Author: Chief Editor

The governorship candidate of the Labour Party, in Abia State, Alex Otti, says time has come to reclaim Abia from “rudderless leadership” plaguing the state for over two decades. He stated this in a message to the people of Abia, saying that voting the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) out of Government House Umuahia should be achieved in 2023. The Labour Party governorship flag bearer called on Abia electorate to vote for good governance, describing 2023 as a “crucial” year “when you and I shall have the great opportunity we have been yearning for to reclaim our dear state of…

•Says sector now contributes N10bn to Nigerian economy •Fixes March for preferred bidder in Ajaokuta steel deal The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Lekan Adegbite, yesterday revealed that it was impossible for the federal government to halt the activities of illegal minerals miners in the country due to Nigeria’s vast size. Speaking on Arise Television, THISDAY’s broadcast arm, the minister noted that as it is, the nation cannot pre-empt illegal mining operators, stressing however, that wherever they are found, they will be dealt with according to the law. Adegbite explained that the federal government had begun to organise the…

•Melaye: Former VP’s only offence was that he defeated him in transparent primary election •Rivers Governor: I never meant to mock PDP presidential candidate The campaign office of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, yesterday described the recent outbursts by Governor of Rivers state, Mr. Nyesom Wike, as a man dancing like a village masquerade. In recent months, Wike has taken out time to attack Atiku, who defeated him during the PDP presidential primaries. In a statement tagged: “Wike’s Nonsensical Gaffe,” the Special Assistant, Public Communication to Atiku, Phrank Shaibu, quoting Proverbs 14:17 in…

The Peoples Democratic Party has said that the endorsement of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, by an elder statesman, and leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, Chief Edwin Clark, on Tuesday has further confirmed that the party must reconcile with the five aggrieved governors. The party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Ibrahim Abdullahi, said this in an interview with The PUNCH on Tuesday while reacting to the endorsement by Clark. Clark had announced the endorsement at a press conference in Abuja barely 48 hours after a similar endorsement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He said it was…

Public anger has been growing for months in Egypt over a severe dollar crunch and soaring food prices. But for many a money-saving tip from a state body has been the last straw. As families have struggled to purchase household staples, an Egyptian government agency praised an alternative, cheap protein source – “chicken feet, good for the body and the budget”. The advice drew widespread scorn on social media while lawmaker Karim al-Sadat slammed it as “divorced from the reality of the crisis.” The anger reflects the hardships of many in the Arab world’s most populous nation, which recently had…

The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Assessment and Status of All Recovered Loot Movable and Immovable Assets from 2002 to 2020 by Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria for Effective Efficient Management and Utilisation has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to prevent looters from recovering their loot in the ongoing auction of seized and forfeited assets. The committee’s Chairman, Adejoro Adeogun, while noting that his panel had earlier recommended speedy disposal of recovered loot, especially fixed assets, expressed the possibility of looters recovering the forfeited assets by proxy. Adeogun, however, stated that the committee would…

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Tuesday, said Nigeria will consider a request by the Burundian government to provide energy, especially in the form of fuel. According to a statement titled, ‘President Buhari assures Burundi of brotherly support’, signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari made the promise when he received the Minister of Finance, Budget, and Economic Planning of Burundi, Audace Niyonzima, at the State House, Abuja. According to Adesina, Buhari assured Niyonzima that Nigeria will support the Republic of Burundi in diverse ways as necessary, in the spirit…

The Independent National Electoral Commission has again cautioned Nigerians against a purported portal for the recruitment of ad hoc staff 2023 general election. INEC said this in a short message by Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, on Tuesday in Abuja. Oyekanmi said that the portal was fake as the commission was no longer recruiting for the election as its official website for recruitment had been shut down. He said, “The website/blog below is advertising ad hoc staff positions for the 2023 general election. “However, the commission is no longer recruiting ad hoc staff for the 2023 general…

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), said, on Tuesday, that Nigeria would pay N1.8 trillion ($4 billion) extra interest in 2023 if the National Assembly rejected a loan-to-bond swap request on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s overdrafts to the government. Buhari stated this during the signing into law of the 2023 budget of N21.83 trillion at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The Senate, last week, delayed a decision on the president’s request to convert $53 billion worth of central bank overdrafts to the government into 40-year bonds after some lawmakers questioned the plan. Speaking on…

A committee in Tudun Wada Local Government Area in Kano State, has revealed that it has discovered 130 hospitals and pharmacies run by quack doctors, some of which are Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination holders. The committee set up by the Local Government Chairman, Alhaji Tijjani Matata, also said it discovered during its investigation that one of the fake doctors is an electrical engineer who owned an eight-bed hospital that claimed to treat different illnesses. The Chairman of the committee, Alhaji Abubakar Karafe also told newsmen that one of the fake doctors infused HIV-positive blood in a woman that came…