THE Dangote Cement Plc Thursday flagged off its malaria intervention programme for host communities at Okpella, Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State. Group Head of Sustainability, Dangote Cement Plc, Dr Igazeuma Okoroba, said the 2024 Malaria Campaign is not just to commemorate World Malaria Day, but also to contribute to advancing Nigeria’s progress on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 of the United Nations, which harps on good health and wellbeing. Dr. Okoroba described the relationship between the Dangote Cement and host communities as robust. “As we observe, a significant portion of the population lacks access to vital healthcare…
Author: Eileen Peters
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THE Speaker of the Edo state House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku, has suspended three lawmakers with immediate effect, over allegations of an impeachment plot to remove him, and some other Principal Officers Council (POC) of the house. The three suspended lawmakers are Donald Okogbe( PDP Akoko-Edo 11), Bright Iyamu (PDP Orihonmwon South), and Adeh Isibor, (Esan North East 1). During the sitting at the assembly complex on Monday, Agbebaku insisted that the three suspended members were being backed by some persons outside the assembly, to foment trouble, and remove the leadership of the house. He also alleged that some persons…
THE governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the March 2023 governorship elections and former Minister of Education, Kenneth Gbagi has died. His death was confirmed on Saturday in a statement by his family by his eldest son, Emuoboh Gbagi. The statement reads in part, “It is with profound sadness but gratitude to God that we announce the passing of our beloved father, grandfather, husband, and brother Olorogun Kenneth Omemavwa Gbagi, former minister of education, departed this life on the 4th of May 2024 at the age of 62. “We take comfort in the fond memories of his…
THE Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has approved a new minimum wage of N70,000 for civil servants in the state. The governor revealed this while commissioning the new Labour House in Edo state on Monday. According to him, the new wage comes into effect on May 1st, 2024. This is as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) battles the Federal Government over increasing the minimum wage to match increasing national inflation and skyrocketing food inflation. The inflation rate for March 2024 hit 33.2 per cent from 31.70 per cent in February, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Food…
NINETEEN persons have died in an auto crash in the Okene area of Kogi State, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said on Sunday. “Emergency rescue teams of the Federal Road Safety Corps endured another over three hours of inferno in their bid to rescue road traffic victims at the scene of a fatal crash that claimed 19 lives on Sunday 28 April 2024 at Okene bypass, on the Okene-Lokoja highway in Kogi State,” FRSC’s corps education officer Jonas Agwu said in a Sunday statement. The accident involved two vehicles, a truck, and a Toyota Hiace bus coming from Kano…
A MASSIVE fiery carnage on the East-West Road in Rivers State has destroyed more than dozens of vehicles, destroyed goods worth estimated billions, and claimed an unconfirmed number of lives. The devastating incident happened on Friday night along the Eleme axis of the road, which has long been neglected, increasing motorists’ risks. Reports suggest that the tragedy was triggered when the tanker, navigating the dilapidated road, was hit by another heavy-duty vehicle, igniting flames and an explosion. The ensuing inferno engulfed more than 50 vehicles on the road at the time, with some occupants trapped and unable to escape the…
THE Federal Government says the demolition of buildings on the right of way of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road will begin on Saturday. The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos state, Korede Keisha, made this known during a press briefing in Lagos on Thursday. She asked all those whose houses were marked for demolition to come to the Ministry’s Secretariat in Lagos to sort out whatever process was required by the ministry. She said the demolition squad would move in on Saturday to begin the removal of the marked properties. The Minister of Works Dave Umahi recently said the Lagos-Calabar coastal…
RECENT events have thrust the American International School in Abuja into a whirlwind of controversy, tarnishing its esteemed reputation for academic excellence. Allegations surrounding the school’s governance, tasked with safeguarding the interests of parents, teachers, and students, have ignited a firestorm of concern and demand for accountability. At the heart of this scandal is former governor Yahaya Bello, alleged to have made substantial payments covering years of tuition fees for his children and wards. Questions about the timing and method of these payments have sparked accusations of misconduct, prompting an investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) due…
A FORMER Attorney General, Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor (SAN), who was deployed to the Ministry of Special Duties by Gov. Siminalayi Fubara on Tuesday, has again resigned from the Rivers State Cabinet. In a letter to the Secretary of the Rivers State Government, Tammy Danagogo, sighted by our correspondent on Wednesday, Adangor rejected the deployment and resigned from the Rivers Executive Council, with effect from April 24, 2024. Prof. Adango said he chose to leave the government to preserve his reputation. He accused Governor Fubara of interfering with his duties as the Attorney General, alleging that the governor had directed him…
RIVERS State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has implemented a minor cabinet reshuffle in the state. Affected by the reshuffle are the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Zacchaeus Adangor; and the Commissioner for Finance, Isaac Kamalu. A statement on Tuesday signed by the Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Tammy Danagogo, announced that Governor Fubara has redeployed Adangor to the Ministry of Special Duties (Governor’s Office) while Kamalu was transferred to the Ministry of Employment Generation and Economic Empowerment. The statement directed both officials to hand over official documents related to their previous offices to their respective Permanent Secretaries, with the…
THE Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has reserved judgement in a petition filed by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timipre Sylva, against the declaration of Douye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the Governor of the state. Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Adekunle Adeleye, announced that the judgement will be delivered within 180 days statutorily allowed by law. The chairman said all the parties in the petition will be communicated as soon as the date is fixed. At Monday’s proceedings, all the parties adopted their written addresses, either asking the court to uphold…
THE Edo Zonal Command of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons has arrested a fake Reverend sister over the alleged trafficking of 38 children in Delta State. It was gathered that the suspect, Ikejimba Maryvianney (alias Oluchi) 40 years old, and one Chidera, now at large, handed over the children to two orphanage homes under the guise of giving them better care. The children, it was learnt, were handed over to the suspects by their parents at a farm community in Enugu-Awka camp by Monastery, Ilah, Delta State. Maryvianney was reportedly arrested by the NAPTIP following…
A TWO-TIME senator representing Edo South Matthew Uroghide has switched allegiance to the All Progressives Congress (APC). He formally defected to the APC from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at an event in Benin City on Saturday. His return to the APC is coming after what he described as a 13-year-three-month sojourn in the PDP. Senator Uroghide who described himself as a foundation member of the APC said he is glad to return to the fold of mature politicians, a party, in whose leaders he trusts and has confidence. The former lawmaker assured the party that he has returned to…
THE University of Calabar has confirmed that three students of the institution who were kidnapped about three weeks ago have been released. A statement released by the Public Relations Officer of the school, Effiong Eyo, said the students were released unharmed and have been reunited with their parents. Eyo said the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Florence Obi, who received the students in her office, thanked security agencies in the state for their collaboration and sustained efforts that led to the release of the students. The Vice-Chancellor, the statement added, also thanked the parents of the students for their efforts and collaboration…
GUNMEN kidnapped a journalist and reporter with Channels Television, Mr Joshua Rogers, at his residence in Rumuosi in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State on Thursday night. Rogers, who covers the Rivers State Government House for his organisation, was reportedly trailed after he closed from work to his residence. The miscreants accosted him before he alighted from his car, pointed a gun at him and whisked him along with his vehicle off to an unknown destination at about 9 pm. A source who said he doesn’t want his name mentioned said the reporter had earlier covered an event in…
OMOBAYO Godwins has been inaugurated as the Edo Deputy Governor, hours after Philip Shaibu was impeached by the state house of assembly. The 37-year-old who was beaming with a smile, was sworn in around 1:40 pm on Monday by the Chief Judge of Edo State Justice Daniel Okungbowa. In a day that began with the impeachment of Shaibu as the state’s deputy governor, Omobayo’s inauguration at the Edo State Government House in Benin City marks a major milestone in the political history of the state. After he took the oath of office, Omobayo who was dressed in a white kaftan…
THE political atmosphere in Edo State took a new shape on Monday when the state’s House of Assembly impeached embattled Philip Shaibu as deputy governor, ending a long-drawn drama between him and Governor Godwin Obaseki. He was impeached during the House’s plenary session in Benin City, the Edo State capital in a move that began months ago following the soured relationship between Obaseki and Shaibu. Shaibu’s impeachment followed the adoption of the report of a seven-man committee set up by the chief judge of Edo State Justice Daniel Okungbowa to investigate allegations of misconduct against the deputy governor. During plenary…
RIVERS State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has warned that he will surprise those who consider his honest decision to implement the presidential peace pact as a sign of weakness. Fubara said he had been inundated with several comments in the media about the implementation of the peace initiative and had chosen to be silent out of maturity and wisdom. The governor, however, said it was important to put the records straight for clarity, saying accepting President Bola Tinubu’s intervention and accompanying agreement was a political solution. This was contained in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Wednesday by his Chief…
THE Delta State Police Command has rescued nine students who were abducted along the East-West Road in Ughelli, Delta State. News Point Nigeria had reported how the students were abducted on Monday. Confirming the rescue, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Edafe Bright, wrote on his X handle late Monday while quoting Channels Television’s report, “All nine of the victims have regained their freedom pls.” The students were said to be travelling in a minibus before the abduction. The PPRO had told this newspaper that the abductees “may have been students who were returning from their school in Calabar, Cross…
GUNMEN have ambushed and abducted an unspecified number of students travelling along the East-West road in Ughelli, Delta State. A source told News Point Nigeria that the incident happened on Monday but details are sketchy as of the time of this report. But the spokesman of the Delta State Police Command Bright Edafe said the security agency is aware of the incident. “The Command is aware of this ugly incident, and we are doing all it takes to ensure that they are rescued unhurt,” he tweeted on his X handle. The Command is aware of this ugly incident, and we…