Author: darelasisi@gmail.com
For different people, jailing the Director General (DG) of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex Okoh, for failing to take over the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) from UC RUSAL of Russia, as ordered by the Supreme Court of Nigeria, means different things. In December 2019, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja ordered that Okoh be remanded in prison for at least 30 days for his disobedience to the June 6, 2012 judgment of the Supreme Court which affirmed Bancorp Financial Investment Group (BFIG) as the true owner of the ALSCON. For some, the ruling means…
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja The Debt Management Office (DMO) on Friday put Nigeria’s total public debt as of September 2019 at N26.215 trillion. The Director-General of DMO, Ms Patience Oniha, made the disclosure while presenting the nation’s Public Debt Data in Abuja. She explained that the debt comprised the Federal Government and 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory’s debts within the period under review. Oniha said the comparative figure for June 2019 was N25.701 trillion which implied that in the quarter July to September 2019, the total public debt grew by 2.0 per cent. She said that the total…
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) on Friday signed a term sheet with Made In Africa Inc. (MIA) to provide the company with a $190-million facility to finance the acquisition of African Fabric Holdings BV, Netherlands, also known as Vlisco Group. The facility, broken into two tranches, will also be used to provide working capital to Vlisco group following the acquisition. Kanayo Awani, Managing Director of Afreximbank’s Intra-African Trade Initiative, signed on behalf of the Bank while Kojo Annan, Chairman, and Founder of MIA, signed for the company during a ceremony held on the sidelines of the Creative Africa Exchange Weekend…
By Harry Awurumibe, Abuja with agency report Gambia’s national U-20 Women’s football team coach, Foday Bah has vowed his side are going to for a result when they take on Burkina Faso in the preliminary qualifiers of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica / Panama 2020. The Gambians will be making their debut outing at the junior category when they take on Burkina Faso away in Ouagadougou tomorrow, Saturday. “We’ve played their senior national in the last Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and I think they (Burkina Faso U-20 women’s team) can’t be better than their seniors.…
By Amosu Adeboye Jurgen Klopp has condemned a rescheduling of the Africa Cup of Nations back to January as “a catastrophe for Liverpool”. But the Reds boss has insisted he will not consider selling Mo Salah, Sadio Mane or Naby Keita, even though all three hugely important players could potentially miss six weeks of the new season. The tournament had been switched to the summer from its previous winter slow, to reduce the impact on European leagues. But the 2021 competition will be played in Cameroon, and it is simply too hot to play during June and July there. So…
In my column article of January 6 – a riposte to Isa Funtua’s prejudiced utterance on the Igbo — I wrote: ‘’Funtua’s statement reeks of corpulent arrogance, bigotry and acute sense of entitlement. It reinforces the stereotype that his section of the country bullies any region that does not kiss the ring of the caliphate.’’ I was not surprised that Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) reacted hysterically to the piece because the beneficiaries of the disequilibrium status quo will always seek to maintain it. It is common knowledge that swathes of territories in the north have been overrun by bandits. At…
By Amosu Adeboye Wrestling sensation and two-time Commonwealth champion Odunayo Adekuoroye reigned supreme in Rome at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series tournament, claiming gold in a very dominant fashion in the final of the 57kg class, while Blessing Oborududu (68kg) settled for bronze at the event. After convincingly taking out her opponents in the earlier rounds, Adekuoroye demolished Indian Anshu Anshu 10-0 via technical superiority in the final to land gold. On her way to the final, the former world No. 1 impressively overcame Alina Akobii of Ukraine 12-0, before recording a 10-0 victory via technical superiority over home girl…
Walking with Shadows, a film co-produced by Funmi Iyanda and Olumide Makanjuola has been scheduled for screening at the 2020 Göteborg Film Festival in Gothenburg, Sweden. Directed by Irish writer/director, Aoife O’Kelly, the film is an adaptation of Jude Dibia’s critically acclaimed novel of the same title. It will be screened in Gothenburg for four consecutive days from Wednesday, January 29 to Saturday, February 1. Starring Ozzy Agu, Zainab Balogun, Ayoola, Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi, Wale Ojo, Adunni Ade, and Funsho Adeolu, Walking with Shadows is the story of a man who turns away a comfortable life to be true to himself.…
Justice Jide Falola of the Osun State High Court in Ikirun on Friday sentenced two men to death by hanging for murder. Falola in his judgment said the prosecution counsel proved his case against the convicts, Orisakunle Abiodun, 21; and Opadokun Olayinka, 29, beyond reasonable doubt for the murder of one Matthew Adeoye in Ikirun. The judge sentenced the convicts to five years imprisonment for conspiracy and death by hanging for murder. Falola, however, discharged and acquitted the third accused, Femi Aroyehun for lack of evidence against him. The convicts, who were first arraigned on Jan. 22, 2018, pleaded not…
Nigerian Government has taken delivery of two fighter helicopters to boost the ongoing fight against insurgency and banditry in the country. The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, disclosed this when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the meeting of Security Council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday. The meeting was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari. Abubakar also announced that additional fighter helicopters and other military hardware would be supplied to the nation’s armed forces to enhance their capacity in the battlefields. He said: “In terms of procurement of platforms, a substantial number…