Member States and the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have been fully equipped to drive the process of migration and other related issues in the sub-region. The capacity building project tagged “Free Movement of Persons and Migration in West Africa” and powered by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and its partners, began in 2013 and was officially closed in Abuja on Thursday. Speaking in an interview in Abuja, Mr Tony Elumelu, Head, Border Management and Migration Division of ECOWAS said the project has equipped the Sub-region to handle its migration and free movement issues.…
Author: Editor
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday approved about 26million dollars for various power projects in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states. Minister of Power, Sale Mamman, made this known to State House correspondents at the end of the Council meeting in Abuja. He said the $1.62million of the amount ($26m) was the payment of the claims and the variation of onshore and offshore cost of the existing contract for the construction of 1×1 50 MBA three 31, 32, 33 KV sub-stations at Damaturu and 1×330 KV land by extension at Gombi, Adamawa. He revealed…
President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the attempted coup in Niger Republic, according to a statement issued by Malam Garba Shehu, his spokesman, in Abuja, on Wednesday, “Any illegal effort to depose a democratically elected government is not only despicable, but also unacceptable to democratic governments around the world,” Buhari said, over the telephone with Mahamadou Issoufou, his counterpart and outgoing Nigerien President. President Buhari warned that the international community was hostile to the change of government by violent and unconstitutional means. He said: ”It is utterly naïve to attempt the removal of an elected government by force. Military political adventurers…
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved over N19 billion for various projects for the Ministries of Transportation, Aviation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Ministers of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; Aviation, Hadi Sirika and FCT, Muhammed Bello made these known at the end of the Council meeting which was chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja on Wednesday. The Minister of Information said the five memos presented by the Minister of transportation, Rotimi Ameachi, were approved by the Council. He said the approvals included N639million for modular tamping machine for Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), N247million for procurement of…
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) says it will soon start the issuance of its enhanced 10 years validity passports in London and Atlanta, U.S. The Controller-General of the Service, Mr Muhammad Babandede, disclosed this at a briefing with newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday. Babandede said that the new enhanced passport would solve a lot of issues related to passport renewal by Nigerians in diaspora. He said one of the challenges facing the agency was the none availability of passport booklets, adding that efforts were ongoing to address the problems. He also added that the service was working at deploying more…
By Nefishetu Yakubu The Chairman Association of Private Schools Owners of Nigeria in Edo, Mr Imoukhede Elakhe on Wednesday, has observed that hostile policies of government and high rate of unemployment are bane of irregular migration in Nigeria. Elakhe made this known during a town hall meeting organised by Migrants As Messengers (MaM), a group under the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Benin. Elakhe stated that findings had shown that most young people who migrated under irregular circumstances were motivated by bad government policies and unemployment. “Even those who established businesses on their own are being confronted with payment…
The Nigeria Army has dismissed allegations of lopsidedness in its recruitment and enlistment processes, saying that it fully complied with the federal character principle in the exercise. The spokesperson of the Army, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Yerima, in a statement on Wednesday, in Abuja, particularly denied allegations of lopsidedness in the recent list of successful candidates for the Short Service Commission course 47. Yerima said that an online publication had alleged that the list of successful candidates for the SSC Course 47 published on March 26 was dominated by the North, while the South East had the least number of candidates. According…
The World Bank says economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to rise between 2.3 per cent and 3.4 per cent in 2021. It said this in its Africa Pulse, a publication on Africa’s economy titled “The Future of Work in Africa: Emerging Trends in Digital Technology Adoption” released in Washington D. C. on Tuesday. According to the report, the growth is dependent on the policies adopted by countries and the international community as a second wave of COVID-19 infections was partly dragging down the 2021 growth projections. It said that while some countries had a significant drop in COVID-19…
The Nigeria Customs Service, Seme Border Area Command on Wednesday, said it intercepted contraband with duty paid value of N409,851,533 since the reopening of the border. The Customs Area Controller (CAC) of the Command, Comptroller Bello Jibo, disclosed this at a news conference at ECOWAS Joint Border Post, Seme-Krake. He said that the banned substances, smuggled into Nigeria through the border, include 232 wraps of cannabis sativa, 98 used vehicles, 5,568 bags of rice and two sacks of condom. Jibo said that the contraband were smuggled in the period from Dec.17 when the Federal Government announced the reopening of four…
The Kaduna state government on Wednesday, said suspected bandits had killed eight people and injured four others in separate attacks in Chikun, Giwa and Kajuru local government Areas of the state. The Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr Samuel Aruwan, confirmed the killing in a statement issued in Kaduna. Aruwan said, “Eight people have been killed, and four injured by bandits in separate attacks dotted across Chikun, Giwa and Kajuru local government areas. “These were outlined in reports made by security agencies to the Kaduna State Government.” According to him, at Kan Hawa Zankoro, near Ungwan Yako in…