Author: Chief Editor

•Says FG determined to frustrate bid to hold Nigeria to ransom •Military: Maiduguri-Damaturu road now closes 4pm President Buhari yesterday commiserated with the families of victims of terrorist attacks in Maiduguri, Borno State, in which 30 people were killed. He also pledged his administration’s commitment to perpetually frustrate the devilish operations of Boko Haram and end the insurgents’ goal of holding Nigeria to ransom. The president’s condolences from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he is attending the African Union (AU) summit, came against the backdrop of the killing, by suspected Boko Haram insurgents, of no fewer than 30 people in…

The Borno State Government has said about 1,400 repentant Boko Haram suspects have been released by the military and rehabilitated into society. The Borno State Commissioner for Information, Babakura Jato, told The PUNCH during an interview on Monday that 1, 400 had been released in three tranches since the ‘Operation Safe Corridor’ programme began. The PUNCH reports that although the programme began in 2016, it wasn’t until 2018 that the release of the suspects began. Jato said most of the persons released were not actually Boko Haram members but were relatives of terrorists or persons found in the wrong place at the wrong time. The…

The North accounted for 87 per cent of all the poor people in Nigeria in 2016, the World Bank has disclosed in a new report. The report titled ‘Advancing social protection in a dynamic Nigeria’, released on January 28, 2020, was described as a ‘detailed analysis of the social protection sector’ in the country. The report noted that social protection measures implemented by the government in Nigeria had not been able to address the high level of poverty, as well as the negative impact of conflicts and natural disasters. In the comprehensive report, obtained by one of our correspondents, the…

Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, EFCC, on Thursday at its Abuja office quizzed a senator and former governor of Abia State, Theodore Orji, over an allegation that he diverted N521 billion from the state to his personal use. Mr Orji’s son, Chinedum, who is the Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, was also quizzed alongside his father. The investigation followed a petition dated March 17, 2017, filed by a group, Fight Corruption: Save Nigeria Group. The petitioner accused Mr Orji, who served two terms as governor between 2007 and 2011, of withdrawing N500 million monthly as security vote from the state’s…

The Minister of Health, Prof. Osagie Ehanire, says Lagos State, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, is well prepared and ready to contain the novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infectious disease, if eventually it breaks out in Nigeria. Ehanire gave this assurance on Sunday, while briefing newsmen after inspecting facilities at the Emergency Response Readiness designated for the Coronavirus victims at the Mainland Hospital, Yaba in Lagos. “I can say that Lagos State is well prepared; there is high level of readiness here, and also the awareness is there,” he said. Enahire, therefore, commended the state government for its level of preparedness against…

President Muhammadu Buhari Sunday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, described Nigeria-Canada relations as ‘very cordial’, expressing his desire to further strengthen bilateral ties. Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity in a statement, in Abuja on Sunday, said the Nigerian leader met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the margins of the 33rd AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In remarks before the press, President Buhari underscored the warm and friendly relations between Nigeria and Canada, noting commonwealth membership of both nations and the choice of Canada for higher education by Nigerian students. He said:…

Lagos State Government, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) at the weekend began a surveillance tour of livestock and bush meat markets across the state to test animals for components of Monkey Pox. Commissioner for Agriculture Prince Gbolahan Lawal, who disclosed this when he received in audience members of the One Health Team of the National Centre for Disease Control, noted that the exercise was aimed at preventing the outbreak of Monkey Pox. He said Monkey Pox disease is a trans- boundary viral disease common among…

THE House of Representatives is facing serious cash crunch, its spokesman Benjamin Kalu said at the weekend. He said the problem of funding is hampering the implementation of its programmes and slowing down its activities, including several investigations pending before it. Besides, the budget of the lower chamber of the National Assembly has not increased in the last 10 years, despite increases in the cost of living across board, he said. Despite the development, Kalu assured the nation that the leadership of the House would manage available funds judiciously and give Nigerians effective legislation. Addressing reporters at the weekend in…

THE North will support the presidential candidate with genuine commitment to deal with its problems and meet the region’s aspirations in 2023, the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) said on Sunday. Its convener Prof. Ango Abdullahi said: “The forum has observed that political maneuvres around the 2023 elections are targeting the North as a region available for exploitation. “We want to make it clear that people of the North will be very careful in committing to persons seeking their support on the basis of their region or wealth. “The North knows its interest and will stand together to elect only persons…

Eze Onyekpere The challenge of development and economic growth in Nigeria is one of ideas, policy prescriptions and implementation. It is not a challenge founded on lack of financial resources. Indeed, financial resources are products of the human imagination and intellect. Development is the ability of a society to harness its resources for its own purpose thereby adding or creating value, wealth, jobs as well as devising a concentric circle that ensures it contributes and retains a good part of the products of scientific progress in the community. Development should be about harmony between fiscal, monetary, industrial, trade, labour etc.…