Author: Chief Editor

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that armed banditry and kidnapping that had bedeviled Katsina and other Northwestern states would be overcome, the same way the farmer-herders attacks were subdued. The President stated this at a meeting with Katsina State Elders Forum at the State House in Abuja on Thursday. In a statement issued Friday by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said, “President Buhari also broached the issue of armed banditry and kidnapping that had bedeviled Katsina and other Northwestern states and gave assurances that the situation will be overcome in the same…

Says Dikkio appointed to clean the mess The National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President, Babagana Monguno, has revealed that the Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Programme’s fund totalling N712 billion released since its creation could not be accounted for. Monguno disclosed this yesterday while speaking with State House correspondents, after he led the new Chairman of the Amnesty programme/Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Col. Milland Dikkio (rtd), on a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari. Monguno stated: “The predatory instincts of certain individuals came into the fore and the programme was turned upside down.” He said there was…

•Buhari appeals for calm, orders IG to implement reforms What began as a peaceful protest by motley of interest groups against the excesses of officials of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in some parts of the country, snowballed into violence in Abuja, Lagos and Osun yesterday after the police allegedly fired tear gas and live bullets to disperse protesters. A worried President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday evening appealed to Nigerians for calm after a meeting with the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu over the protests. He also directed the IG to commence the reformation of SARS. In Abuja, trouble started…

•INEC pledges free, fair poll •Police deploy 33,783, promise maximum security Tension remains very high across Ondo State as 1,478,460 voters file out in 3,009 polling units across the state this morning to decide who takes charge of the administration of their state in the next four years. The election is a straight fight between incumbent governor Rotimi Akeredolu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Eyitayo Jegede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). However, the incumbent Deputy Governor of the state, Agboola Ajayi, contesting under the banner of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), is expected to play the role…

Nigerian Bar Association on Friday announced plans to set up helplines to receive complaints of citizens’ human rights abuse and other Fundamental rights. “On our part, my administration will be setting up dedicated helplines in the next few weeks to receive complaints about human right abuses by the Police and other security officers and I pledge that these complaints will be adequately tackled,” the association’s President Olumide Akpata said on Twitter. “In the meantime, we urge all #EndSARS protesters to remain constructive in their agitations while calling on the different formations of the Nigerian Police to respect the fundamental rights…

Barcelona’s Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez warms up ahead of the Spanish Super Cup semi final between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid on January 9, 2020, at the King Abdullah Sport City in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah. – The winner will face Real Madrid in the final on January 12. (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP) Luis Suarez has admitted he cried because of the way Barcelona handled his departure from the club. Suarez, who joined Atletico Madrid last month, said he was excluded from training games and was not surprised Lionel Messi stood up for him by taking…

Ayo Olukotun Finally, the tumult, excitement and apprehensions of the heated governorship campaign in Ondo State yield way on Saturday, October 10, to the solemnity, provided there are no violent upsurges of voting. Registered voters are expected to troop out to elect a governor for the state, four years after the election of 2016, in which Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu SAN, incumbent governor and candidate of the All Progressives Congress defeated Mr. Eyitayo Jegede SAN of the Peoples Democratic Party. Interestingly, this time round, and despite the crowd of the contestants from over two dozen mini parties, two most prominent…

Fola Ojo He expounds and explicates in a quasi-baritone voice. Wherever you find him, the ambience is always an entrenched presence of steadfast humility. Except for those dissenting voices that see the church as a vast cornfield of exploitation of the poor; and pastors perceived as connoisseurs in aggrandisement and profligacy, plaudits for the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, are not just from Pentecostal amphitheatres. They cut across all spheres of life and cohorts of people. The GO of the RCCG is a father to millions, a coach to a multitude, and…

A former Managing Director of Alpha Beta Consulting, Mr Oladapo Apara, has sued the company, a former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu; and the current Managing Director of the firm, Akin Doherty; before a Lagos State High Court, Igbosere. In the writ of summons marked LD/7330GCMW/2020, Apara asked the respondents to appear within 42 days or judgment might be given in their absence. Apara had in a petition addressed to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, accused the company of N100bn fraud but two years after, the EFCC had yet to take action. In his statement of claim, the…

•Former finance minister expresses gratitude •AU, FG rally support for Nigeria’s candidate The World Trade Organisation (WTO) yesterday explained that Nigeria’s Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Republic of Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee qualified for the final stage in its selection process for its next director-general because both candidates were able to secure the broadest and deepest support from the membership. With the shortlisting, the federal government yesterday urged Heads of State Delegations to the WTO to endorse Okonjo-Iweala on the strength of her antecedents, competence and statement to the General Council. The duo saw off competition from Britain’s Liam Fox, Kenya’s…