Author: Chief Editor

•To meet finance commissioners, others on economy Governors of the 36 states of the federation have called on their Attorneys General to review the controversial National Water Resources Bill before they would take a position on it. The governors have also resolved to play more active roles in the revival of the Nigerian economy and would schedule a meeting with state commissioners of finance, budget and planning. These were some of the resolutions contained in a communique issued after the 17th Teleconference meeting of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, held on Wednesday. The communiqué, which was signed by the Chairman of…

•483,769 fail to collect PVCs •IG orders restriction of vehicular movement President Muhammadu Buhari last night advised political parties, candidates, and security agents to behave responsibly at tomorrow’s Edo State governorship poll in which 2,210,534 voters that have picked up their permanent voter cards (PVCs) would be deciding the fate of the gladiators. Fourteen candidates, including the incumbent, Mr. Godwin Obaseki of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) would participate in the election. Also, in a move to curb the movement of illicit arms, hard drugs, and political thugs ahead of…

The federal government yesterday said it has established a vaccine company that will help in the procurement and possibly manufacturing of vaccines for the treatment of COVID-19 in the country. Making the disclosure yesterday while speaking at a media briefing by Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 in Abuja, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said Nigeria is ready to grab the opportunity to collaborate with any country that shows genuine promise of developing reliable vaccine for COVID-19. He said: “We are in conversation with Russia, and our strategy is to look at countries that have vaccines that proved to be…

In just a few days, citizens of Edo State will go to the polls to elect a governor from among the 14 candidates that are contesting on different political platforms. But Edo voters are worried whether their votes would count on account of the tension and drums of violence being beaten in the lead up to election day. Concerned citizens and political stakeholders across the country believe that the exercise would test the integrity of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and various security agencies with respect to how free, fair and credible the polls would…

• Middle Belt forum, PANDEF kick • Our public officials are jokers, Afenifere tells Buhari • President unveils anniversary logo Federal Government’s plan to mark Nigeria’s 60th Independence anniversary for a whole year — beginning on October 1, 2020 and ending September 30, 2021 — became subject of controversy yesterday, with ethnic nationalities and socio-cultural organisations taking a swipe at the official decision. The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), the Middle Belt Forum, Arewa leaders and stakeholders within the Aka Ikenga, an Igbo socio-cultural organisation condemned the plan as “a joke.” Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, described President Muhammadu Buhari and…

The only way the good, excellent people of Edo can win the coming election is for Godwin Obaseki to lose it and exit the Governor’s House. This election is not the ordinary contest between politicians in competing parties. This election pits a smart and honorable man in Osagie Ize-Iyamu against someone who fancies himself as an emperor-governor. Ize-Iyamu seeks to serve the public to the best of his ample capabilities. Obaseki seeks to ride the public as a ruthless owner does a meek, beaten-down workhorse, until the poor animal is exhausted and spent. In this, Obaseki has embraced a most…

Says bill sponsors ashamed to put their names The Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), led by Prof. Itse Sagay yesterday, described as fraud a proposed bill for the amendment of the establishment Act of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and called on Nigerians and the National Assembly to reject it. Sagay declared that even the sponsors of the bill were too ashamed to put their names on the bill being circulated. PACAC, in a statement signed by Sagay, and released by the Communication Unit of the committee, said the planned amendment was part of “an ongoing very…

The Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, yesterday raised the alarm over the activities of armed terrorists, which he alleged are now occupying Kishi, North-west area of Oyo State as well as the vast old Oyo National Park in the state. The National Coordinator of Odua People’s Congress (OPC) in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Kehinde Aderemi, and made available to THISDAY in Ibadan yesterday said the recent development pose a great danger to the security of the entire South-west region. He disclosed that in the past few days, the armed groups have engaged…

FEC Approves new policy on occupational safety The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, yesterday dismissed the seven-day ultimatum given the federal government by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to reverse the new fuel price or face industrial action as invalid. Answering a question from State House correspondents after a virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, Ngige described the ultimatum as misplaced because it was wrongly directed. He said the ultimatum was addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari, in contravention of labour laws which authorise labour bodies to address such an ultimatum to the labour minister. “The TUC issue,…

Brazil’s government sent its support to Neymar Tuesday after he was red-carded for a fight in a Ligue 1 match in France, condemning the “racism” that triggered the brawl. The Paris Saint-Germain star is facing punishment by the French league’s disciplinary commission after slapping defender Alvaro Gonzalez near the end of PSG’s 1-0 loss to Marseille Sunday, accusing the Spaniard of calling him a “monkey.” Gonzalez denies the accusation. But in Neymar’s native Brazil, the ministry responsible for human rights issues said it stood behind the world’s most expensive footballer. “In the face of yet another case of racism that…