Author: Amina Mohammed

Kamala Harris’s campaign said Thursday that she would debate her Republican rival Donald Trump twice, while their running mates would do so once, seeking to draw a line under weeks of election brinkmanship. The two camps had already agreed to one presidential debate on September 10 and a vice-presidential face-off on October 1, but the Trump campaign had been pushing for two further presidential debates in September and an extra VP encounter. “The debate about debates is over. Donald Trump’s campaign accepted our proposal for three debates — two presidential and a vice presidential debate,” the Harris campaign said in…

The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has backed the recent Supreme Court judgement which granted full financial autonomy to local government councils, noting that the move will enhance the nation’s universal basic education system. The vice president, who warned against abuse of LG autonomy, stated this at the public presentation of a book titled ‘Navigating the Politics of Universal Education Policies in Nigeria’, written by former Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Modupe Adelabu, held in Abuja on Thursday. “The autonomy of local governments, which are directly responsible for providing primary education, will address the financial limitations that have hindered the alignment…

No fewer than 37,000 women across the country are expected to benefit from the Renewed Hope Initiative re-capitalisation grant of the wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu. Tinubu stated this on Thursday during the symbolic presentation of food items to Internally Displaced Persons Living with Disabilities and vulnerable people in Benue State. Represented by the wife of the Vice President, Mrs Nana Shettima, the president’s wife said 1000 women from each state and the Federal Capital Territory would get a N50,000 recapitalisation grant from the RHI economic empowerment programme. She said, “I am pleased to inform you that the…

The Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, on Thursday, rejigged his cabinet and assigned portfolios to the newly appointed commissioners who were sworn-in on Wednesday. The governor had, during the swearing in, disclosed his plans to effect a minor reshuffle of his cabinet and create a few more ministries. As a result therefore, some new ministries were created and others carved out from the existing ones. The new composition of the state Executive Council saw the Commissioner of Finance, Mike Akpara, reassigned to Industry and SMEs Ministry, while Dr. Chimezie Ukaegbu was moved from Trade and Commerce to Transport. Others are…

One of Nigeria’s leading financial houses GTBank says its website was not cloned but undergoing was is described as an “isolated incident of an attempt to compromise” the bank’s domain. The bank’s website has been down since Wednesday night and inaccessible to customers, prompting fears of a data compromise. But in a statement on Thursday, the financial institution said that it does “not store customer information on our website, and as such, there has been no instance of compromise of customer data”. It assured all “our Customers and Stakeholders that the Bank’s website has not been cloned”. “Our dedicated team…

The National Judicial Council has recommended Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun to be the next Chief Justice of Nigeria. The recommendation was made in its 106th meeting, which was presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who recommended Justice Kekere-Ekun, to President Bola Tinubu, for appointment as the next CJN on Thursday in Abuja. This was contained in a statement by the NJC director of information, Soji Oye. He said, “This is imperative as Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, will formally bow out of office as the Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria next week Thursday, August 22, 2024.” If…

Three people have been arrested and a fourth is wanted after a knife attack on the father of young Spanish football star Lamine Yamal in Catalonia, local police told AFP Thursday. The attack took place at 1910 GMT on Wednesday in a car park in the Catalan town of Mataro, around 30 kilometres from Barcelona, in the Rocafonda neighbourhood where Lamine Yamal is from, said a spokesman for the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan regional police force. Yamal’s father Mounir Nasraoui was stabbed several times the police said, and is being treated at the Can Ruti hospital, who could not be…

The Oyo State Government has approved N500 million to support beneficiaries of the Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project. This decision, announced during an Executive Council meeting presided over by Acting Governor Bayo Lawal, is part of the state’s Sustainable Actions for Economic Recovery programme. YEAP, facilitated by the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency, trained about 3,300 youths in 2021. A late Wednesday post on the state’s official X account revealed that the approval was a significant move to bolster youth entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector. According to the post, this financial support is part of the broader SAfER programme, aimed…

The United States President, Joe Biden, shared a key economic victory with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Thursday after securing a cut in drug prices that could resonate with US voters worried about the cost of living. The 81-year-old president and 59-year-old vice president announced the deal as they prepared to make their first joint trip since Biden’s seismic decision to drop out of the presidential election less than a month ago. The “historic” agreement with drugmakers will reduce the price of 10 key medicines for seniors, for conditions including diabetes, heart failure, and blood clots, they said in…

The Kano State Police Command has arrested two suspects in connection with the theft of a signpost from the Bachirawa Police Station in the Ungogo Local Government Area. The incident, which was captured in a viral video, occurred during the #EndBadGovernance protest that escalated into violence. In the video, one of the suspects was seen dragging the stolen signpost, which has since drawn widespread condemnation. The protest, which initially began as a peaceful demonstration, turned violent, resulting in a face-off with the police. Reports indicate that five individuals were shot during the confrontation. The arrest of the suspects was confirmed…