Author: darelasisi@gmail.com

A series of salacious stories were recently published by several online news portals about plots by a Lebanese engineer, Said Khalaf, to annex Setraco Nigeria Limited (SNL).  Khalaf’s alleged gambit was not only to shortchange the progenies of the late Alhaji Inu Umoru, the principal partner of the 41-year old business, who passed on in 2009, but also to ensure, as alleged, the company goes under in the event the take-over plot fails. The allegations, supra, were some of the reinforcing themes of the media narratives. While I will not rehash the mind-boggling and questionable financial transactions that reportedly bore…

Nigeria and Russia Thursday in Sochi, Russia, signed an important Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which will enable both countries’ oil giants, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Russia’s Lukeoil to elevate commercial relationship to a government-to-government backed partnership. With signing of the MoU, NNPC and Lukeoil will work together in upstream operations and revamp Nigeria’s refineries. Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari and Vagit Alekperov, President of leading Russian oil company, Lukeoil, signed the MoU, which entails cooperation in deep offshore exploration of oil in Nigeria, production, trading and refining. The signing ceremony, which took place on the sidelines…

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has urged the Federal Government to review and improve the capacity of the Integrated Personal Payroll System (IPPIS) to make it flexible before enrolling universities. Prof. Theophilus Lagi, the ASUU Coordinator, Abuja chapter, made the appeal at a news conference in Gwagwalada on Thursday. He explained that lack of flexibility of IPPIS had made it inappropriate and incapacitated to address the peculiarity in the University system. Lagi said there is no clear and convincing evidence that IPPIS can capture remuneration of staff on sabbatical, external examiners and earned academic allowance. According to him,…

ILORIN – Another rehabilitation center, Sumuratu Mumeen Arabic Centre, Gaa-Odota Area in Ilorin, where 108 people detained under inhuman condition were rescued has been uncovered by Kwara State Police Command. The State Commissioner of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun made this known on Thursday in Ilorin while briefing newsmen in his office. Egbetokun said the command acted on an intelligence surveillance and raided the centre where 103 males and five females were discovered unlawfully detained in the centre. “Some of the victims were observed to be have some forms of infections and diseases and were not treated while some others were…

Sets up harmonization committee The House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta has received the 2020 budget of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs with a commitment to work on grey areas and pass a budget that will impact on the lives of the people of the region. To this end, the Committee has set up a five-man committee to harmonize the budget proposal to ensure that some pending projects in 2019 budget are completed before embarking on new ones. The Chairman of the House Committee on Niger Delta Affairs, Rt. Hon. Essien Ayi set up the Committee during the…

The Federal Government has upgraded Anambra State College of Agriculture to a full-fledged polytechnic, Prof. Theresa Obiekezie, Anambra Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, has said. Obiekezie spoke on Thursday in Awka, while defending her ministry’s 2020 budget before the State House of Assembly Committee on Tertiary Education. She said that the ministry started pursuing the accreditation since 2017. “After many months of engagement, I am pleased to announce to you that the Federal Government through the National Board for Technical Education, has approved and accredited the Anambra State Monotechnic, Mgbakwu, to a full-fledged polytechnic.’’ She said that the…

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, has disclosed that the states that took the federal government loan for bailout have started repaying the loan. The minister at the budget defence before House of Representatives committee on Finance, disclosed that states have started paying back the loan since September. The disclosure followed a question by the Chairman of the Committee, James Faleke on the status of the loans given to states to bail them out. Mrs. Ahmed in her response said, “The states, from September have started repaying the bailout, it’s a loan.” Speaking further on companies bailed out, he noted…

It was a sad day in Gusau, Zamfara State capital as a 17-year-old girl, Miss Aisha Bello, died after setting herself ablaze for not marring the man after her heart in the month of September. She was reported to have died on Wednesday evening at the Federal Medical Center, Gusau where she was rushed to for urgent medical attention immediately after setting herself ablaze in September this year because she believed that she was prevented from getting married to her suitor. DAILY POST gathered that Aisha had sustained various degrees of injuries after setting her self on fire in a…

The youth wing of the Ogun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Thursday said the decision of Governor Dapo Abiodun to allocate 50 per cent of his cabinet to women would not be laudable without considering the youths. Abiodun had during a Town Hall meeting at Ilaro last week said, “I want to assure you that my cabinet will have, if not 50 percent of women, it will have at least 40 per cent.” The youths, arising from a general meeting held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, said youths who worked for the party during the…

The Comptroller General, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Mr. Muhammad Babandede, has warned officers and men of the service to shun corruption and deliver selfless service to the nation. Babandede, who gave the warning in Benin on Thursday at the Comptroller General Annual workshop, added that the officers and men should adhere strictly to paramilitary ethic of discipline. He said that it was only a disciplined service that can help in eradicating any form of corruption, saying that it would help deliver in terms of the NIS mandate. “We must all remember our vision where we want to be: a modern,…