Author: Chief Editor

The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday, in Rivers State, has said despite the number of aspirants vying for the All Progressives Congress presidential ticket, they must be willing to rally around and support whoever emerges candidate in the forthcoming primary elections. This was as he said there was no need for hostility among aspirants as the ultimate goal remained the country’s unity. According to a statement signed on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, Osinbajo spoke in Rivers in continuation of his nationwide consultations with stakeholders and delegates of the APC. The…

Local Content drivers in Africa have advocated a robust approach to foster more home-grown sustainable technology solutions and deliberate investment in research and development, with the focus on building a more realistic economic framework for sustainability and professional capacity across the African continent. Championing the call was the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr Simbi Wabote, while moderating a local content session at the ongoing 8th African Petroleum Congress & Exhibition, CAPE VIII, holding in Luanda, Angola. Speaking on the theme ‘Energy Transition: Challenges and Opportunities in the African Oil and Gas Industry’, Wabote…

Vice President and presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has insisted that his party has the potential to give the country the best, including development. The VP who stressed the need for continuous unity of the party, expressed confidence that APC will return back to the presidency in 2023. Osinbajo stated this yesterday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during a meeting with critical stakeholders of the party in continuation of his nationwide consultations ahead of the primaries. Responding to questions from journalists at the end of the meeting, on the party unresolved…

Govt suspends accountant general over alleged N80b fraud Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has condemned “the manipulation of the justice system to favour influential politicians facing corruption charges in Nigeria.” Falana stated this, yesterday, in a paper, titled, ‘Sentencing Rich and Poor Convicts In Nigeria: An Unbalanced Scale’, delivered as the Inaugural Public Lecture of the Department of Public and International Law, Faculty of Law, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Oyo State. Falana said: “Some personalities in the society seem to be the ‘untouchables.’ Since they have the money, they can influence and manipulate the justice system in their favour.…

Niran Adedokun Every day, Nigeria gets worse in its dehumanisation of people. Imagine this: an ordinary citizen who works as a security guard for a state ministry does his best to send his daughter to school. It is doubtful that the Niger State government, where he works, pays the N30,000 minimum wage that the Federal Government and the Nigerian Labour Congress agreed on a couple of years back. But, anyhow, there’s no chance that this man earns more than that amount monthly. Between him and his wife, there are eight children. From the N30,000 he earns, ten people would…

Abimbola Adelakun On Monday, two suspects arrested over the killing of Deborah Samuel, a Christian student killed in Sokoto, appeared in court. According to the police prosecutor, the suspects, Bilyaminu Aliyu and Aminu Hukunci, led the mob that lynched Deborah. As for the ones that actually killed her, I suppose we have to wait to see how and when the state will take on their own case. Also, given the Nigerian Police’s history of botching the case of poor victims of Islamic violence in that region of the country (remember Bridget Agbahime?), I am hoping they are earnest in…

Rafael Nadal tested out his injured foot in his first practice at the French Open on Wednesday without any obvious discomfort. Nadal, the 13-time champion at Roland Garros, delighted fans who packed two sides of the 15,000-capacity Court Philippe Chatrier in the baking Paris sun. Welcomed by the watching Stefanos Tsitsipas, the world number four who was runner-up at the tournament in 2021, Nadal hit with Spanish compatriot Jaume Munar. It was the 35-year-old Nadal’s first public appearance since suffering a recurrence of a chronic foot injury in his Italian Open third-round loss to Denis Shapovalov last week. “I’m not…

Rights group Amnesty International on Thursday urged football’s governing body FIFA pay compensation equal to the total 2022 World Cup prize money for migrant workers “abused” in host nation Qatar. The call, backed by other rights organisations and fan groups, follows allegations that FIFA was slow to safeguard against the exploitation of workers who flooded into the tiny Gulf state to build infrastructure in the years leading up to the tournament that starts November 21. “FIFA should earmark at least $440 million to provide a remedy for the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who have suffered human rights abuses…

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed that Timo Werner, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ben Chilwell will definitely miss their clash against Leicester City. He also raised question marks over the availability of Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic. The Blues will host the Foxes at Stamford Bridge on Thursday (19 May) in the Premier League. However, based on Tuchel’s recent updates, they could be undermanned going into the game. The German tactician was asked for injury updates in his pre-match press conference, specifically regarding Havertz, Werner, Chilwell and Kovacic. Tuchel responded (as quoted by Nizaar Kinsella on Twitter): “(On Havertz) Big question mark. (On Werner) Out…

Barcelona are believed to be keen to sign a left-back this summer to provide adequate cover and competition to veteran defender Jordi Alba. The club identified Benfica full-back Alejandro Grimaldo as a potential transfer target. However, they have reportedly dropped out of the race to sign the 26-year-old due to ‘economic circumstances’. According to Mundo Deportivo, the Blaugrana are planning to spend big on a ‘top’ striker this summer. The club are also expected to sign a new left-back. They have reportedly identified Valencia left-back Jose Gaya and Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso as alternatives to Alejandro Grimaldo. Jose Gaya has been a stalwart at left-back for…