Author: Chief Editor

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Pauline Tallen, has urged Nigerians to love, tolerate and live peacefully with one another. Tallen made the call on Thursday in Abuja, at the 5th International Conference on Love and Tolerance: tagged “Countering Violent Extremism for Peaceful Coexistence” organised by UFUK Dialogue, a Non-Governmental Organisation. The Minister, who was represented by Princess Jumai Idornije, Special Adviser to the Minister on Technical Matters, said that people needed love and tolerance for unity. “There is unity in diversity, that is the strength of Nigeria our country, and will forever remain our strength; love…

President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday in Abuja pledged the federal government’s support towards Plateau State government’s efforts to achieve a peaceful, prosperous and tolerant society. The president who made the pledge in the State House while receiving a group of stakeholders from Plateau State led by Governor Simon Lalong, appealed to residents and indigenes of the state to support the governor’s development agenda. ‘‘Plateau is strategic to Nigeria. It is geographically unique with its diverse environmental and huge economic potential. This clearly shows the state’s incredible potential in tourism, agriculture and mining. ‘‘It is, therefore, our collective duty to ensure these…

There is no end to the crisis between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as the union Thursday called on the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Ahmed Idris, to resign for alleged gross incompetence. The union said the failure of the AGF to release remit deductions of university workers’ salaries for the month of January three weeks after payment of their salaries is a deliberate plan to make university staff suffer. The union, in a statement jointly signed by the Ibadan Zonal Coordinator of the Union, Dr. Ade Adejumo, and the University of…

Wilfred Ndidi has been ruled out of Leicester City’s Premier League clash with Manchester City on Saturday. The midfielder has missed his side’s past two games – draws with Chelsea and Wolves – due to a knee problem. Manager Brendan Rodgers says he will not rush Ndidi back to face the champions and risk any setbacks in his recovery. “Wilf won’t be available for the weekend,” Rodgers told reporters on Thursday. “He’s still in a process to try and get fit, so we’ll see how he is next week. I’m not sure. “He’s doing work inside, but you then have…

It is the battle between two giants of London, a battle between two teams vying for a top-four finish in one of the most competitive leagues in the world, and also a battle between two teams who have tasted defeat this week already. In a pulsating Premier League contest, Chelsea will take on Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. While Chelsea went down to Manchester United in the Premier League in a Monday night fixture, Tottenham faced the wrath of German outfit RB Leipzig in the Champions League last night. Ironically, both teams were playing at home. Come Saturday, both managers will be under pressure…

•Nation needs $2b to fight scourge, says don •Lagos confirms first case of Lasa fever for 2020, quarantines 63 Reacting to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and some researchers that Nigeria and eight other African nations were at high risk of importing the Coronavirus, the Minister of Health, Dr. Emmanuel Osagie Ehanire, yesterday declared that Nigeria was not more vulnerable to outbreak of the epidemic that had ravaged a number of nations in South East Asia, admitting though that the cost of doing random testing for the novel disease is very high. This comes as the Lagos…

The crisis in the power sector took the front burner during deliberations yesterday at the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting. In the memo presented to the gathering that lasted several hours, the Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, spoke on the electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) which he stated had failed to honour their commitments to buy and distribute adequate power generated for them by the generation companies (GENCOs). He, however, did not disclose what punitive measures await them in the future, just as he alleged high level corruption in the sector. Mamman explained that government was done with providing interventions…

China reported the biggest drop in new cases from the coronavirus outbreak in nearly a month on Thursday. The National Health Commission said that more than 74,500 people have now been infected nationwide by the virus, which first emerged in central Hubei province in December. The death toll jumped to 2,118 on Thursday after 114 new deaths were reported — most in Hubei province, the hard-hit epicentre of the outbreak. Most of the new cases were in the provincial capital Wuhan, where the virus first emerged. Hubei health officials said Thursday there had been 615 new cases in Wuhan and…

Two elderly former passengers from the coronavirus-wracked Diamond Princess died Thursday, Japanese authorities said, as fears mount for those who have left the ship after testing negative for the virus. The man and woman, both Japanese and in their 80s, were taken off the cruise ship last week and died in hospital, the first fatalities among the more than 600 passengers and crew who have tested positive for the virus. The man had a pre-existing condition of bronchial asthma and a history of angina treatment, the health ministry said in a statement, but the woman had no known pre-existing conditions.…

Niran Adedokun In spite of all the evil that Boko Haram, its affiliates, splinters and other opportunistic groups, perpetrate, Nigeria still does not seem to be doing much to arrest the situations. Of course, there are constant talks of procurement of military hardware and boastful accounts of military accomplishments in the prosecution of the war against insurgents and bandits, attacks by these criminals have become more virulent and daring. Hardly does any day pass without an incident or more leading to loss of lives and property somewhere in the country. Even though more fighter jets and other equipment get purchased,…