Senate on Thursday at plenary went into closed session with some heads of security agencies in the country. The closed session followed the invitation of the security chiefs by the Senate, following the rising insecurity situation in the country. The Service Chiefs that were present at the meeting include the Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. Lucky Irabor, Chief of Army Staff Maj.-Gen Attahiru Ibrahim, and the Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Usman Baba. Also in attendance were the Directors – General, Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) Maj.-Gen Samuel Adebayo, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Abubakar, and Department of State…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
An All Progressives Congress (APC) female aspirant for Ifako-Ijaiye local government area chairmanship seat, Mrs Atinuke Owolabi says the plight of the vulnerable is pushing into the contest. Owolabi, Founder, Touch of Love and Lifting Hands Foundation said on Thursday in Lagos that she was moved by the condition of the vulnerable and the less privileged. The aspirant said that her coming into the race was motivated by the need to give hope to the residents, especially the aged, widows, women and unemployed youth. According to her, through some her foundation, she has discovered that many people are suffering. She said she had…
By Yusuf Idris Gusau Opposition politics in Zamfara State is regressing by the minute, hour and day, something akin to childish banters and motor park gist. Ironically, it’s being promoted by an otherwise seasoned politicians who have been around for two decades at the least. In the motor park the usual conversation is often centered on rumors, heresays and crude conjectures. If you were to be a witness listening from outside the conversing group you would be at a loss who introduced the topic or where the topic originated from. It is a cacophony of voices each one swearing to…
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has elder statesman, Robert Clarke to respect Nigeria’s democracy and not to call for state of emergency as suggested by him recently. Clarke had suggested that President Muhammadu Buhari should delegate his executive powers to the Chief of Defence Staff who in turn would declare a state of emergency in all the 36 states of the federation in order to bring the state of insecurity to a halt. However, MURIC in a statement by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola on Thursday described the suggestion as ‘outright balderdash, preposterous and egregious. “Chief Robert Clarke’s recent suggestion…
Police in Anambra have confirmed the killing of two of its personnel by unknown gunmen who attacked and razed the Divisional Police Station in Obosi, Idemili North of the state. The attackers had after burning down the station, moved to the quarters where they killed the two personnel in the early hours of Thursday. The spokesperson of the Police command in the state, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga confirmed the attack on Thursday, saying the Commissioner of Police, Mr Chris Owolabi had dispatched a tactical team for on-the-spot assessment of the incident. “The tactical team led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police…
By Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma The Naira4dollar policy, introduced by the Central Bank of Nigerian on March 8, is expected to end come May 8. But within such a short space of time, the policy’s impact on Nigerians has made them to clamour for its extension. For instance, Mr Ugochukwu Okoro, a FirstBank customer, said he was not aware of the Naira4dollar promo until he received money from his brother in the United States of America. Okoro said he was surprised when his account was credited and upon enquiry he was told it was the fallout of the Naira4dollar scheme introduced by…
Nigerian superstar, Paul Okoye a.k.a Rudeboy has received gold plague from YouTube for hitting one million subscribers. The music star, Rudeboy, who could not hide his joy, took to his Instagram handle @iamkingrudy in a video clip, to announce the great feat to his supportive fans with words of appreciation to them. In his caption, Rudeboy thanked YouTube and also revealed that he got a hundred million views on a single track “Thank you very much @youtube Dear #firedepartment it’s GOLD baby!! 1m subscribers and 100m views on a single track musically rude @lorrdsky we did it,” he wrote. The…
The spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Wang Wenbin on Thursday said China is prepared to discuss sharing patents for the Coronavirus vaccines within the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Washington had already declared that it would be in favour of suspending intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines. The U.S. said that it would actively engage in talks on this matter within the WTO. The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations said it was disappointed with this decision. The federation believes that the step would not help boost vaccine production and would not lead to any practical solutions. “China is…
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Thursday called on frontline health and social workers to put Gender-Based Violence Survivors (GBVS) at the centre of their Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS). Ms Deborah Tabara, Gender and GBV Analyst, UNFPA, Bauchi state office, made the call in Kaduna at the ongoing five-day training of trainers on MHPSS for GBVS amidst the COVID-19 and insecurity. In a paper titled, “GBV Attitudes and Perceptions,” Tabara explained that frontline workers who have direct contact with GBVS must recognise the uniqueness of each survivor. She added that the workers must note that each person…
The European Union is open to discuss waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday. “The EU is also ready to discuss any proposals that address the crisis in an effective and pragmatic manner,’’ the EU executive chief said during a press conference. “That’s why we are ready to discuss how the U.S. proposal for a waiver on intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines could help achieve that objective,’’ she said. U.S. Ambassador Katherine Tai on Wednesday signalled openness to suspending patent rights, indicating that Washington would discuss this step with the World Trade…