Author: Chief Editor

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, has urged Nigerians not to use the proposed Fifth Generation (5G) Technology against the unity of the nation. Pantami made the appeal at the virtual, 10th edition of the Nigeria Internet Governance Forum (NIGF 2021), organised by Nigeria Internet Governance Forum Multistakeholder Advisory Group (NIGF-MAG), led by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Abuja. The theme of the forum was: “Internet That Works For All”, with sub-themes in the areas like accessibility, infrastructure, policy and regulation, and capacity building and development. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the yearly…

Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said a myriad of problems facing the country is the most challenging since the civil war. Nigeria president made the claim in his speech to mark Nigeria’s 61st independence anniversary. Buhari stated that “the past eighteen months have been some of the most difficult periods in the history of Nigeria.” Continuing, Buhari said, “since the civil war, I doubt whether we have seen a period of more heightened challenges than what we have witnessed in this period.” Nigeria’s civil war between 1967 and 1970 saw over three million persons killed and more than seven…

Tunisia’s crisis-stricken economy will be a top priority for the new government of prime minister-designate Najla Bouden, after a decade of political instability that has stymied foreign investment. Heavily in debt, with spiralling inflation and widespread unemployment worsened by the coronavirus pandemic, Tunisia is hoping for a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund. But talks have been suspended since President Kais Saied on July 25 sacked the government, suspended parliament and seized a range of executive powers, later moving to rule by decree. On Wednesday, he charged Bouden, a political unknown with a background in geology, with forming a…

Olivier Giroud has again been left out of the France squad while N’Golo Kante is sidelined for next week’s UEFA Nations League finals in Italy. Giroud was celebrating his 35th birthday on Thursday but he did not mark the occasion with a recall to coach Didier Deschamps’ squad, having already been dropped for a series of World Cup qualifiers at the start of September. The AC Milan striker, who sits just five goals away from equalling Thierry Henry’s all-time record tally of 51 for Les Bleus, also recently tested positive for Covid-19. Kante, like Giroud a key part of the…

The long-awaited findings of a probe into crimes committed under Gambia’s former dictator Yahya Jammeh, which were to be released on Thursday, have been delayed, investigators said. A panel called the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) had been scheduled to ceremonially hand over its findings to President Adama Barrow. But the final report will now be released at a later date, a member of the TRRC told AFP, saying, “We are not yet ready.” The TRRC was set up in 2017 following Jammeh’s defeat to Barrow in elections in December 2016. After a six-week standoff that ended in military…

Jide Ojo Periodic elections are one of the cardinal principles of any democracy. It is not enough to hold elections but such polls must be deemed free, fair, peaceful and credible.  This is a sensitive exercise given the fact that it is a political and governance leadership recruitment exercise. Nigeria’s electoral democracy started in 1923 after the enactment of the 1922 Clifford Constitution.  This 98-year old journey has been characterised by all manner of intrigues, charades and shenanigans so much so that the Transition Monitoring Group official report after the 2003 general election was titled, “Do the votes count?” It…

The House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence has urged the Department of State Security (DSS) to explore artificial intelligence and other advanced upscale technologies in combating insecurity in the country. The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Shaban Sharada (APC-Kano), made the call yesterday in Abuja, during an oversight function visit to evaluate the 2020 budget performance of the DSS. Sharada said that more than ever before, Nigeria is faced with varieties of security challenges ranging from kidnapping, banditry and separationist agitations and communal clashes. These security challenges, he said, had continued to negatively affect the wellbeing of…

The assassination of Dr Chike Akunyili on Tuesday night diminishes our country. It is a direct assault on our humanity. He was the widower of Professor Dora Akunyili, the amazon who blazed the trail at the National Agency for Foods, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and later served as the Minister of Information under President Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. What happened was a massacre as Dr Akunyili’s security detail, his driver and two other persons were all killed. Dora must still be awake in heaven as her son just escaped the bloodbath when he decided to ride…

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said Nigerians without National Identity Number (NIN) would soon be denied the opportunity of acquiring driving licences and passports. NCC spokesman Dr Ikechukwu Adinde said NCC’s Digital Signature radio programme that the October 31 deadline for linking NIN-SIM remains. “Soon, people without NIN will be denied of necessary services that play vital roles in their lives including acquisition of driving licence, passport,” Adinde said. On the benefits of the NIN-SIM integration, Adinde said the exercise will significantly enhance national security. He noted that NIN is the primary identity for Nigerians and stressed that it is…

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has said that his administration has formally requested the federal government to enforce the shutdown of telecoms services in parts of the state identified by security agencies as requiring such measures. The Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, made this known on Wednesday in Kaduna while addressing newsmen on the development. According to the governor in a statement, relevant federal agencies have already informed the state government that the processes for telecommunications shutdown in parts of the state have started. He said it was part of the steps being taken to…