Author: Amina Mohammed

Grand Slam record-breakers Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were placed on an Olympics second-round collision course in the draw for the Paris Games on Thursday. Nadal, a singles gold medallist at the 2008 Olympics, is playing in his final Games having also won doubles gold in Rio in 2016, while Djokovic was a bronze medallist in singles in 2008. Serbia’s Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion and top seed in Paris following the withdrawal of world number one Jannik Sinner, begins his campaign against Australia’s Matthew Ebden. “I am excited for this duel in the second round, and I will…

The Federal Government has spent over $1.5 billion from 2020 to date to protect the nation’s oil installations and curb crude oil theft. The Secretary of the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, made this known on Thursday at a public hearing of the House of Representatives on crude oil theft. Akume was represented by the Permanent Secretary, General Services, Maurice Nandi. The SGF said the Federal Government was worried about the report of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) which pointed to over $46 billion worth of stolen crude between 2009 and 2020. The House had set…

The Lagos State Government has clarified that it has no involvement in the Oro festival scheduled from August 1 to 15, which is rumoured to coincide with the #EndBadGovernance protest. The government likened the festival to other religious events held throughout the country, emphasising that traditional worship practices should be respected just as other religious observances are. Gboyega Akosile, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, stated that the government does not interfere in religious activities, including those of traditional worshippers. He stressed that the festival, like Muslim and Christian events, is a lawful activity and should…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has it can comfortably handle the conduct of local government elections if the responsibility falls on it. The chairman of the commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu said this on Thursday, July 25, when he appeared before the joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters on preparations for the upcoming governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States. He said INEC has the capacity to handle the local government elections but that would only be possible pending when the law is amended to permit it to do so. He pointed out that the Commission…

Court-reinstated Deputy Governor of Edo state, Hon. Philip Shaibu has explained how he sacrificed everything for the state Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki but that despite that, the latter still treated him as an outcast. Shaibu who visited the National Working Committee NWC of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC late Wednesday, disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Abuja. He also dismissed reports quoting the state government as asking him to return the 22 official vehicles in his care, saying all the vehicles in his convoy belong to him, except one Jeep the governor bought for him in the third…

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) says it will delist companies that have not filed their annual reports in a decade. In a statement on Wednesday, the Commission said the full list of the dormant companies was available on its website. “This is to inform the general public that the commission pursuant to its powers contained in Section 692 (3) (4) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act No. 3 of 2020, intends to strike off from the Register, names of defunct or dormant companies that have not filed Annual Returns for a period of 10 years,” the statement partly read.…

Ahead of the September 2024 governorship election in Edo State, the Peoples Democratic Party has announced it will begin a ward-to-ward campaign on July 25. A statement on Thursday from the Deputy Director-General of Media and Publicity of the Asue/Ogie Campaign Management Council, Rev. Olu Martins, stated, “The ward tours will afford us the opportunity of meeting our party faithful at the grassroots level so that they can better be acquainted with the programmes and vision of our candidate, Asue Ighodalo, and his running mate, Osarodion Ogie. “The tours will also serve as a platform for our candidate and the…

Andy Murray withdrew from the tennis singles at the Paris Olympics on Thursday but the two-time gold medallist will play doubles in what will be the final event of his glittering career. The British former world number one, who will retire at the end of his fifth Games, has still not fully recovered from back surgery last month. He believes the men’s doubles, where he is playing with Dan Evans, offers his best chance of another medal. “I’ve taken the decision to withdraw from the singles to concentrate on the doubles with Dan,” said the 37-year-old. “Our practice has been…

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, on Wednesday urged the people of the South-East not to join the planned anti-government protests. This request comes after President Bola Tinubu signed the South East Development Commission bill into law.” Kalu said President Tinubu has shown his resolve to heal the wounds of the past, as the newly signed bill will tackle ecological problems and other related environmental or developmental challenges in the south-east states, and address infrastructural damages suffered by the zone as a result of the civil war. “To my fellow South-Easterners, I implore you not to…

The Federal Government has reiterated commitment to the full implementation of the 2024 Budget. It also pledged to promote a transparent and efficient financial management system. The commitments were made yesterday by the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun. He spoke during a meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts at the National Assembly in Abuja. Edun’s meeting with the House panel came a day after the National Assembly passed the N6.2 trillion Supplementary Appropriation Bill to raise the 2024 Budget to N35.05 trillion from N28.8 trillion. Pledging to achieve a robust…