A MARKETING expert, Adia Sowho, has quit his position as the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for telecommunications giants – MTN Nigeria, in what sources believe was a controversial circumstance, Daily Trust can report. Sowho became the first female CMO of MTN Nigeria in August 2021. Her professional path began in 2001 after obtaining an engineering degree. She worked as a radio frequency engineer at US Cellular Corporation in Chicago before transitioning into management consulting at Deloitte Consulting LLP in 2007. A source said her exit was by mutual consent, though there was no official statement from MTN Nigeria as at…
Author: Amina Ibrahim
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THE Kano State Government has issued quit notices to businesses occupying all public parks and gardens in the state. The move aims to reclaim these spaces for public use, fostering relaxation and ecological balance. Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday in commemoration of World Environment Day, the State Commissioner for Environment, Nasir Garo, emphasised the importance of this initiative. “We have already served most of the occupants quit notice except those that petrol filling stations have been built on,” Garo stated. The commissioner highlighted the government’s commitment, to improving air quality and enhancing the ecosystem. “We are trying to…
A NURSE, Lucy Likeh, has gone missing after visiting a park in the Federal Capital Territory to send a parcel to her friend. The 28-year-old said to be working with a private organisation at MKK Plaza in Jabi, Abuja was said to have been at Zuba Park to send a parcel to her friend in Minna, Niger State, on Friday. After she visited the park, the nurse’s whereabouts have remained unknown, and her mobile phone switched off. She was said to be wearing a black tracksuit and a black/white chiffon shirt with a fez cap when she was last seen.…
THE Federal Government has condemned in the strongest possible terms, the onslaught on defenseless civilians currently being witnessed in Gaza in the course of the Israel-Palestine conflict. According to a statement personally signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, the latest deadly attacks on the Rafah Displacement Camps in Southern Gaza on Sunday the 26th, which killed about 45 people, mostly women and children, represents an unfortunate addition to the list of strikes on soft civilian targets with devastating effects which have now characterized the crisis. “As it stands, the Rafah attacks, just like the bombing of…
AFTER over a week siege on the popular Banex Plaza in Wuse 2 area of Abuja, the military has reopened the market for business. This newspaper’s correspondent who visited the market on Monday evening learnt that the plaza resumed operations around 2:30pm. Recall that the market was sealed by military authorities on May 18, following a violent clash between traders and military personnel. Trouble started when thugs beat up some soldiers who had a disagreement with a trader in the plaza. The trader had reportedly sold a bad phone to someone who invited soldiers. Rather than resolve the issue amicably,…
NO fewer than 200 officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria were on Friday relieved of their duties. This is an addition to the long list of ongoing disengagements in the apex bank. This adds to the list of 117 staff sacked by the bank between March 15 and April 11, 2024. The termination of appointments affects directors, deputy directors, assistant directors, principal managers, senior managers and lower-ranking staff. Impeccable sources who are staff of the bank confirmed the sack to our correspondent on Friday, saying that those sacked are not less than 200. They revealed that affected persons include…
THE Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate on Friday said the enrolment quota in medical, nursing, and other health professional schools has been increased from 28,000 to 64,000 yearly. Prof Pate said this at the sectoral ministerial press briefing to mark the first anniversary of President Bola Tinubu in office in Abuja. Over the years, health workers in the country have always moved to other countries to practice, but experts say the recent increase in emigration is worrisome. Experts identified the push factors as inadequate equipment, worsening insecurity, poor working conditions, and poor salary structure. Data…
THE first phase of the student loan scheme has gone live, with the beneficiaries being students from federal institutions across the country. The newspaper observed that the loan website became active some minutes past 12 am on Friday. Recall that President Bola Tinubu enacted an initial version of the student loan policy in June 2023 to grant interest-free loans to students. The scheme was to commence in October 2023, but implementation was repeatedly deferred until a re-enactment in April 2024. NELFUND recently scheduled the opening of the loan application and issuance portal for May 24. During pre-application sensitisation, NELFUND said the scheme’s pilot phase would only be…
THE Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has disclosed that the Abuja Light Rail will operate free for two months, after its commissioning on Monday, the 27th of May, 2024. Wike stated this during the ongoing Ministerial Sectoral Update to mark the first year in office of the President Bola Tinubu administration, held at the Radio House in Abuja, on Thursday. The Minister had earlier stated that the President, Bola Tinubu will commission the Metro rail project for commercial activities on Monday. He however urged residents to begin use of the Metro rails from Tuesday, the 28th of…
NIGERIAN students at Teesside University in the United Kingdom have been told to quit the school and return to Nigeria over unpaid fees. According to BBC, Teesside University said the move was in line with the UK’s immigration regulations. “Teesside University is proud to be a global institution with a diverse student population but is also very aware of its visa issuance and compliance obligations. “These strict external regulations ensure that the university fully supports a robust immigration system and are outside of the university’s control,” BBC said, quoting a university spokesperson. The university said it had “no choice” as…
THE National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has issued a public notification regarding the recall of Caro White Skin Lightening Beauty Lotion by the European Union (EU) Rapid Alert System for Dangerous Non-Food Products (RAPEX). A statement on NAFDAC’s website, ‘Public Alert No. 15/2023 – Alert on the Recall of Ivorian Made Skin Lightening Beauty Lotion’, obtained by News Point Nigeria, said the product failed to comply with the Cosmetic Products Regulation due to its high concentration of Kojic Acid, which surpasses the allowable maximum concentration of one per cent. The conclusion was drawn by the…
JUSTICE Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja, has dismissed the request by the detained leader of the Biafra nation agitators, Nnamdi Kanu, for the restoration of his revoked bail and the removal from the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), to a house arrest or prison custody. The Judge said that the same request had been brought before her by Kanu, dismissing it for want of merit. In a ruling on Kanu’s request, Justice Nyako said that she found as a fact, that Kanu jumped the bail earlier granted him, and escaped out of the…
THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has withdrawn its earlier circular directing banks to implement a controversial 0.5% cybersecurity levy on electronic transactions. The decision of the apex bank to withdraw the circular followed the public outrage that trailed the announcement of the policy two weeks ago and the suspension of the levy by the Federal Government last week. In its initial circular dated May 6, 2024 addressed to all deposit money banks, mobile money operators and payment service providers, the apex bank directed the deduction of the levy to be remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund (NCF), administered by…
The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said it has started the sales of e-tags at airports. FAAN confirmed this in a statement on Friday. “Following the presidential directive that all citizens are mandated to pay for e-tags at all the 24 federal airports across the country, we wish to inform the general public that the e-tags are available for sale from Friday, 17th May 2024 at the following locations,” it said. “Lagos: Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos, Terminal 1, 5th Floor) Office of HOD Commercial. Contact: 08033713796 or 08023546030. “Abuja: Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, HOD Commercial Office (General Aviation…
THE allocation, shared during the May 2024 FAAC meeting comprised distributable statutory revenue of N284.716 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N466.457 billion, electronic money transfer levy revenue of N18.024 billion, and exchange difference revenue of N438.884 billion. This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting for April 2024, a statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations under the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, said Thursday. Meanwhile, the balance in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) for last month was put at…
The acting Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Chris Maiyaki, explained the delay in reconstituting the governing councils of federal universities, citing the government’s commitment to appointing the most qualified individuals to these councils. Maiyaki stated this Wednesday during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja. He urged the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to trust in the federal government and the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, to appoint qualified and competent individuals to the governing councils of the 61 federal universities. ASUU had expressed concerns about the non-reinstatement or reconstitution of governing councils in public…
THE National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Cisco to advance Nigeria’s digital transformation. Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) Programme is a global initiative that partners with government and private sector leaders to develop sustainable, secure, and inclusive communities powered by ethical and innovative technology solutions. The partnership which was sealed on Monday, aims to unlock the value of digitalisation in Nigeria and drive an inclusive future. The Federal Government will collaborate with Cisco, industry, and academia to accelerate the national digitisation agenda by implementing pilot projects in five key areas: 1. Repurposing…
THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has released additional 36,540 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination results which were earlier withheld. This is in addition to the 531 results released the previous week bringing the total results so far released to 1,879,437. The board disclosed this in a statement it released on Tuesday through its spokesman, Fabian Benjamin. JAMB, in the statement, denied reports circulating on social media purporting to emanate from it that the outstanding 2024 UTME results, currently being subjected to scrutiny by its team of experts, had been compromised on account of a cyber security breach and that it…
THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will arraign a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele on Wednesday for approving the printing of N684.5m at the rate of N18.96bn. The arraignment was originally scheduled for April 30, 2024, but was rescheduled following the agreement of the court and the parties. In the four-count charge filed against him, the EFCC alleged that Emefiele disobeyed the direction of law with intent to cause injury to the public during his implementation of the naira swap policy of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. The anti-graft agency also…
THE Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and the wife, Meghan will today, Friday, May 10, 2024 arrive Nigeria for a three-day private visit, on the invitation of the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa to interact with wounded soldiers. Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Thursday ahead of the visit, the Director of Sports, Defence Headquarters, Air Vice Marshal Abidemi Marquis said the founder of Invictus games will spend three days in Nigeria to interact with wounded soldiers and their family members. He said the visit scheduled from 10th to 13th May 2024 will help the wounded…