Author: darelasisi@gmail.com
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) says there is no cause for alarm over the low patronage of the newly introduced free train ride on Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail. Mr Yakub Mahmood, NRC’s Deputy Director, Public Relations, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos that the low patronage was expected, being a new service. NAN reports that the free train ride from Iju in Lagos to Moniya in Ibadan, which was flagged off by the Minister of Transport, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, on Nov. 29, started operation on Monday. “When you introduce a product into the market, it…
The joint anti-bunkering team of the Nigeria Customs Service on Wednesday intercepted 23 jerry cans of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) at Idiroko border, concealed in two caskets. Abdullahi Maiwada, the Customs Spokesman in the area, said in a statement that the fuel lading coffins were abandoned in a Mazda 626 with Lagos registration number LSD 617 CW. “In continuation of the fight against smuggling, a customs joint special taskforce of Ogun I Command, Federal Operation Unit Zone “A” and CGC’s Strike Force intercepted 13 jerry cans of 25 litres and six jerry cans of 10 litres of PMS concealed clandestinely…
ABUJA – The Senate on Thursday made history with the passage of N10.59 trillion budget for the year 2020 in keeping with its major legislative agenda of returning the country’s budget cycle to a more predictable one as well as stabilizing the economy. The passage of the annual 2020 budget before the end of the 2019 fiscal year by the upper chamber signals the country’s return to a January – December budget cycle after decades of its disruption. The 2020 Appropriation Bill was passed into law after a clause by clause consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on…
The Director General Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Dr. Bakut T. Bakut has said that youths are active stakeholders in peacebuilding. He added that their involvement is critical in either sustaining the threats to peace and security or promoting peaceful co-existence. The Director made this known on Wednesday 4th December, 2019 in Abuja while speaking at a Youth and Dialogue Conference with Theme: “Building a New World and Embracing Peaceful Co-existence”. According to him, the agenda for a new world should resolve around youths, who occupy the greater percentage in the nation’s demography. “They are creative and equally active…
The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) has advised the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to heed the Federal Government’s directive that all workers, including university lecturers, be enrolled in its Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System(IPPIS). The Chairman of CACOL, Mr Debo Adeniran, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)on Thursday in Lagos. NAN reports that the Federal Government and ASUU have been at loggerheads over IPPIS enrollment following a recent directive by President Muhammadu Buhari that all federal workers must be captured on the platform by December or have their…
A former Governor of Abia, Orji Kalu, has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for N7.2 billion fraud and money laundering by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos. The court convicted Kalu, now a senator, on all the 39 counts preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission charge. Kalu was charged alongside a former Commissioner for Finance, in the state Jones Udeogo, and his company, Slok Nig. Ltd. While Kalu and his company were found guilty of all the 39 counts, Udeogo was convicted on 34 counts and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. The court ordered…
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN) has called for the use of Bank Verification Number (BVN) as collateral to access micro-credits by the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Dr Dikko Radda, SMEDAN Director-General, made the call on Thursday in Uyo at the ongoing 11th meeting of the National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment organized by the ministry. Dikko said that the banking industry could consider the BVN as adequate requirement to provide micro-credits to the MSMEs since it had been embedded with critical details of the owner. Decrying lack of access to affordable finance by MSMEs,…
The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday, ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to release Omoyele Sowore, Convener, #RevolutionNow Protest, within 24 hours. Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, who gave the order, also awarded an N100, 000 fine against the DSS over its delay to serve the defence counsel with the additional proof of evidence in the ongoing trial of Sowore and Olawale Bakare. The judge, who was visibly angry over the development which has caused the court to adjourn the trial at the instance of the DSS, said the fine must be paid to the defendants before the next adjourned…
A Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday found a former Governor of Abia, Uzor Kalu, guilty of 39 counts of fraud Kalu was charged alongside Jones Udeogo, the state Commissioner for Finance during his tenure as the governor. Kalu’s company, Slok Nig. Ltd., was also a defendant in the suit. While Kalu and his company were convicted on all the 39 counts of the fraud charge, Udeogo was found guilty of 34 counts. NAN Details later…
President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a personally signed goodwill message to Ignatius Kaigama, as he gets formally installed today as Catholic Archbishop of Abuja. The President rejoiced with the Archbishop and wished him well in his new spiritual assignment. Details of the letter below: “I rejoice with you on your appointment as the Archbishop of Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja by the Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis. “With your pedigree as a priest and administrator, I have no doubt that you will make an impressive success in your new office. Your background as immediate past President of Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria,…