in some sections of the media that Fulani herdsmen returned to the once traumatised Nimbo community in Uzo-Uwani local government area of Enugu State, raped women and threatened to unleash more terror on the community is not only unfortunate and costly, but also a hoax embedded with political undertones. Read more
SON Destroys Tyres, Cables worth N5m in Enugu
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Saturday in Enugu warned manufacturers and importers of substandard products to retrace their steps, vowing that anybody found to be dealing on such products would not only have such goods confiscated and destroyed but would also face prosecution in line with the laws. Read more
Primate Ayodele: God is angry with Nigeria
Primate Elijah Babatunde Ayodele is Head and Spiritual Leader of Inri Spiritual and Evangelical Church, Oke-Afa, Isolo, Lagos. Sunday Vanguard was with him recently during which his past prophecies were reviewed.
He said God is angry with Nigeria, explaining that it is the reason things were not going on well with the country. He, however, in fulfilment of his promise to, as directed by the Lord, gather prophets across Nigeria to pray for the country as President Muhammadu Buhari alone could not do it, said he and some other prophets had started praying for Nigeria. Read more
Catholic church threatens to pull out of CAN
Feelers indicated that Dr. Jeremiah Gado, the candidate of TEKAN/ECWA bloc and alleged government candidate for the CAN presidency, has approached an Abuja High Court for unlawful denial as a candidate in the election. It was learnt that the TEKAN/ECWA candidate was actually looking for an interim injunction to stop the election but the court refused to grant the request. The court instead asked that the parties be put on notice and served to enable them appear before it on Tuesday. Read more
Militants split over FG, Avengers’ negotiations
The militants were at loggerheads also over the former ‘General Officer Commanding’, GOC, of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta, MEND, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, who had denied involvement in the bombings in the oil-rich region, but his name keeps springing up. Read more
June 12 men, 23 years after: Where are they now?
PHENOMENAL! This ten-letter word best describes the June 12, 1993 presidential election presumably won by the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, fondly called MKO. Of all elections that preceded the exercise in Nigeria, June 12 stood out in every sense. Read more
Gov Ishaku denies donation of land for grazing
The governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku, has denied that his state was in any agreement or among the eleven states that donated 55,000 hectares of land for the implementation of federal government’s programe for grazing reserves. Read more
Olukemi Mimiko goes after men who sexually abuse girls
THE wife of Ondo State governor, Mrs Oluwakemi Mimiko, is in the vanguard of the battle to protect women and the girl-child against batterers and abusers. She took exception to men who batter their wives and called for workable policies to punish perpetrators of violence against women and the girl-child. Read more
Shock as Army fires 200 officers
There was shock in the Nigerian Army, with some hinting of ethnic and religious cleansing, as close to 200 officers including major generals were retired, on Friday, following what the authorities said was a consequence of service exigencies. Read more
6 Days to Edo APC Gov, Primary: How Obaseki, Odubu, Airhiavere, others stand
It is now 6 days to the gubernatorial primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, scheduled for June 18, 2016. Expectedly, the contenders for the ticket are at war. The Benin Leaders of Thought (BLT), a socio-cultural organization led by the Enogie of Obazuwa, Prince Edun Akenzua, had recently endorsed five aspirants of the APC for the epic battle and there is doubt that any of the five will carry the day as it seems in the coming primaries of the party. Read more
‘ FUTA Three’ killed on the ‘eve of graduation’
To conclude that the death of three final year and a 300- level students of the Federal University of Technology Akure, FUTA, Ondo State in an auto crash was sad and painful is an understatement.
No word is too big to describe the agony of the parents and family members of the students who had gone far in their education. Read more
Significantly Higher Inflation Projected for May
Analysts at Dunn Loren Merrifield Asset Management Ltd and FSDH Securities Ltd have predicted a significant increase in inflation for the month of May over the position in April. They blame the increasing rate of inflation on higher transport costs due to the increase in the pump price of petroleum motor spirit (PMS) and the effect of the prevalent foreign exchange crisis. Read more
FG plans fresh financial relief package for states
The Federal Government, yesterday, said it is finalizing a conditional Budget Support Facility to provide financial relief to state governments based on the states meeting a set of stringent fiscal conditions. Read more
Delayed Forex Policy Guidelines Unsettling Markets
As the euphoria that greeted the announcement of a policy shift in the foreign exchange administration in the country from a state-controlled regime to one that leans towards market-driven framework ebb, despondency appear to be growing in its place largely due to the continued delay in the release of the guidelines for the new forex policy.
The CBN had announced the new regime on May 24, upon the completion of its quarterly Monetary Policy Meeting (MPC). Read more
Inflation: Coping with decreased purchasing power
Despite attempts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to rescue the naira in the face of dwindling revenue, the efforts have so far failed to yield positive result, as the economy is having a toll on homes and business operators.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in April, that Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation, recorded a relatively strong increase for the third consecutive month. The headline index, it said, increased by 13.7 per cent against 12.8 per cent recorded in March. Read more
LCCI to hold dialogue on international trade relations
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), and the organised private sector (OPS) in Nigeria, will hold a Dialogue Session on Nigeria’s International Trade Relations.
The programme is aimed at examining the current status of the nation’s trade policies in line with the developments in the global economy. The session is scheduled to hold this week in Lagos. Read more
FG generates N586.17bn from taxes in 90 days
The Federal Government generated a total sum of N586.17bn as tax revenue through the Federal Inland Revenue Service in the first quarter of this year, a document showing the fiscal position of government has shown.
An analysis of the document, obtained by our correspondent from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation on Friday, indicated that the tax revenue generated within the period indicated a shortfall of N170.54bn when compared to the N756.71bn earned in the first quarter of 2015. Read more
Four banks lost N17bn in three months
The slowdown in the economy, which has led to a high rate of non-performing loans in the banking system, made four banks to lose at least N17bn in profits in the first quarter of this year, results of the financial institutions posted on the website of the Nigerian Stock Exchange have shown. Read more
Local firms pay more for gas than foreign buyers
Nigerian firms pay about 200 per cent more for gas to power their operations than importers of the product and manufacturers using gas in other countries, an investigation by SUNDAY PUNCH has shown.
Specifically, local manufacturers say they pay $7.38 for 1000 standard cubic feet of gas while the product sells for less than $3 outside Nigeria. Read more
Militant attacks: Calls to diversify electricity mix deepen
The recent upsurge in militant attacks on oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta, the source of fuel for about 70 per cent of the nation’s power plants, has again brought to the fore the need for the government to diversify the power generation mix.
The country generates most of its electricity from gas-fired power plants, while output from hydro-power plants makes up about 30 per cent of total generation. Read more
Stocks plunge further amidst bleak economic outlook
Global Markets: Global markets traded mostly in positive territory for the first two sessions of the past week following sustained uptick in oil prices, a positive European data (GDP grew 1.7% y/y in Q1’2016) and comments from the Fed chair that quelled concerns about a rate hike in June. However, buying momentum scaled back significantly for the rest of the week, sending most bourses well into the red as renewed concerns over the health of the global economy after weaker Chinese trade data and a downward revision in world bank’s growth forecast to 2.4% (previous: 2.9%) for 2016 weighed on investor sentiment. Read more
U-20 AFCON: Burundi fall to Nigeria in Calabar
VICTOR Osimhen and Captain Kelechi Nwakali secured Nigeria’s place in the third round of the U-20 Afcon 2017 qualifiers as Emmanuel Amuneke’s men wrapped up the business in Calabar 2-1 on Saturday.
The Flying Eagles had secured a vital away win a fortnight ago in Bujumbura but did not look like letting up as they dominated the second leg of the encounter from the blast of the whistle. Read more
Nigerians Mourn Amodu
Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, was among many personalities who sent condolences to the family of former Super Eagles coach, Shuaibu Amodu, who died on Saturday morning. Osinbajo said the nation was shocked by Shaibu’s death.
He said: ”Coming just four days after the death of former player and coach, Stephen Keshi, Nigeria has lost yet another dedicated public servant who worked tirelessly to bring honour to our country. He led the national team to two World Cup tournaments and answered the call to serve as national coach on a number of occasions. Read more
75% of Nigerian coaches are hypertensive – Bewarang
President of the Nigeria Football Coaches Association, Bitrus Bewarang has expressed shock at the sudden death of former Chief coach of the Super Eagles Amodu Shuaibu, a few days after the death of Coach Stephen Keshi who, like Amodu, also died in Benin City. Read more
Patched-up Italy ready for Euros
Plagued by injuries to his creative midfielders and without a talisman up front, Italy coach Antonio Conte is banking on a workmanlike team full of energy to outfox Belgium’s exciting young forwards when they meet on Monday.
The Euro 2016 Group E match comes ahead of tough encounters against Ireland and Sweden giving neither side much respite should they lose the first game in Lyon. Read more
Jamie Vardy’s wife ‘TEAR GASSED and CAGED during violence at England and Russia match’
Rebekah Vardy, 34, posted a photo on Twitter of her enjoying a pint before the 8 o’clock kick-off against Russia with the caption: “In with the carnage amongst the England fans…”
But as supporters clashed with French police and tear gas was deployed, the mum-of-three tweeted her disgust at the “shocking” scenes. Read more
Bridge too far? Makers of 300m high glass skywalk invite journalist to repeatedly slam it with a sledgehammer to prove its safety
A journalist has tested the safety of a 430-metre-long glass bridge by slamming it with a sledgehammer.
The makers of the world’s longest and highest glass-bottomed bridge in Central China’s Zhangziazie Grand Canyon invited BBC’s Dan Simmons to try to smash his way through the panels – some 300 metres above the ground. The stunt was intended to promote the safety of the skywalk, after another glass bridge in China was reportedly shattered when a tourist dropped a mug in September, causing panicked crowds to flee in terror. Read more
Muslim farmers build church for Christian neighbours
Muslim farmers in a village in near the city of Gojra in Pakistan’s Punjab province are putting their savings together and helping build a church for the Christians in their neighbourhood.
How does such tolerance and harmony exist in a place known for religious violence? Read more
Dutch woman arrested in Qatar after reporting rape
A 22-year-old Dutch woman is being held in Qatar on suspicion of adultery after she said she was raped while on holiday there, her lawyer said Saturday. The woman says she was drugged in a hotel, and only realised she had been raped when she woke up in an unfamiliar apartment.
“She was arrested in March on suspicion of adultery, which means having sex outside marriage,” which is outlawed in Qatar, lawyer Brian Lokollo said. Read more
HP CEO Whitman compares Trump to Hitler, Mussolini
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co chief executive and Republican donor Meg Whitman reiterated her opposition to Donald Trump as the party’s presidential nominee and compared him to fascist leaders Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, according to media and two sources.
Whitman made the comment Friday at a conference hosted by previous Republican nominee Mitt Romney, while she challenged U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan on his endorsement of Trump, the Washington Post reported on Saturday. Read more
