The North East Development Commission, NEDC, says it will spend N6 billion to execute projects in 112 local government areas across the six states. The NEDC Managing Director, Alhaji Mohammed Alkali disclosed this at the flag-off of its Rapid Response Intervention Projects at the Multi-Purpose Hall in Maiduguri on Monday. He said that RRI Projects initiative was conceived following the governing board’s maiden regional fact-finding tour of the region. He said that members of the board witnessed the harrowing conditions the citizens were living in the wake of the insurgency. He explained that the commission resolved that it had to…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday met with Senate President Ahmad Lawan where they deliberated on national issues including security challenges facing the country and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Speaking to State House correspondents at the end of the closed doors meeting, the senate president described the deliberation as fruitful, saying Nigerians troubled areas would in the two months have their environment secured to enable them engage in agricultural activities and other businesses. According to him, the government cannot shy away from securing the environment in both rural and urban parts of the country. “I have come to meet…
Kenya’s Judicial Service Commission has sacked 174 court staff since 2018 over gross misconduct, a top official of the judiciary said on Monday. Chief Registrar Anne Amadi told a judicial forum for station heads in Kisumu, western Kenya, that 30 judicial staff were dismissed three years ago, 72 two years ago and 72 last year. She said the Judiciary is concerned about the high number of staff engaging in malpractices resulting to such dismissals. Amadi lamented that the sacked staff have left a big gap in the Judiciary leading to strained service delivery. Acting Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu urged heads…
Investigative journalists, Hopewell Chin’ono, David Hundeyin and Feminist Coalition (FemCo), a gender advocacy group, have won the Gatefield People Journalism Prize for Africa 2020 (PJPA). Mr Adewunmi Emoruwa, founder of the award made the announcement in a statement in Abuja on Monday. He said that the PJPA 2020 comes with a $3,000 reward for the selected journalists and $15,000 worth of strategic communications support to FemCo from Gatefield. He said that Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, won the People Journalist for Africa 2020, Nigerian David Hundeyin won the People Journalist for Informed Commentary 2020, while the Feminist Coalition were the winners…
The Flicthers Association in Ondo state 0n Monday, protested alleged illegal extortion, molestation and coercion by the Ogun State Revenue agencies. The protesters, who blocked the ever busy Lagos/Benin Road at Ajebamide area, a border community in Odigbo Local Council Area of Ondo State, hindered the free flow of traffic movement for about 40 minutes. The protesters carried different placards with inscriptions: “Stop Unlawful Collection of N50,000 only from Our Members at Atoyo Junction”, ” Abiodun, Call Your People to Order”, “Stop Illegal Ticketing on the Highway” and “Unlawful Ticketing by Ogun State Govt. at Atoyo Junction”. Leading the protest, Comrade Mayegun Oloruntobi…
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, says as at December 2020, Federal Government recorded 89 per cent release to Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for capital component of the 2020 budget. Ahmed, who made the disclosure at an interactive session with the leadership of National Assembly on Monday, said the 89 per cent was occasioned by the release of N1.74 trillion. She also revealed that N118.37 billion was also released for COVID-19 capital expenditure from the fund. Ahmed said the Nigerian economy faced serious challenges in 2020, with the macroeconomic environment significantly disrupted by COVID-19 pandemic.…
Lt.-Col. Yusuf Dodo, officially assumed duty as Aide-de-Camp to President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday in Abuja, as Col. Mohammed Abubakar, departed for a promotional course in Chile. Dodo, the Academy Adjutant of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), was appointed ADC to the President last month to replace Abubakar. Dodo’s appointment was confirmed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement in January. Abubakar, who handed over on Monday after Dodo understudied him for almost three weeks to learn the ropes of his new responsibilities, in a brief ceremony, was accompanied by…
The freed passengers of the Niger State Transport Authority, who were abducted by armed bandits, say the abductors humiliated them while in captivity. The victims in separate interviews in Minna on Monday said that the bandits made them to trek inside bush amid starvation and beating. Recall that 52 passengers of the transport company were abducted by gunmen in Kundu village of Rijau local government area on February 14, while returning to Minna. One of the victims, Mohammed Ndagi, a civil servant with the state Science and Technical Board, said that their vehicle was intercepted by the bandits at about…
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, says a new variant of COVID-19 has been discovered in Nigeria and 15 other countries. The new strain, B.1.2.5, which is different from the highly infectious B.1.1.7 has, however, not been described as a variant of concern yet. Disclosing this at the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing on Monday in Abuja, NCDC Director-General Chikwe Iheakweazu said that researchers and scientists were still working hard to understand if the variant had any effect on the virus’ transmissibility, immunity as well as diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics. “As we shared, a total of 54 cases…
The Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO, on Monday, started sensitisation/ mobilisation ahead of its step-down training for 600 crop and livestock farmers in selected Benue communities. The step-down training, an initiative of FAO, aims at training local crop and livestock farmers on alternative fooder/ livestock and commercial opportunities. The training to be conducted by the already trained extension workers, is slated to hold in rural communities between March 1 and March 5. Speaking on the exercise, a cross section of the extension workers said they had successfully mobilised the required number of people for the training. Mrs Tondo Salome, an…