Author: darelasisi@gmail.com

The Federal Government (FG) has completed and handed over a 1.35km road, undertaken as part of measures toward improving infrastructure in tertiary schools, to the authorities of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti (FUOYE). The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Raji Fashola, handed over the road to the authorities of FUOYE on Tuesday. He said that the Federal Government resolved to rehabilitate the road because of its desire to further make the learning environment more conducive. The minister, represented by the Ekiti State Controller of Works, Mr Ishaq Lawal, disclosed that 43 of such internal road interventions within various tertiary…

Delta Airlines on Tuesday announced its plans to reduce its flight operations’ capacity by 15 per cent following the spread of Coronavirus to the country. The airline’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Ed Bastian, stated this in a statement he issued in Lagos. Bastain said that since the World Health Organisation’s declaration of the virus as a pandemic, it had led to a decline in demands across all entities. He said that the airline was taking decisive action to also protect its financial position. The airline’s boss explained that the reduction was to align capacity with the expected passengers’ demands.…

Cross River owned Calabar Garment factory has procured an order for the production of 8,000 pairs of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) uniforms. The Garment factory is one of the industries established by Gov. Ben Ayade in his first term in line with the industrialization policy of his administration. The state Commissioner for Industry, Mr Peter Egba, during a tour of the factory on Tuesday in Calabar, disclosed that the factory was given eight days to produce the uniforms “For me, this order is a manifestation of the engagement we have had over time. It helps sharpen our skills, keep…

The Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, says a new date for the 20th National Sports Festival (NSF) will be announced based on developments around the COVID-19. Dare had earlier announced that President Muhammadu Buhari has endorsed the postponement of the 20th NSF as part of deliberate efforts to check the possible spread of coronavirus in the country. While speaking later with State House correspondents, after a closed-door meeting with President Buhari, Dare gave no indication of when the Festival would now precisely hold. “A new date for the festival will be announced based on development around COVID-19,’’ the minister,…

The Nigeria High Commission in Ottawa, Canada, has suspended passport application processing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in its community. In a statement dated March 16, the high commission said that the suspension was effective immediately and would last until further notice. It, however, said the issuance of Emergency Travel Certificates (ETC) and visas would continue for those who needed to travel urgently. “This measure is in line with the Canadian government’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention’s guideline of “social distancing” as a “community mitigation strategy” to limit the spread of COVID-19. “It is a conscious…

Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu state has presented names of additional three commissioner nominees to the State House of Assembly for confirmation. This was contained in a letter read by the speaker, Chief Edward Ubosi during plenary in Enugu on Tuesday. Ubosi mentioned the nominees as Mr Emeka Mamah, Mr Uche Ogbodo and Mr Malfred Nzekwe. He said that the governor expressed optimism that the lawmakers would do the needful to enable him to continue with the governance of the state Ubosi asked the nominees to appear before the House on Thursday for screening and subsequent confirmation. In another development,…

The Commissioner for Finance in Abia, Mr Aham Uko, says the state is putting pragmatic measures in place to offset a whooping N21 billion pension arrears. Uko made the disclosure when he briefed newsmen in Umuahia on a fresh biometric verification of pensioners by the ministry, which kicked off in different parts of the state on Monday. He said that the exercise was part of the measures designed to “remove irregular names” from the list and ascertain the exact number of genuine pensioners. He further said that the verification was exclusive to state government and primary school retirees and entailed…

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, has announced to stakeholders and the general public that the National Aviation Conference earlier scheduled for 1st to 4th April 2020, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja has been suspended. This is due to the need to adhere to safety precautions in the face of the Coronavirus presently spreading across nations globally. The World Health Organization recently declared COVID 19 a global pandemic and advised that as much as possible, individuals and organizations should avoid clustered gatherings to prevent the spread of the virus. A new date for the conference will be announced…

Some federal civil servants in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have decried the continued arbitrary deductions from their salaries by the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) for no reason. They expressed their grievances over the irregularities in salary payment in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, describing it as a fraud. Some said the deductions were alien to them as they were not aware of any reasons why their salaries should be deducted. Mr Livinus Ugochukwu, a former employee of NAN said that in August 2018, IPPIS deducted N10,158.33 from his…

The Kogi chapter of Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has commiserated with Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi over the death of his mother, Hajia Hauwau Oziohu Bello. She died on Sunday during a brief illness at the age of 101 years and was buried on Monday in Okene, her home town, according to Islamic rites. The NMA Chairman in Kogi, Dr Kabiru Zubair, expressed the association’s heartfelt condolences to the governor and the entire Pa Ipemida Ochi’s family over the demise of their beloved mother. ”The NMA wishes to express her heartfelt condolences to His Excellency, Gov. Yahaya Bello, over the…