Author: Samuel Akpenpuun

The Peoples Democratic Party and the ruling All Progressives Congress, on Sunday, traded words over the recent Supreme Court judgment granting autonomy to local governments. While the opposition PDP described the apex court judgment as a potential source of trouble, the ruling APC called the opposition party an enemy of the people, who did not want the dividends of democracy to percolate to the grassroots. A month after the Supreme Court’s judgment, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, addressed a world press conference in Abuja on Sunday, stating that the matter was not yet settled. On July 11, the…

The death toll from a garbage landslide in the Ugandan capital Kampala has risen to 23, a city official said Monday. People and livestock were buried in mountains of waste at the landfill in the northern Kampala district of Kiteezi on Saturday after a collapse caused by heavy downpours. “The latest confirmed dead are 23,” Kampala city authority spokesman Daniel Nuweabine told AFP, adding that the search for survivors was still ongoing. “Working with other agencies, we are assessing the situation and helping all those in distress,” he added. The area’s resident commissioner Yasin Ndide had said on Sunday that…

American-born Nigerian champion Dubem Amene has announced his retirement from athletics at age 21 following the disqualification of the men’s 4x400m relay squad from Paris 2024 Olympics final. Amene was part of the Nigerian quartet of Ifeanyi Ojeli, Ezekiel Nathaniel, and Chidi Okezie to have qualified for the 4x400m final, having finished second in heat 2 with a Season’s Best of 2:59.81. Unfortunately, their joy was cut short as they were disqualified from competing in the final for an adjudged lane infringement by Ojeli, who ran the first leg, before handing over the baton to Nathaniel. Following the unfortunate news,…

Ndi Nne, a house pair in the BBNaija season 9 edition, has been evicted from the ongoing show. This came after the custodian, Streeze was assigned the power to evict one out of the four house pairs nominated for eviction. The house pairs nominated for eviction on the night were Flourish, Zinwe, Ndi Nne and Radicals. Ndi Nne became the second house pair to be evicted after Tami exited the house last week. The grand prize for this season is a spectacular ₦100 million, which includes a cash prize and an SUV, with additional sponsored prizes to be announced. The…

As part of efforts to curtail the activities of oil thieves and economic saboteurs in their illegal acts of bursting oil pipelines and siphoning crude oil and its products, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has announced the destruction of 13 illegal refining sites and ten overhead tanks. In a statement, the Director of Public Relations and Information of the Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet said operations conducted along the Imo River near Obuzor and Okoloma, several active illegal refining sites were discovered to be taking advantage of the difficult terrain to perpetrate their illegalities. The statement added that…

Former Governor of Oyo State, Rashidi Ladoja, will be honored with a beaded crown by the Olubadan of Ibadan land, Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, on Monday, August 12. The ceremony will take place during the inaugural meeting of the Olubadan-in-Council at the new Palace in Oke Aremo, Ibadan, beginning at 12:00 noon. Ladoja, who holds the title of Otun Olubadan, confirmed the upcoming event and the presentation of the crown, which will officially recognise his status. The confirmation came following a letter he received on Friday evening. A source close to the Olubadan’s palace shared, “He received the letter on Friday…

Rwandan President Paul Kagame was sworn in on Sunday for a fourth term after sweeping to victory in elections last month with more than 99 per cent of the vote. Several dozen heads of state and other dignitaries from African nations joined the inauguration ceremony at a packed 45,000-seat stadium in Kigali, the nation’s capital, where crowds had started gathering in the early morning. Kagame took the oath of office before Chief Justice Faustin Ntezilyayo, pledging to “preserve peace and national sovereignty, consolidate national unity.” The outcome of the July 15 poll was never in doubt for the iron-fisted Kagame,…

Persons whose properties were affected by the demolition exercise carried out by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, are demanding a compensation of more than ₦160bn. Some structures were demolished along the pipeline and Tanke Road, Ilorin by the NNPC limited in 2018 for the right of way. They claimed that 976 structures were demolished by the Nigerian Amy engineers on the order of the national oil company. Tope Ajetumobi who spoke on behalf of the victims disclosed that the House of Representatives Public Petitions Committee had passed a resolution in 2019 that the NNPCL assess the value of the…

The Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu, has announced the arrest of four individuals linked to the killing of a barber at Isale Oja Kuto in Abeokuta by suspected cultists on Wednesday. This incident follows another attack by a rival cult group on Friday night, which resulted in the death of a 48-year-old POS operator named Fatai Kehinde, also known as Faity. Kehinde, who was the son of the Baale of Kuto Community, was attacked and killed under the Kuto bridge after being chased from his shop inside the Kuto market. Fatai Kehinde was buried on Saturday. In a…

Troops of the 6 Brigade have apprehended seven suspected terrorists and recovered a cache of weapons in separate operations conducted across the state. This is contained in a press statement issued by the Acting Assistant Director of 6 Brigade Army Public Relations Captain Olubodunde Oni. It said on 7th August 2024, troops of the 6 Brigade deployed at Kambari, acting on credible intelligence on suspected bandits attacking a Fulani settlement in Katlong Village of Karim Lamido Local Government Area, swiftly engaged the bandits who fled in disarray due to the heavy fire encounter with the troops. One suspected bandit named…