Author: Samuel Akpenpuun

Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu, has tasked the newly unveiled Local Government Service Commission with upholding their primary responsibility with unflinching dedication and working to advance the state. While speaking during the inauguration ceremony of the 7-member commission held in Calabar on Thursday, Governor Otu stressed on the critical role of local government in the broader agenda of his administration. He described the unveiling as not just a routine exercise, but an essential step in the strategic direction of his administration in line with the people’s First agenda. “This exercise is politically imperative, socio-economically expedient, and administratively wise,” he…

Manchester United will start their 2024/25 Premier League campaign with a home fixture against Fulham on Friday, while Manchester City will begin their title defense with a challenging trip to Chelsea on Sunday. New Liverpool manager Arne Slot will be under scrutiny as he leads his team to Ipswich for his first competitive match since taking over from Jurgen Klopp. Ipswich, newly promoted after a 22-year absence, will be eager to make a strong impression. Erik ten Hag Faces Crucial Start for Manchester United Erik ten Hag, who secured his position at Manchester United with a surprising FA Cup final…

Former Technical Adviser to an ex-Minister of Petroleum Resources, Daniel Kunle, says the $20bn Dangote Refinery can secure Nigeria’s petroleum supply for the next 10 years till the country transits to electrical vehicles. Kunle, during Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, said “since independence in 1960, Dangote Refinery is the first mega industrial project that is puttng us on the status of economic sovereignty”. “The four government refineries combined, the four – the small one in Port Harcourt built in 1965, the bigger one built in 1988, and the Warri refinery built in 1978, Kaduna in 1980 – combined, will…

The United States on Thursday announced its approval of a $5 billion sale of up to 600 Patriot missiles and related equipment to Germany, which has donated several of the advanced air defence systems to Ukraine. The proposed sale of the PAC-3 MSE missiles “will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a NATO ally that is an important force for political and economic stability in Europe,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement. It “will improve Germany’s capability to meet current and future threats and increase the…

The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the interim forfeiture of a cash sum of $2,045m linked to the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele. Justice Akintayo Aluko also ordered the interim forfeiture of seven landed properties linked to the suspended CBN Governor. The lands are listed as: “two fully detached duplexes of identical structures, lying being and situated at No. 17b Hakeem Odumosu Street, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos; an undeveloped/bare land, measuring 1919.592sqm with Survey Plan No. DS/LS/340 LYING, being and situate at Oyinkan Abayomi Drive (Formerly Queens Drive), Ikoyi, Lagos; a bungalow…

The Federal Government has intensified monitoring and screening procedures at all entry points in the country in response to the monkey pox (Mpox) outbreak. The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday signed by his Special Adviser on Media & External Relations, Tashikalmah Hallah. The Africa Centre for Disease Control on Tuesday declared a public health emergency over the growing mpox outbreak on the continent. The outbreak has swept through several African countries, particularly the Democratic Republic of Congo. There is a serious and growing outbreak in the Democratic Republic…

The Labour Party Presidential Candidate in the 2023 poll, Peter Obi, has described as international embarrassment the seizure of three Presidential Jets by the French Court. Reacting to the incident Obi frowned at the secrecy involved in both buying and selling of Presidential jets, a property of Nigerian people. Writing on his X handle on Thursday, Obi said, “The trending international news on the seizure of three Jets belonging to Nigeria’s Presidential fleet is yet another of many embarrassing things exposing our failed leadership and our attitude to the rule of law even in a democracy. “It has also thrown…

Electricity distribution companies (DiSCos) have defended the hike in electricity tariff, saying Band A customers in the country enjoy the lowest price in West Africa. “Even the band A customers who are currently paying the highest in Nigeria, they pay the lowest tariff in the whole of West Africa,” the spokesman of the country’s 11 electricity distribution companies under the umbrella of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) Sunday Oduntan said on Thursday’s edition of Channels Television’s Lunchtime Politics. The ANED spokesman who doubled down on his stance, said electricity consumers in neigbhouring countries like the Benin Republic, Mali,…

The Nigerian Army has airlifted troops serving in the North-East under Operation Hadin Kai for their annual leave. A post on the Nigerian Army showed the troops being airlifted from the Maiduguri Airport in Borno State. “Troops serving in North East Nigeria under Operation HADIN KAI proceeding on annual leave from the front lines, being airlifted on Nigerian Army’s chartered ValueJet aircraft from Maiduguri Airport to various destinations across the country under the Chief of Army Staff’s bi-monthly Welfare Flights Initiative,” the post on its X handle said. “Secure, fast, and reliable way for the gallant warriors to travel down…

The Federal Government of Nigeria has accused a Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, of subterfuge after a French court ruled in favour of the firm and granted the seizure of presidential jets belonging to the Nigerian government. In a statement on Thursday, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga alleged that the Chinese firm is trying “to take over offshore assets of the Federal Government of Nigeria through subterfuge”. In the dispute involving an arbitration award, the court in Paris ruled in favour of the Chinese firm, allowing it to seize three presidential jets on routine maintenance in France as…