THE Federal Government has commenced arrangements for the evacuation of Nigerians living in Lebanon who are willing to return home following the crisis in the country. The federal government said it convened a multi-stakeholder meeting where briefs were received on the condition of Nigerians in Lebanon and preparations by various agencies towards the success of the evacuation exercise. This was disclosed in a statement issued by the National Emergency Management Agency on Friday. In September 2024, large-scale cross-border attacks escalated in Lebanon, causing over 1,000 deaths and 6,352 injuries in less than two weeks, according to the International Organisation for…
Author: Khadija Abubakar
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THE Rural Electrification Agency (REA) says starting in November, the Federal Government will kick-start a new rural electricity project bankrolled by the World Bank to provide electricity for 17.5 million Nigerians. The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, disclosed this when he appeared on Channels Television’s Sunrise daily programme on Thursday. Recall that in December 2023, the World Bank announced the approval of Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up project, being financed by $750m International Development Association credit and would leverage over $1bn of private capital and significant parallel financing from development partners. The financing from…
A FORMER acting governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Folashodun Shonubi, on Wednesday, told Justice Maryann Anenih of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama Abuja, that intrigues and politics were involved in the naira redesign carried out in 2022. Shonubi, who was the Deputy Governor of Operations before he was appointed Acting CBN Governor but is now retired, in his response to the question of defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), at the continuation of hearing in the trial of a former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, told the court that the former apex bank chief told him and…
KANO State Governor Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf has announced adoption of 95 orphans in Kano. The Governor’s exceptional kindness and magnanimity was demonstrated during a special lunch with the 95 children presently under the care of the state Orphanage home since the lost of their biological parents. The lunchon was part of activities marking the 2024 Independence Day anniversary in Kano. A statement by the Governor’s Spokesperson Mr. Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, Governor Yusuf declared full responsibility of the 95 Orphans henceforth. According to him, “I want to annouce that we have assumed full responsibility of all the 95 orphans…
THE Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Kemi Nandap, has emerged as Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Heads of Immigration Forum. This is contained in a statement published on the Service X handle signed by the Service Public Relations Officer (SPRO) Kenneth Udo on Tuesday. Udo said that the milestone occurred during the forum’s recent meeting in Banjul, Gambia, where 13 member states gathered to address migration and mobility challenges. He said that the meeting focused on accelerating the implementation of the ECOWAS National Biometric Identity Card (ENBIC) and abolishing the 90-day stay limit/residence permits…
THE Invest in Our Future initiative, a youth-centered project, has made significant strides in addressing the pressing issues of drug abuse and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in Kano, Nigeria. Launched on August 24, 2024, this initiative empowers vulnerable young people by providing them with essential skills in tie-dye and tailoring, offering them pathways to economic independence. The project, spearheaded by Khadija Sulaiman Jebu, a Kennedy Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) alumna, alumni team members alongside experts from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Foundation for Legal Empowerment (FLF), carried out a series of sensitization activities…
THE Federal Government has handed over 64 100-capacity Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses to the Organised Labour and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). At the presentation of the buses held within the premises of the banquet hall of the state house Abuja on Sunday, both the Ministers of Information (Mohammed Idris) and Finance (Wale Edun) said 700 CNG buses are also being expected in the country. Nigerians have been paying through their nose for transportation fare and commodities since the removal of subsidy from petrol in 2023. While the clamour for the return of the subsidy regime continues…
THE Federal Ministry of Youths Development has partnered with the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas to roll out over 2,000 CNG powered tricycles to empower youths in Nigeria. The Minister of State For Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, reeling out other initiatives of the ministry. “By Tuesday, October 1, we will be launching the first phase of the project to be distributing 2,000 tricycles in collaboration with the Presidential CNG and will be championed by the Ministry of Youth,” he said. “Before the end of this year, the initiative will…
THE Federal Government has defended its ban on students less than 18 years old sitting for the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), accusing parents of hurrying their children/wards. In July, the Minister of Education Tahir Mamman said that starting from 2025, candidates below 18 will not be allowed to sit for the SSCE. Although the minister said the development was in line with the country’s laws, the move created ripples across the country, prompting a backlash from several quarters. But at the Inter-Ministerial Press Briefing in Abuja, Mamman has defended the policy which he said will pay the country in…
THE Federal Government has approved the increase of Corps Members’ monthly allowance to ₦77,000 with effect from July 2024. In a statement on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Caroline Embu, said the increment was in line with the enactment of the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2024. Embu quoted a letter from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, dated September 25, 2024 and signed by the Chairman, Ekpo Nta. “Prior to this, the Director General, NYSC Brigadier General YD Ahmed, had paid an advocacy visit to the Chairman in which he solicited for a…
SPECIAL Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination and Head of Central Delivery Coordination Unit, Hadiza Bala Usman, has said the present administration is committed to fostering a robust governance system and ensuring citizens’ trust. She stated this on Tuesday while participating in a panel discussion at the Closeout Event of the Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL) Programme in Abuja. PERL is a public-sector accountability and governance programme, funded by the United Kingdom’s (UK) Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and has worked in Nigeria for eight years. Speaking during the panel discussion Bala Usman said to achieve…
THE Dangote Group is partnering Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) to boost trade and investment in the country. Dangote Industries Limited is the major sponsor of the 19th edition of the Trade Fair which officially opens on Monday September 23,2024. Speaking to newsmen, Director General of ACCI, Sir Agabaidu Jideani said the chamber’s relationship with the Dangote Group is collaborative and focused on mutual growth. “We share a commitment to driving economic development and fostering innovation in key sectors of the economy,” he added. According to him, this year’s Trade Fair offers an excellent platform for networking and…
MORE Nigerians are beginning to embrace the rail transportation system as revenue rose to ₦1.69bn in the second quarter of 2024, reflecting a 53.14 per cent increase compared to the ₦1.10bn recorded in the same period of 2023. This data was disclosed by the National Bureau of Statistics in its report released on Thursday. In 2023, the Nigerian Railway Corporation generated ₦1.07bn as revenue from passengers. According to the report, a total of 689,263 passengers travelled by rail in Q2, representing a growth rate of 45.38 per cent compared to 474,117 passengers in the corresponding quarter of 2023. The volume…
A PROFESSOR of Educational Administration and Planning, Department of Educational Foundations, Faculty of Education of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Samuel Ogunwale Ogundiran has poisted that a number of educators and school administrators in Nigeria are still finding it difficult to transition from the traditional methods to the technology-driven solutions. According to a statement by Director,Media and Publicity, NOUN, Ibrahim Sheme, Ogundiran stated this on Thursday, September 19, 2024, while presenting the university’s 28th Inaugural Lecture, which took place at the NOUN headquarters in Abuja. With the topic: “Educational Administration and Technology: A Marriage of Inconvenience,” the…
THE Federal Government has initiated a thorough investigation into the root causes of the recent earth tremors that rattled the Mpape area in Abuja. The tremors, which began on the night of September 16, 2024, alarmed residents, with reports of six to eight seismic events being recorded. First detected at about 11:00 p.m., the tremors led to widespread concern due to loud noises and ground shaking in the vicinity. During a ministerial press briefing, the Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Mr. Uche Nnaji, assured the public that a team of experts from the Centre for Geodesy and Geodynamics (an…
NIGERIA’s inflation rate has decelerated for two consecutive months, from 34.19% in June to 33.40% in July, and now 32.15% in August, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday. According to the Consumer Price Index report released by the Bureau, the headline inflation rate eased to 32.15% in August 2024, while food inflation stood at 37.52% in the same month. “Looking at the movement, the August 2024 headline inflation rate showed a decrease of 1.25% points when compared to the July 2024 headline inflation rate,” the NBS stated. “However, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.35%…
THE Federal Government has directed the exclusion of third-party research grant funds of federal universities and research institutions from the Treasury Single Account. In a letter from the National Universities Commission to Vice Chancellors, dated 6th September 2024, the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, conveyed the President’s directive to the Coordinating Minister of Finance and National Economy, Wale Edun, mandating the exemption. The directive also grants universities and research institutions the autonomy to operate their endowment fund accounts in commercial banks. This move is expected to enhance the financial autonomy of universities and research institutions, promoting research and innovation…
THE Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, on Sunday, said President Bola Tinubu was not satisfied with the previous distribution of palliatives to the needy in the country toward easing hardship. According to him, Tinubu’s dissatisfaction informed his decision to reconstitute a committee for the distribution of palliatives to get to the needy. While flagging off the distribution of the Federal government’s palliatives to the needy in the North West geo-political zone in Kano on Sunday, Jibrin called on Nigerians to rally around the President to fix the country as this is not the time to apportion blame. He stated…
THE Dean of the Faculty of Arts, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Iyabode O.A. Nwabueze, has said that the social positioning of women has contributed to issues like female nudism and women’s own complicity in perpetuating their disempowerment. According to a statement signed by the Director, Media and Publicity, NOUN, Ibrahim Sheme, Thursday, the Prof asserted that neither gender possesses superior intellectual capabilities and stressed the need for women to have equal opportunities to excel in various fields. Nwabueze stated these during her delivery of the NOUN’s 27th inaugural lecture titled “The Woman is First Human: The Linguistic…
THE Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Education, has granted full operational licence to Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria (MAAUN) to enable it operate as a Private University in the country. The licence dated 2nd September, 2024, was jointly signed by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman and Acting Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Chris J. Maiyaki respectively. The full operational licence was granted to the university after it met all the requirements laid down in the Education (National Minimum Standards and Establishment of Institutions) Act, Cap E3 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, and…