Author: Chief Editor

Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has cancelled the ongoing process for the appointment of a substantive Vice Chancellor of the Lagos State University (LASU). In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Gboyega Akosile, Sanwo-Olu, who is also the Visitor to Lagos LASU, further directed that a fresh process that would terminate in 45 days should commence immediately. He said that the decision on the cancellation came after a thorough investigation and stakeholders engagement, which were necessitated by various petitions against the selection process. The governor said that he was inundated with petitions arising from the selection…

Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State says his government is already investigating the reports of alleged highhandedness of some personnel of the Western Nigeria Security Network; code-named ‘Amotekun’. This is contained in a statement issued on Friday in Ibadan by Mankinde’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Taiwo Adisa. The statement said that Makinde’s reaction on his Twitter handle followed the recent face-off between some personnel of the Amotekun corps and some youths in Tapa town, Ibarapa North Local Government Area of the state. The governor stated that the matter would be addressed squarely in the interest of the security and wellbeing…

Britain on Friday approved a third Covid vaccine for its mass inoculation drive, as regulators gave the green light to a jab developed by US firm Moderna. Some 1.5 million people have been given doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines since early December, and the government is aiming to have 15 million inoculated by mid-February. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the approval of the Moderna jab by the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) was another shot in the arm for the programme. “This is further great news and another weapon in our arsenal to tame this…

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has been taken to hospital, a Swiss newspaper said Thursday, but media insisted the disgraced official’s life was not in danger. “My father is in hospital. He’s getting better every day. But he needs time and rest,” his daughter Corinne Blatter Andenmatten was quoted as saying by Blick, which said the 84-year-old was in a serious but non-life-threatening condition. “On behalf of my family, I ask for privacy,” his daughter said. Blatter was removed from office in 2015 after 17 years at the head of world football’s governing body. He was suspended from football for…

Mauricio Pochettino described getting the job as Paris Saint-Germain coach as a gift from Father Christmas, but his first game in charge, with Neymar absent, indicated that not everything will be straightforward for the Argentine. Pochettino’s first home game as coach comes on Saturday when PSG take on Brest following their 1-1 draw with Saint-Etienne in midweek, a result which left the reigning champions three points behind leaders Lyon at the top of Ligue 1. Absent since being stretchered off in the defeat against Lyon in December, Neymar could return this weekend, although PSG have other injury problems to contend…

The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 on Thursday expressed worry that presentation of fake COVID-19 test results by Nigerians travelling abroad tarnished the country’s image. The PTF Chairman, Mr Boss Mustapha, who is also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, expressed the worry at a briefing by the task force in Abuja. He said: “It has become embarrassing to note that some Nigerians continue to present fake results when travelling outside the shores of this country. ”This remains a major source of concern to the Federal Government.” According to Mustapha, the PTF has directed private laboratories to…

No fewer than two million Nigerians are living as internally displaced persons (IDP) as a result of terrorist activities in the North-east, as well as banditry and other forms of criminal activities in the North-west and other parts of the country, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouk, said yesterday. The minister, after leading a delegation to visit President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja, spoke on the level of dislocation that humanitarian crises had inflicted on Nigeria when answering questions from State House correspondents. According to her, the ministry has been…

The National Universities Commission (NUC) has directed vice-chancellors of universities to commence academic activities on January 18, in accordance with the directive of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) team on COVID-19. The nation’s public universities have been closed since March 2020, following a strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the lockdown occasioned by the curbs introduced to combat the spread of COVID-19 infections. The union suspended the strike on December 23, 2020 after the federal government met their demands, including paying the lecturers their outstanding salaries using an older payment platform, GIFMIS, different from the controversial…

•Vaccination to be televised to gain public support •Urges govs to enforce health regulations The federal government yesterday listed President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, among the first set of Nigerians to be administered with COVID-19 vaccines, when the country takes delivery of the first batch by the end of the month. The Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 press briefing in Abuja, said their vaccination would be televised to inspire public…

The World Health Organization’s European branch on Thursday said more needed to be done to deal with the alarming situation brought on by recently discovered variants of the novel coronavirus. The WHO’s regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, called the current situation “a tipping-point in the course of the pandemic.” While the new year “brings with it new opportunities and tools”, such as vaccines, Europe is also challenged by surging cases and new strains of the virus causing Covid-19. “This is an alarming situation, which means that for a short period of time we need to do more…