Author: Samuel Akpenpuun

The Federal Government has announced a slash in allowances of foreign scholars currently stranded in Russia, Morocco, and Algeria, among others, by 12.7 per cent due to economic hardship in the country. The students in a swift reaction, lamented the debilitating impact the slash in allowances would have on the welfare of foreign lands. The government’s decision to slash the scholars’ allowances was contained in a memo signed by the Director of the Federal Scholarship Board, Ndajiwo H.A., on behalf of the Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman. The students are studying under the Federal Government’s Bilateral Educational Agreement, BEA,…

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, has urged the government and Nigerians to discountenance purported looming protest by tanker drivers, saying nothing of such is being planned by genuine members of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, nationwide. According to the Union, those claiming that tanker drivers are planning protest are not genuine members of PTD or NUPENG, but working for economic saboteurs hiding under faceless tankers drivers. Recall that one Mr. Olaitan Idris, has alleged of a looming mass protest by PTD members over the recent election that produced Augustine Egbon as the National Chairman of…

Argentina coach Javier Mascherano described the events that marred his team’s 2-1 defeat by Morocco in the opening game of the men’s Olympic football tournament on Wednesday as a “disgrace” and “a circus”. Two-time gold medallists Argentina thought they had salvaged a 2-2 draw in the Group B match in Saint-Etienne when Cristian Medina scored in the 16th minute of added time. But crowd trouble ensued and the players were taken off the pitch before Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg had blown for full time. For some time the outcome of the match was completely unclear, with the official IOC website…

Governors from the 36 states of the federation are currently convening in Abuja, the nation’s capital. Under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, they are meeting at the NGF secretariat in the FCT. Some of the governors have already started to arrive at the meeting venue. Those already present at the venue are Governors Lawal Dauda (Zamfara), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), and Alex Otti (Abia). This is as the governors of Enugu, Peter Mbah and Borno States, Babagana Zulum, sent their deputies to represent them. The agenda of the meeting is currently not made…

Oyo State Governor, Engr Seyi Makinde has expressed the commitment the state government to achieve the upgrade of Ibadan Airport in 18 months, stating that the state has resources to drive the project. The governor who said this on Wednesday at the Hijrah 1446 luncheon organised by the state government held at the Presidential Lodge, Secretariat in Ibadan, added that he will announce a committee that will steer the vision to turn the facility to an international standard before the end of the week. Makinde who assured that before the end of his tenure, Hajj pilgrims would be airlifted from…

Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has removed 63,000 accounts associated with the notorious “Yahoo Boys” scam group, the company announced in its Q1 2024 Adversarial Threat Report on Wednesday. The accounts, deleted over the past few weeks, were used for financial sextortion scams and distributing blackmail scripts. Meta reported that a smaller network of 2,500 accounts, linked to around 20 individuals, primarily targeted adult men in the United States using fake identities. Meta said it identified and disabled these accounts through a combination of advanced technical signals and comprehensive investigations, enhancing its automated detection…

British telecommunications regulator Ofcom said Wednesday it had handed video sharing platform TikTok a £1.9 million ($2.4 million) fine for failing to timely make available safety data. Ofcom criticised the platform, which is owned by Chinese group ByteDance, saying it communicated inaccurate information last year and failed swiftly to address that. “Ofcom has today fined TikTok £1.875 million for failing to accurately respond to a formal request for information about its parental controls safety feature,” the regulator said in a statement. In a statement to AFP, TikTok recognised it had furnished Ofcom with inaccurate data on the use of a…

After many years of wearing the toga of invincibility, the overall head of the Mushin, Lagos drug cartel, 57-year-old Alhaji Sulaiman Jimoh (alias Olowoidiogede, populary known as Temo), has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at his enclave after an initial resistance from him and his horde of hoodlums. In the last two years, the NDLEA had intercepted large consignments of illicit drugs worth billions of naira owned by Temo but he has remained largely evasive while a few encounters with him and his armed gangs in his Mushin enclave had resulted in gunfight.…

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has defended Enzo Fernandez following his involvement in posting a clip of his teammates singing offensive chants about French players. The incident occurred during Fernandez’s celebration of Argentina’s Copa América victory, where the song in question contained racist and homophobic remarks about the heritage of some French players. Enzo Fernandez, who is currently on holiday, has issued a public apology for his actions. Chelsea has also responded by initiating an internal disciplinary procedure. In a statement, the club emphasized their commitment to using this incident as an educational opportunity. “We acknowledge and appreciate our player’s public…

The National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Office of the National Security Adviser, said on Wednesday that the government has resumed mass trials of terrorism suspects in the country. The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), stated in December 2023 that the Federal Government secured 366 convictions in the trial of Boko Haram terrorists conducted in 2017. In addition, he said 896 suspects were discharged for lack of evidence, while 61 other cases were adjourned for further hearing. In December 2023, the FG also secured the conviction of four Boko Haram financiers. In a statement on Wednesday…