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Friday, 16 December 2016 02:47

Air passengers stranded as aviation fuel scarcity bites harder nationwide

Air passengers in Nigeria are stranded at airports nationwide, as airline operators jostle for aviation fuel, amidst scarcity that is getting worse. On Tuesday, the passengers, some of whom were on transit, waited endlessly in the departure hall. While few were lucky to later travel, others were later informed that their scheduled flights had been cancelled. Aviation fuel, otherwise called Jet-A1, is a specialised type of petroleum-based fuel used to power aircraft and normally accounts for over 30 per cent of operation cost of an airline. Jet-A1 is 100 per cent imported into Nigeria and subject to fluctuations in the…

Friday, 16 December 2016 02:41

Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, is UN Deputy Secretary-General

Incoming UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday announced Amina Mohammed as his Deputy Secretary-General. Mr. Guterres made the announcement through the spokesman of the Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric. Ms. Mohammed, Nigeria’s current Minister of Environment, was former UN Under-Secretary-General to outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the 2030 Agenda for Development. The secretary-general-designate also announced the appointment of two other women into top UN positions. Mr. Guterres had hinted on Monday after he took the oath of office that gender parity would be top on his agenda as the UN scribe. The UN chief, who succeeds outgoing secretary-general Ban, will assume…

Thursday, 15 December 2016 14:43

Senate rejects Magu as EFCC chairman

The Senate has rejected the nomination of Ibrahim Magu as Chairman of anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The lawmakers said they could not okay President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination of Mr. Magu based on security report available to them. The spokesperson for the upper legislative chamber, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, revealed this Thursday afternoon after the Senators emerged from a closed-door meeting where Mr. Magu’s confirmation was discussed. “The Senate wishes to inform the public that based on available security report, the Senate cannot proceed with the confirmation of Ibrahim Magu as Chairman of the Economic and Financial…

Thursday, 15 December 2016 14:41

Female lawmaker is dead

Speaker of the Delta House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Monday Igbuya, on Wednesday night announced the death of one of its long-serving members, Hon. Omawumi Udoh. Udoh represented Warri south I constituency in the state House of Assembly. She died in a London hospital after a protracted illness. In a statement signed by Igbuya’s Chief Press secretary, Henry Ebireri, the speaker described the late Ms. Udoh as “a dogged fighter, grassroots woman and leader.” “I wish to convey to you the deepest condolence of the Delta House of Assembly in an emotion laden voice. It is really hard to believe,”…

Thursday, 15 December 2016 14:40

40 per cent of men living with prostate cancer in Nigeria – Urologist

Forty per cent of men aged about 40 years are living with prostate cancer and many are unaware of their status, an expert has said. Dr. Ovunda Omudu, Head, Department of Surgery at the Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital, disclosed this on Thursday while delivering a lecture on cancer to officers and ratings of the Nigeria Navy Ship Pathfinder in Port Harcourt. Omudu, a trained Urologist, said the disease had killed many due to several factors including poor awareness, knowledge, ignorance and manpower. According to him, treatment for the disease is equally very expensive as it cost between N90,000 to N110,000…

Thursday, 15 December 2016 02:51

Saraki to Buhari: There is hardship in the land

Senate President, Bukola Saraki yesterday told President Muhammadu Buhari that there is hardship in the country and that Nigerians are suffering. Speaking during the presentation of the 2017 budget by President Buhari, Saraki said Nigerians are lamenting the hardship in the country. “Mr. President, the feedback we get from visits to our various constituencies is that there is hardship in the land. We can see it and we can feel it. This situation therefore commands all of us as government to a greater sense of urgency. We cannot work magic, but we must continue to work the clock. “Our people…

Thursday, 15 December 2016 02:49

SGF Babachir Lawal reacts to Senate’s call for his sack, prosecution

Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Babachir Lawal, has said that calls by the Senate for his resignation and prosecution are an attempt to rubbish his person. Lawal said this while speaking to journalists shortly after the 2017 Budget Proposal presentation by President Muhammadu Buhari before the joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday in Abuja. Efforts to get more response from the SGF failed as he did not respond to further questions. The Senate had at plenary earlier called for the removal and prosecution of the SGF following alleged complicity in the diversion of the North…

Thursday, 15 December 2016 02:47

Deficit rises in Buhari's record N7.28 trillion 2017 budget

Nigeria expects its 2017 deficit to rise to 2.36 trillion naira ($7.75 billion), President Muhammadu Buhari said on Wednesday, as the government tries to drag Africa's biggest economy out of recession with a budget that foresees record spending. Buhari is facing rising disenchantment with his handling of the economy as Nigeria struggles with 18 percent inflation and its first recession in 25 years, brought on by low global prices for the oil it produces. Capital expenditure will rise by nearly a quarter next year to 2.24 trillion naira as the state invests in roads, railways and power plants to diversify…

Thursday, 15 December 2016 02:46

SANs reject FG’s briefs to prosecute accused judges

About 10 Senior Advocates of Nigeria have rejected Federal Government’s briefs for the prosecution of some judges lined up for trial on corruption charges. Top sources in the Federal Ministry of Justice confirmed to our correspondent on Wednesday that some of the SANs who rejected the briefs were part of the 80 special prosecutors brought together by the Federal Government, through its National Prosecution Coordinating Committee. The 80 special prosecutors grouped into 20 teams are meant to handle Federal Government’s high-profile cases that are instituted by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice’s office. There are 20…

Thursday, 15 December 2016 02:44

WAEC to conduct ‘GCE’ twice a year

West African Examinations Council, WAEC, says it will soon begin the conduct of its examination for private candidates, popularly called GCE, twice in a year with effect from 2017. The council Registrar, Dr Iyi Uwadiae, said on the sidelines of the council’s “Registrar’s Staff Appraisal Committee’’ meeting on Wednesday in Accra, Ghana. Uwadiae said, “The West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates known as the November/December diet for private candidates will now be conducted in January/February and August/September.’’ According to him, the measure is to ensure that many private candidates, who desire the certificate for various purposes,…

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Thursday, 15 December 2016 02:43

Akwa Ibom govt blocks moves by NSE, SON to investigate church building collapse

Akwa Ibom State government has rejected plans by the Nigeria Society of Engineers, NSE, the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, and any other interested organisation to investigate the collapse of a church building in the state. The Nigeria police said 27 people lost their lives, while 37 were injured when an uncompleted structure housing the Reigners Bible Church, Uyo, collapsed on Saturday during a ceremony to enthrone the founder of the church, Akan Weeks, as a bishop. The building collapsed shortly after the ceremony started around 10 a.m., with heavy iron beams falling on worshipers, including women and children. The…

Thursday, 15 December 2016 02:41

Victims rescued from Boko Haram are stuck in guarded camps as famine approaches

Seen from above in a helicopter, the straight white walls of Ngala camp in northeast Nigeria carve a misshapen star out of the dry brown scrub. There are 55,000 people living in tents and straw huts inside the geometric garrison, protected from Boko Haram jihadists by the military. Though the city of Ngala is less than a kilometre away, these people can't go back to a normal life. "Boko Haram is still here, the only thing we can do is wait for food," said Aishi, a 50-year-old woman with deep lines in her tired face. Over the past year, Nigerian…

Wednesday, 14 December 2016 17:22

Buhari presents N7.28 trillion budget for 2017: Here is the full speech

1. It is my pleasure to present the 2017 Budget Proposals to this distinguished Joint Assembly: the Budget of Recovery and Growth. 2. We propose that the implementation of the Budget will be based on our Economic Recovery and Growth Strategy. The Plan, which builds on our 2016 Budget, provides a clear road map of policy actions and steps designed to bring the economy out of recession and to a path of steady growth and prosperity. 3. We continue to face the most challenging economic situation in the history of our Nation. Nearly every home and nearly every business in…

Wednesday, 14 December 2016 17:20

Senate to Buhari: SGF Babachir Lawal is corrupt, remove him now

The Senate has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to suspend and ensure prosecution of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Babachir Lawal, over alleged breach of Nigeria’s law in handling contracts awarded by the Presidential Initiative for the North East, PINE The Senate’s resolution on Wednesday followed presentation of the report on mounting humanitarian crisis in the north-east by the Shehu Sani-led ad hoc committee. Lawal’s company, Global Vision Ltd., is one of the companies indicted by the committee for allegedly benefiting from inflated and phantom contracts – or ones not executed at all – awarded by the…

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