Author: Chief Editor

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, yesterday, said the electoral body would ensure implementation of direct primary as passed by the National Assembly as soon as it is assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari. The INEC boss, at an interactive meeting with senior journalists in Lagos, said he had the political will to implement any law that would advance democracy in Nigeria. By this declaration, the electoral body might have put to rest speculations by opponents of direct primary that INEC may not have the capacity to supervise direct mode of electing party’s candidates if…

On Tuesday, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, announced the Federal Government’s plans to remove fuel subsidies by mid-2022. To justify the fuel subsidy removal, Ahmed echoed the same old criticism of the subsidies being unsustainable. To couch the effect of the hardship sure to follow, she added that they would be giving a N5,000 monthly grant to 30 to 40 million poor and deserving Nigerians. We need not waste time debating which class of Nigerians should qualify as “deserving,” given how much their shabby economic policies have depreciated the quality of life. Things have been…

• Says no talk with FG on palliative, demands domestic refining • Senate: No N5,000 transport allowance payment for 40 million Nigerians in 2022 budget • FG to transfer transport subsidy payment digitally for at least six months • Why labour opposes subsidy removal, by Esele • HURIWA charges Nigerians to reject FG plan The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected the proposed N5,000 for 40 million poor Nigerians when the subsidy on Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) is removed. NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, said in Abuja last night that there are no ongoing talks between labour and the Federal Government,…

•Maintains stance on Lekki incident •Panel concocted ‘massacre in context,’ Lai Mohammed insists The federal government yesterday officially reacted to the report of the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry (JPI) set up by the Lagos state government to probe the October 20, 2020 #EndSARs protest, insisting that there was nothing in the document to compel it to change its stand on the matter. The government which had long held that there was no evidence of the killing of protesters, who among others, were demanding an end to police brutality, dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and harassment of young…

• N5billion budget inadequate for sports, says Senate Committee boss The Chairman, Senate Committee on Sports and Youth Development, Senator Obinna Ogba, has cautioned sports enthusiasts, who have been calling for the sack of the Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, to exercise some patience. Speaking after defending the 2022 budget of the ministry before the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Ogba said that sacking of a coach is not as easy as they think because it is a contract. Many Nigerians were not impressed by the Super Eagles lacklustre performance against Cape Verde, which ended 1-1. Hence, sports enthusiasts have been…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, over allegation of forgery and manipulation of documents. It was learnt that the former minister was arrested yesterday to answer questions on possible forgery of hospital documents to hoodwink the court handling the case against him on money laundering with a view to stalling hearing. He is currently being grilled at the Lagos office of the commission. EFCC’s spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the arrest of the former minister to The Guardian. The anti-graft agency had charged Fani-Kayode alongside a former Minister of State for…

The Senate Committee on Environment, yesterday, said it had discovered some N16 billion included in the 2022 budget of the Ministry of Environment for servicing of debts believed to have been collected by state governments. Chairman of the panel, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, made the revelation during the presentation of his committee’s report before the Senate Committee on Appropriation in Abuja. He claimed that about N6 billion was also added to the ministry’s 2021 budget, for which it was queried by the committee, stating, “only for it to be brought back in next year’s budget, this time to the tune of…

Sports minister, Sunday Dare, may have thrown his weight behind the choice of a local coach to take over the Super Eagles coaching job. Speaking during TotalEnergies AFCON Trophy Tour in Lagos, yesterday, Dare spoke glowingly on the exploits of Nigerian ex-players, who led the Super Eagles to success in past editions of the competition. “At the 1980 AFCON, a 16-year-old schoolboy, Henry Nwosu, was in the Nigerian squad. Alongside established stars like Best Ogedegbe, Segun Odegbami, Muda Lawal, Felix Owolabi, Christian Chukwu and others, and they delivered Nigeria’s first-ever AFCON title. The entire nation stood still for them. “Many…

Ahead of the December 1 deadline for the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal civil servants, the Federal Government has warned employees who love their jobs to go and get vaccinated. Despite criticisms that have trailed the directive, which was first announced in September, the Federal Government, yesterday, insisted that its decision was in the best interest of Nigerians. Recall that the chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, had announced that effective December 1, 2021, unvaccinated Federal Government workers won’t be allowed access into any public offices, as part of measures…

Tayo Oke Two weeks ago, November 8, 2021, Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, sentenced the former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, to a total of 61 years imprisonment for embezzling more than N2bn of Nigerian pensioners’ funds, “most of whom have died without reaping the fruits of their labour,” the judge opined. In a country where the big guys are rarely prosecuted for grand larceny, let alone convicted, it generated significant shock waves, topping the news headlines for several days. Could it be that Nigeria is finally ready to…