Author: Festus Adeloye

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has directed the State Civil Service Commission to ensure that no Information and Communications Technology staff in the State Civil Service is promoted without obtaining certification from the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria. The CPN is a legal entity established by Decree No. 49 of 1993, charged with controlling and supervising the computing profession in the country, in partnership with the Nigeria Computer Society. Fubara issued the directive while speaking at a dinner organised for delegates of the 2024 International Conference of the Nigeria Computer Society at Government House, Port Harcourt, on Thursday night.…

Chinese firm Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd. has announced the release of one of the three Nigerian Airbus A330 aircraft that were detained in France following a court order from a Paris judicial court. The firm had previously seized a Dassault Falcon 7X, a Boeing 737-7N6/BBJ, and an Airbus A330-243 belonging to the Nigerian federal government. These aircraft were stationed at Paris-Le Bourget and Basel-Mulhouse airports. In a statement issued on Friday, Zhongshan Fucheng explained that it decided to release one of the seized jets as a “goodwill gesture” in anticipation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s upcoming meeting with…

The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Friday, set aside a lower court order barring the former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus; the sacked Rivers Governor, Celestine Omehia; and a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Austin Opara, from attending the party’s meetings. A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, in three separate judgements, unanimously upheld the appeals filed by the three aggrieved party chieftains. The appellate court held that it found merit in their appeals. Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja had issued an order barring Secondus, Omehia,…

The 2024 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) is set to take place on September 11, 2024, at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. This year’s event will highlight notable music videos, artists, and songs from the past year. The VMAs will commence at 8:00 p.m. ET, with red carpet events preceding the ceremony. The date has been adjusted to avoid overlap with the first presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. The nomination list includes prominent artists such as Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Megan Thee Stallion, alongside emerging talents like Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter. Key Nominees:…

Five people who allegedly supplied ketamine to “Friends” star Matthew Perry to exploit his drug addiction for profit have been charged about his overdose death, United States officials said Thursday. The actor died at his luxury Los Angeles home in 2023, sparking an outpouring of grief from fans around the world. “These defendants took advantage of Mr Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves. They knew what they were doing was wrong. They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Mr Perry, but they did it anyway. “These defendants were more interested in profiting off Mr Perry than…

Kamala Harris is expected to take on companies unfairly jacking up prices as she sets out her economic agenda Friday in her first major policy announcement as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. The vice president, who replaced President Joe Biden atop the ticket last month, has been carried by surging enthusiasm, bolstered by new government figures this week showing inflation cooling. More Americans now trust Harris to handle the economy than her Republican rival Donald Trump, according to a new University of Michigan poll, the first time in this election cycle that the former president has been behind on the…

A fire outbreak occurred in the early hours of today, Friday, at a seven-storey building on Sanni Adewale Street, Lagos Island Local Government Area. This was made known in a statement by the Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye on X.com. Adeseye, said the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service received a distress call at 05:17 hours and promptly responded with firefighters from Ebute Elefun, Sari, and Lekki 1 stations, arriving at the scene by 05:33 hours. Adeseye confirmed that the situation is under control, and no casualties have been reported. Preliminary investigations suggest that…

The Senate, on Thursday, tackled one of its members, Senator Sumaila Kawu, over his claim of receiving N21m monthly in salary and allowances. The Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, said Kawu’s claim was not true. The controversy around the alleged humongous pay of the National Assembly members came to the fore once again after President Olusegun Obasanjo at the weekend said the lawmakers fixed their own pay. While the National Assembly refuted the claim by Obasanjo, Kawu, a nothern senator, in an interview with British Broadcasting Corporation Hausa Service on Wednesday, revealed that he gets N21m monthly pay. However, he also…

The head of the World Health Organisation on Thursday called for increased production of cholera vaccines, highlighting what he called a “critical shortage” around the globe. The UN health agency said 307,433 cases of cholera and 2,326 deaths have been reported in 26 countries up to July 28. “The response continues to be affected by a critical shortage of the vaccine, as demand continues to outpace supply,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X, formerly Twitter. Some 105 million doses have been requested by 18 countries since January 2023 — but only 55 million doses have been produced in…

The Lagos State Government says traffic will be diverted at Ikeja Along Bus Stop, between Ile Zik and Conoil Petrol Station on the Oshodi bound lane from Saturday, 17th to Sunday, 18th August 2024, between 12 midnight and 4 am daily. Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, in a statement on Thursday, said the diversion is to carry out the demolition of the old pedestrian bridge. “Consequently, from Ile Zik Bus Stop up to Conoil Petrol Filling Station on the Oshodi bound side of the road, only one lane will be available to Motorists to ensure safety,” he said.…