Author: Chief Editor

The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), has confirmed 476 new cases of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in the country. The NCDC confirmed this through its official Twitter handle on Thursday. The agency said that seven deaths were recorded in the country. NCDC said that till date, 50,964 cases have been confirmed, 37,569, discharged and 992 deaths recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. According to it, the 476 new cases are reported from 18 states. It said that Lagos has the highest figures of 235 cases, followed by FCT with 44 cases. Others were Kaduna (41),…

Draft revised constitution to be ready 2021 Six months after its inauguration, the Senate’s Constitution Review Committee held its inaugural meeting yesterday with a pledge that the draft of the revised 1999 Constitution will be ready in 2021. However, the House of Representatives said it would soon constitute its constitution review committee. The 58-member Senate committee, headed by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, was inaugurated on February 12, 2020, by the Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan. Speaking at the first meeting of the Ad hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution yesterday in Abuja,…

Deplores alleged plot to clamp down on opposition leaders The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday charged the United Nation (UN), the European Union (EU) and other international bodies to place visa restriction on the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari; a former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, and other individuals as punishment for allegedly plotting to truncate democracy and good governance in Nigeria. PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, at a press conference in Abuja also accused APC leaders of plots to use fake police and army to rig the September…

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has announced a N50 million Trust Fund for the welfare of the children of the late Senior Special Assistant to the state Governor on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu. Wike made the announcement yesterday the during the burial of Nwakaudu at his home town, Umuanya Ogbodikwu in Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State. Wike, who was represented by the Chief of Staff, Government House, Chief Chukwuemeka Woke, described the demise of his late media aide as most unfortunate, saying he distinguished himself by serving the state and the government with utmost dedication and loyalty.…

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, yesterday fought back the push against him, criticising the limited scope of the National Assembly’s inquest into the financial activities of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). According to him, the probe should not be restricted to between February and July 2020 that’s currently the mandate of the National Assembly, but should be a comprehensive probe of the interventionist agency’s 19 years of existence. The NDDC, he said, received over N15 trillion in the last 19 years, with nothing to justify the huge funds, wondering why the lawmakers decided to probe…

Calls on Buhari to suspend implementation The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has commenced consultations with Christian leaders to determine the next action to take in order to get the federal government to reverse the provision of new Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020 signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari recently, which empowers the federal government to appoint acting trustees for non-profit and non-governmental organisations in the event of a complaint of misconduct. CAN said the provision and others in the new CAMA contains obnoxious provisions inimical to church administration. However, the House of Representatives has called on…

Seeks unconditional release of Keita Calls for stricter sanctions against coupists President Muhammadu Buhari thursday called for the unconditional release of ousted President Ibrahim Keita of Mali, saying the development in the Sahelian nation, which led to the toppling of the government poses grave consequences for peace and security in West Africa, adding that it is a setback for regional diplomacy. He condemned what he described as the unconstitutional change of government in Mali and called on the military that unseated the civilian government to act responsibly and ensure restoration of constitutional order, peace and stability. Buhari, who yesterday joined…

Amnesty International (AI) yesterday asked the federal government to prevent bloody election in Edo State by fulfilling its obligation to promote, protect, and respect human rights amidst disturbing signs of violence ahead of the gubernatorial election in the state. Amnesty said it had received reports of violence by the political class and the unfortunate use of young people to perpetuate these reprehensible acts. The human rights organisation in a statement urged the federal government to stamp out violence and impunity and prevent bloody elections in Edo State. It stressed that the government must equally ensure full respect for freedom of…

The Chinese Super League is planning to allow a very limited number of spectators into a high-profile match on Saturday, the first time fans can attend a game since the coronavirus pandemic. It is a major step towards normalising football in China, where the virus was first detected last year, and could pave the way for some fans to attend future fixtures. The CSL kicked off on July 25 behind closed doors, at neutral venues in Suzhou and Dalian, and five months late because of the health crisis. Football officials spent Wednesday thrashing out details with Suzhou authorities and are…

• Customs resort to 100% physical examination • Ease of doing business suffers total collapse • Stakeholders lament influx of illicit arms, drugs Federal Government’s failure to provide N8.47 billion scanners, approved two years ago, for the nation’s seaports has forced the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS)to resort, 100 per cent, to manual, cumbersome and inaccurate examination of cargoes coming into the country. The seaports had, for the past seven years, operated without scanners. Attempt by government to remedy the situation with approval of N8.47 billion two years ago has not made any difference as the approval remained only on paper.…