The former deputy governor of Kaduna state, Bala Bantex is reported dead. He died after a protracted illness. Bantex, who was deputy governor to Nasir El-Rufai between 2015 and 2019, in his first tenure, stepped aside to contest for Kaduna South Senatorial district in 2019 but lost to Senator Danjuma La’ah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). El-Rufai confirmed the death saying, “In the midst of trying times, I have received with utter sadness news of the departure of my friend and brother, His Excellency Barnabas Yusuf Bala (Bantex).” The deceased was former chairman of Kaura local government area of…
Author: Editor
In what looks like daring president Muhammadu Buhari’s order to security agencies, to deal with bandits and other criminal elements in the country, bandits in Kaduna, in late Saturday night attack, have kidnapped the Emir of Kajuru and 13 of his family members. The 85 year old Alhassan Adamu, a 2nd class Emir, was kidnapped alongside three women, two of his grand children, 3 of his aides and 5 others at about 12.30am. A Kajuru Emirate council member confirmed the incident. ASHENEWS gathered that the Emir had held a security meeting on Friday where he reportedly disclosed that there was…
As the south clamours for the presidency in 2023, especially with the recent declaration by the 17 governors of the region, that the top job should be zoned there, there are indications that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, may open the contest to all Nigerians, irrespective of their zone. The 17 governors had agreed, among other things, that the presidency should be zoned to the South. However, multiple sources among the members of the National Working Committee of the PDP told Saturday PUNCH that the decision to zone would be left to the National Executive Committee of the party.…
Miss Amina Abdullahi, a 15-year-old Senior Secondary student of Gobarau Academy, Katsina, has been awarded automatic scholarship by Gov. Aminu Masari for her exceptional talent in art paintings. Miss Amina bagged the scholarship during a public exhibition attended by Masari in Katsina on Saturday. The governor pledged that the state would be responsible for the young talent’s tertiary education in addition to offsetting her WAEC, NECO and JAMB fees. Masari noted that such talents needed to be encouraged to achieve her dream and contribute her quota to the development of the society. “Talents like this promote creativity and self reliance,…
Fidelity Bank Plc has unveiled a seven-point agenda aimed at making it Tier-One in Nigeria and outlive competition. The agenda unveiled by the bank’s Chief Executive Officer/ Managing Director, Mrs Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, was made available to newsmen on Saturday in Lagos. Onyeali-Ikpe said the agenda focused on brand architecture, brand building and refresh, talent development and transformation, as well as product and service delivery. According to her, agility and performance discipline, digital transformation and regulatory compliance are part of the agenda. Onyeali-Ikpe, Fidelity Bank’s first female chief executive officer, said the bank intended to embark on an innovation drive through…
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, says urgent action is needed to accelerate vaccinations to cover at least 60 per cent of population in every country by 2022. Georgieva said this at the closing of the meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors on Saturday in Venice, Italy. In a statement posted on the IMF website, Georgieva said urgent action is needed to vaccinate at least 40 per cent of the population in every country by the end of 2021 and 60 per cent by the middle of 2022. According to her, the World Bank,…
Kogi state governor, Yahaya Bello has called on Nigerian journalists to set the agenda for politicians to ensure that only credible Nigerians, devoid of bias were elected into political offices. Bello made the call during the Gala Night at the end of the maiden GYB Seminar for Nigeria’s Political and Crime Correspondents on Saturday in Abuja. Bello urged Nigerian journalists to work in line with their mandates as the Fourth Estate of the Realm as they play a key role in setting the agenda for good governance. He said that having a more united and secured Nigeria from 2023 and…
By Dr Muhammad Sajo A Professor of Linguistics, with Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, UDUS, Dahiru Argungu has called on the federal government of Nigeria to restructure linguistics to protect indigenous languages. He gave the charge while presenting the 23rd Inaugural Lecture in the series of similar events of the University on Thursday. According to the scholar, “there is the need for linguistic restructuring by the federal government of Nigeria so that indigenous languages could be more protected and developed.” Prof. Argungu emphasised that “linguistic restructuring helps local language speakers to preserve their identities and cultures, which they hope to pass…
By Elizabeth Kah Residents in some local government councils of Bauchi state, are rejecting COVID-19 vaccine while expressing mixed reactions on its safety, efficacy and quality. The residents, in their various responses, opined that different negative narratives on social media platforms and individual experiences, have gained grounds for taking the jabs. The various testimonies were gathered by our correspondent, Elizebeth Kah from Bauchi state. It could be recalled that Bauchi state governor, Bala Mohammed was announced as the first index case in the state on 26th March, 2020 after which the state has recorded several cases with of the pandemic.…
As the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament enters final run, DStv and GOtv customers get to watch all the action from the final match, live on SuperSport. The final knockout match will be between Italy and England at Wembley Stadium on July 11, at 8pm, live on SS Football (DStv channel 205 and GOtv channel 31). Damilola Olujide, the Media Coordinator for DStv/GOtv, made this known in a statement on Saturday in Lagos. According to the statement, the other channels to show the final match include SS Euro 2020 (DStv channel 204 and GOtv channel 32). Italy’s run to the finals…