Author: Samuel Akpenpuun

It was a rowdy scene at the emergency plenary session called by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, on Wednesday. The debate centred on a bill seeking to raise the Ways and Means cash advances from the Central Bank of Nigeria from five per cent to 10 per cent. This followed the consideration of “A Bill for an Act to amend the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 to increase the Central Bank of Nigeria’s total advance to the Federal Government from five per cent to a maximum of 15 per cent and for other related matters.”…

Nigeria faces an annual funding gap of $200m for immunisation, Director General of the Budget Office, Dr. Tanimu Yakubu, revealed on Wednesday. Speaking at the Multi-Stakeholders Technical Workshop for the Optimisation of Immunisation Financing in Nigeria, organised by the Vaccine Network for Disease Control in partnership with GAVI and the Global Health Advocacy Initiative, Yakubu emphasised the need for increased public sector funding to address the financial gaps in immunisation. “Nigeria faces an annual funding gap of $200m out of the required $580m for immunisation. However, considering the public sector’s contribution of only $150m, the actual funding gap is more…

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Assets has queried the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) for taking money from the budget for its operation without authorisation. Chairman of the Committee, Ademorin Kuye, queried the agency as its Managing Director, Dr Armstrong Takang, appeared before it to give an account of their activities. He said, “In your report, we would like you to refer us to the section of the law where you are permitted to take money from the budget. How you have been getting funded since you came into office?” According to Kuye, the agency wasted the Committee’s…

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) has postponed all examinations scheduled for August 1st and 2nd until further notice, in response to reports of a planned protest. The announcement was made in a press release issued by the institution on Wednesday, July 31. The release advises all members of the university’s three campuses to remain security conscious and calm, as the management has implemented precautionary measures to ensure the safety of lives and property. Members of the institution are encouraged to continue their legitimate activities, and new dates for the rescheduled exams will be announced in due course. The statement read:…

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the United States was “not aware of or involved in” the killing of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. “I can’t tell you what this means. I can tell you that the imperative of getting a ceasefire, the importance that that has for everyone, remains,” Blinken said in an interview with Channel News Asia in Singapore. “This is something we were not aware of or involved in,” he said of the killing. Haniyeh was in Iran to attend the inauguration of Iran’s new president when he was killed by an…

The Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board has announced the results of its computer-based teacher recruitment tests. Executive Chairman Nureni Adeniran revealed that a 50% cut-off mark has been established for progression to the next stage of the process. Candidates are encouraged to check their results via the Board’s online portal. With 52,423 applicants competing for 7,000 primary school teaching positions, Adeniran emphasized the Board’s dedication to improving educational infrastructure and services in the state.

The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede has assured youths across the country that the Commission is working hard and tirelessly to secure their future from the grip of fraudsters who are bent on tarnishing the image of the country and ruin the future of the next generation. He gave the assurance in Abuja, on Thursday, July 25, 2024 while receiving the Engineering and Computer Science Students of Citi Polytechnic, Abuja at the corporate headquarters of the Commission. Speaking through the Head, Creative Communications Unit, CCU, of the Commission, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE…

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said those responsible for the violence that left police officers injured in protests after a mass stabbing that left three children dead would “face the full force of the law”. Southport, a small seaside town near Liverpool in northwestern England, was reeling on Wednesday after clashes targeting a local mosque “insulted the community as it grieves”, Starmer said. Some 39 officers were injured, at least eight seriously, after a large group — believed to be supporters of the far-right English Defence League (EDL) — threw bricks at a local mosque and set cars on fire…

The Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya, has disclosed that with the lean allocation to the state, it would be difficult to meet the N70,000 minimum wage. The minimum wage was recently assented to by President Bola Tinubu following an agreement with joint labour unions. Speaking on Tuesday during a meeting held with stakeholders on the planned nationwide #Endbadgovernance protest at the banquet hall of Gombe Government House, Yahaya declared, “I cannot pay the N70,000 minimum wage, and I suspect many other states are in the same predicament.” On the donated rice to the states, Yahaya commended the Federal Government for…

The traditional ruler of Nnewi, Igwe Dr. Kenneth Orizu has declared a three-day mourning period in honour of the late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah who died in the United Kingdom at the weekend. The late Senator, who was representing Anambra South senatorial district held the traditional title of Ebubechukwuzo Nnewi. A statement by the Principal Secretary to the traditional ruler, Prince Obi Orizu, said the monarch has urged the people of Nnewi and other residents in the town to join in mourning the loss of the community’s illustrious son. The statement also invited clergy from different religious groups to lead their…