Author: TheScrutinyNG

The Plateau Commissioner for Information and Communication, Musa Ashoms, has confirmed that about 200 students were trapped in the Jos school building that collapsed in Jos. The Saints Academy, a secondary school in Jos, collapsed on Friday, while students were writing their third term examination. Ashoms, who visited the scene in the company of other commissioners, including that of secondary education, said that the school had a total population of about 400. The commissioner said that part of the school that collapsed was accommodating about 200 students. “The collapsed building has resulted in casualties, and injured students are still being…

Two Australian nationals accused of spying for Russia have been arrested in Australia, federal police said on Friday. The Russian-born married couple, aged 40 and 62, are accused of “obtaining Australian Defence Force material’’ with the intention of leaking it to Russian authorities, Australian police said in a statement. The 40-year-old woman is an Army Private in the Australian army, according to the police. The couple was arrested in their house in a Brisbane suburb on Thursday, police said. They have been charged with “one count each of preparing for an espionage offence, which carries a maximum penalty of 15…

By Prof Mike Ozekhome, SAN, CON, OFR The supreme court judgement today, July 11, 2024, directing the Federal Government to pay allocations due to Local Government Areas directly to their account thereby abolishing the old practices of State-Local Government Joint Account, is timely and courageous. What the judgement has done is more like interpreting section 162 of the Constitution, which provides for a joint State-Local Government Account. In which case, money is normally paid to state governors’ accounts and then for them to disburse to the local governments for them to share. But what has been happening is that, as…

By Chief James Ibori The Supreme Court has dealt a severe setback on the principle of federalism as defined by section 162(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). The section expressly provides thus: “Any amount standing to the credit of the Federation Account shall be distributed among the Federal and State Governments and the Local Government Councils in each State on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by the National Assembly”. Sections 6 provide further clarity on the subject matter. (6) Each State shall maintain a special account to be called “State Joint Local Government Account”…

It is a tale of woes as an acute scarcity of one of Nigerians’ most popular staple foods, bread, has hit Kaduna, Katsina, and Kano States. Checks by the News Agency of Nigeria correspondents revealed that the most-favoured staple was now as scarce as petrol or the highly-prized precious metal, Gold. It was observed that whereas the commodity was very hard to come by, its prices have hit the roof. Many of the residents could no longer afford the staple and, as such had turned to other not-too-cheap alternatives like noodles, millet porridge, and bean cake, as well as bread…

The House of Representatives has queried the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Uju Kennedy-Ohaneye, for spending unrelated expenditures, including N45 million for a new year party, N20 million for sanitary pads. Others include N1.5 million for vehicle fuel. Rep Kafilat Ogbara, Chairman, House Committee on Women Affairs, led the interrogation of the Minister, over the non-payment of N1.5 billion to contractors in spite of the fund release in Abuja. She said that the investigative hearing was aimed at uncovering the truth and not witch-hunting the Minister and the officials of the ministry. The committee also investigated the alleged diversion of…

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said it would sanction airlines engaged in deceitful departure time scheduling. The Acting Director-General, NCAA, Capt. Chris Najomo made the assertion in a statement signed by the Director, Public Affairs/Consumer Protection, Mr Michael Achimugu, on Tuesday. The NCAA warned the airlines to desist from the infraction or face dire regulatory actions. “The NCAA now runs a zero-tolerance approach to regulatory infractions. “Ease of doing business is the crux of the D-G’s action plan for the NCAA. In line with that action plan, he has made processes for licensing easy for operators. “The time…

The Federal Government, on Monday, announced a 150-day duty-free import window for food commodities as it stepped up efforts to tackle rising inflation which had impoverished many Nigerians. The government also expressed its decision to collaborate with states to expand land cultivation across the country. Consequently, the government suspended duties, tariffs and taxes for the importation of certain food commodities through land and sea borders. Among other things, the latest directive is expected to reduce demand for forex by food importers. In 2023, Nigerians spent $2.13bn to import food items from foreign countries. The quarterly statistics of the Central Bank…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited says fuel stations are to operate longer hours for the supply and distribution of petrol, calling on fuel stations to aid availability given the current tight situation. The company said the turnaround period of Premium Motor Spirit trucking is also elongated to ease the situation being witnessed. The Executive Vice President, Downstream, NNPC Ltd, Dapo Segun, said this on Monday in Abuja during a joint inspection of stations by the firm and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority officials. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the NNPC and the NMDPRA embarked…

. . . Donates N10 million to Nursing College in Kogi The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, has explained that his unwavering commitment to building a better nation through investing in the critical areas of human and national development; health and education, is ultimately for the good of the nation and the future of society. Obi made the remarks yesterday, when he paid a visit to Grimard College of Nursing Sciences, Anyigba, Kogi State, where he donated N10 million to the College for the training of nurses, who he said, are at the centre of primary…