President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated the 326 KM Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri rail line for commercial operation as well as the ancillary facilities yard, at the recently named Goodluck Jonathan Railway Complex in Agbor (Owa-Oyibu), Delta. Speaking at the virtual inauguration of the rail line linking Itakpe to Warri on Tuesday in Abuja, Buhari directed the Federal Ministry of Transportation to link all the nation’s ports of origin and destination – Apapa, Tin Can, Warri, Onne, Calabar Ports- to the nation’s rail network. The president expressed optimism that the rail network project, when carried out, would significantly improve overall transportation and economic capacities.…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
A former staff of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Oreoluwa Adesakin was on Monday, handed a cumulative 98 years in prison by Justice Muniru Olagunju of the Oyo State High Court for fraud. A statement by Wilson Uwujaren, spokesperson of the Commission, said Adesakin, female, was found to have committed financial fraud against her employers to the tune of N49,320,652.32 and additional $368,203.00, belonging to the bank which she converted to her personal use. The convict was prosecuted by the Ibadan Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), on 14-count charges, bordering on stealing, forgery and fraudulent…
Chief Bisi Akande, a former governor of Osun and pioneer Interim Chairman of All Progressives Congress, APC, has appealed to those agitating for Nigeria’s break-up to bury such thought. Akande made the appeal on Monday in Ibadan during the inauguration of a project owned by Chief Adebayo Adelabu, a former CBN deputy governor and APC governorship candidate in the 2019 elections. Akande, alongside other prominent Nigerians, were in Ibadan for the 50th birthday anniversary of Adelabu. He said that allowing Yoruba to break away from Nigeria might lead to bloodshed and avoidable civil war that would further decimate the people.…
The leadership of the National Assembly, NASS, said on Monday, that the Assembly would break the jinx of not being able to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) after several attempts. President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan and the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila assured Nigerians that the time had come for the passage of the bill. They spoke at a meeting of the leadership of the National Assembly with the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Silva, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari and some other top officials in the Petroleum sector.…
Sixth seed Serena Williams battled sluggish conditions to defeat fellow American Kristie Ahn 7-6(2) 6-0 to begin her French Open campaign on Monday. Playing an opponent she beat in straight sets at the same stage at the U.S. Open less than a month ago, Williams found herself struggling to win points on Court Philippe-Chatrier where the roof was opened just before the match. Williams started with three aces to win her opening game but the 102nd-ranked Ahn started moving better and chased down her opponent’s heavy groundstrokes, which on most surfaces would have ended up as winners. Ahn, who was…
Nigeria recorded 136 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections to 58,460. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) made this known on its official twitter handle @NCDCGov on Monday. The new infections, the centre said, were reported in 12 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). In the latest update, Lagos topped the list with 71 cases, Rivers with 23 infections and Plateau trailing behind with 12. Others include Adamawa and Oyo -six, Kaduna – five, Abia and FCT – three, Katsina and Kwara – two, Bauchi, Borno, and Edo each having one. The NCDC also said 101…
By Gami Tadanyigbe Nigeria Young Farmers Network (NYFN), an NGO, has called on governments at all levels to reposition the agricultural sector as part of measures to diversify the economy and boost food security. Mr Promise Amahah, the Director General (DG) and National Coordinator of the group, made the call at a press conference on Monday in Abuja. Amahah urged governments to focus more on agriculture through rebranding, adequate facilities and youth engagement to encourage enterprise and make the sector interesting for economic development. He said the mission of the organisation was to raise a generation of young people that…
The World Business Angels Investment Forum today announced the African Development Bank as its newest Board Member. In this capacity the Bank will represent Africa’s early-stage equity markets, entrepreneurship and startup ecosystems, small and medium enterprises and high-growth businesses, angel investors, and private equity funds. Abdu Mukhtar, the Bank’s Director of Industrial and Trade Development, will occupy the Bank’s Board seat. “We are delighted to have the African Development Bank Group as a global board member of the World Business Angels Investment Forum,” said Baybars Altuntas, WBAF’s Executive Chairman. “I am confident that by including AfDB, WBAF will be able…
The General Electric, GE, says it has completed service interventions on three GE 9E gas turbines at the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, NDPHC, power plants in Calabar and Sapele, Nigeria. This it said was with compressive safety measures due to COVID-19 in place, GE and NDPHC quickly ensured both employee safety and on-time project execution. GE further said that outages were executed on time and the restored power will enable NDPHC to provide the equivalent electricity needed to power up to 2 million Nigerian homes. GE (NYSE: GE), Monday announced the successful rehabilitation of three 9E.03 gas turbines, at…
The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), has said it was “not disappointed that the Nigerian labour unions bowed at the last minute as usual as it has long become their trademark.” The CNPP in a statement signed by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu said “we expected that this would happen and that was why the CNPP opted to rally civil society movements across the country. “We are monitoring the situation and rejigging our plans in view of the now obvious reality that the ordinary citizens who cannot travel to Abuja are on their own. “In the last five…