Author: Chief Editor

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, Senator Ali Ndume, has said that the Nigeria Army is underfunded. Ndume, who made the disclosure on Wednesday in Sokoto at the Nigeria Army 8 Divisional Headquarters, Kalambaina, during the committee’s oversight visit, added that they were at the army division so as to know whether the money appropriated for them is being judiciously used. According to him, the committee’s second mission is fact finding the various military operations going on in the North-west. “You aware that we have been briefed by the GOC and most of the information we shared are highly confidential,”…

Ronald Koeman has denied suggestions Lionel Messi is difficult to manage, insisting he has a good relationship with Barcelona’s captain. In an interview published in El Pais on Sunday, former Barca coach Quique Setien said he found it hard to handle Messi during his brief spell in charge last season. “There are players that aren’t easy to manage, and Leo is one of them,” Setien said. “I can’t do anything if those at the club have accepted him for how he is and haven’t changed him for years.” But Koeman defended Messi when Setien’s comments were put to him in…

Wales manager and Manchester United great Ryan Giggs has denied “all allegations of assault” of his girlfriend Kate Greville after being arrested following reports of a disturbance at his home on Sunday. The 46-year-old was co-operating with police, according to a statement released by his representative. “Mr Giggs denies all allegations of assault made against him,” it read. “He is cooperating with the police and will continue to assist them with their ongoing investigations.” The Sun newspaper said police were called to Giggs’s home late on Sunday and he was arrested and questioned on suspicion of actual bodily harm and…

Gov. Gboyega Oyetola of Osun has approved the release of N708 million for the payment of pension arrears of retired civil servants in the state. This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Festus Oyebade, the Head of Service, on Tuesday in Osogbo. According to him, N508 million was approved for the payment of pensions of retired civil servants, while N150 million was approved to pay retirees under contributory pension scheme. Oyebade added that additional N50 million was approved for the part payment of the gratuities of retired officers under the old pension scheme. He said the list of…

The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, has threatened to sanction travelers who refused to present themselves for a mandatory in-country Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test. The Chairman of the PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, made the disclosure in a media briefing on Tuesday in Abuja. Mustapha said that the need had arisen to activate the sanctions which included the suspension of passports of such defaulting individuals for a period of six months minimum or outright visa cancellation. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the PTF had earlier urged individuals…

The Federal Government is seeking the approval of $1.2 billion loan from the National Assembly to address issues in the agriculture value chain, finance minister Zainab Ahmed said on Tuesday in Abuja at the ministry’s budget defence. Ahmed told the House of Representative Committee on Finance that the loan would be sourced from the Brazilian Government. “We need to address issues in the agriculture value chain as the country moves towards other sources of revenue. “Already, the federal government is making efforts to acquire100,000 hectares of land per state for food production. “Roads will be built in such locations to…

Says new guidelines will accelerate decongestion of correctional centres The Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, has declared that “hoodlums” wearing military uniforms may have shot Nigerian protesters campaigning against police brutality in Lagos, adding that it was too soon to tell if soldiers were involved. Malami has also said that the Consolidated Federal Capital Territory Courts Sentencing Guidelines and Practice will accelerate decongestion of Correctional Centres nationwide. EndSARS demonstrations across the country turned violent on October 20 when witnesses in Lagos said the military opened fire on peaceful protesters in the Lekki…

•Govs, monarchs, others reaffirm commitment to Nigeria’s unity •Accuse separatist groups of hijacking #EndSARS protest for sinister motives Northern leaders, comprising governors, traditional rulers and senior political appointees from the region, yesterday backed the campaign by the federal government to regulate social media. They also reaffirmed their commitment to the indivisibility, indissolubility and oneness of Nigeria, while alleging that those pushing for superlative agitations and other change-regime actions outside the ballot box hijacked the peaceful #EndSARS protests to further their separatist agenda. The Northern leaders also called for strict watch on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to guide against unwarranted…

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, yesterday, pleaded with the state Commissioner of Police, Johnson Babatunde Kokumo to allow officers and men of his command to return to their duty posts and make their presence visible to secure lives and property of the citizens of the state. The governor made the appeal yesterday, when he paid a solidarity visit to the command in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protest that led to the destruction of lives and property, including the burning down of the police stations in the state. Obaseki said their absence on the roads and some conspicuous…

The Egyptian authorities have said that seven out of the eight #EndSARS Nigerians, who protested in Egypt on October 18, would be deported to Nigeria for lack of resident permits/visas. The Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who has been following the matter, confirmed this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja. Dabiri-Erewa, however, denied the allegation that the Federal Government of Nigeria was involved in the Nigerians’ arrest, adding that the Nigerians were not arrested at the Nigerian Embassy but at another location. She explained that the only Nigerian among them, who has residency permit, would…