South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing a no-confidence vote over alleged money-laundering and bribery during his 2017 campaign on the platform of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party. The motion for the vote was sponsored by the African Transformation Movement (ATM) in November 2020 but was postponed until February 2021 by mutual agreement with the speaker of the national assembly, Thandi Modise. The postponement was to allow the Western Cape high court to hear an application by the party for the no-confidence vote to be conducted by secret ballot. The court proceedings will run between Wednesday and Thursday.…
Author: Editor
The Nigerian Army has called on members of the public to ignore a report by a coalition that it conducted secret trails and executed six soldiers of Igbo extraction. The group which identified itself as a coalition of rights activists and scholars, on Tuesday made the allegation in a press statement. The Nigerian Army made the call on its social media handle, tagged the allegation as false, fake news and malicious. A senior military source, who pleaded for anonymity, dismissed the allegation, saying it was impossible for the Nigerian army to conduct secret trial of any soldier. The officer said…
The Department of State Services (DSS) has again warned against plans by some persons and groups to exploit some fault lines to cause ethno-religious violence in some parts of the country. The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Service, Dr Peter Afunanya, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja. The Service had on January 11 issued an alert of plans by some elements working with external forces to incite religious violence across the country. The alert stipulated that the targeted States were Sokoto, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Rivers, Oyo, Lagos and those in the South East. It said the…
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) with support from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have activated a short code – “6232” for verified information. The number is being introduced as a means for the public to contact NCDC’s Connect Centre and access verified information on COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Director General of NCDC, said on Wednesday in Abuja, that the short code was a toll free and easy-to-remember number. According to him, this means that all calls to NCDC through “6232” are free of charge. “This is to ensure that Nigerians have access to…
MultiChoice Nigeria has said it will be impossible for it to implement the pay-as-you-go in the pay television industry in the country. According to the company, a subscription model would neither work for its Dstv nor its Gotv services. It explained, however, that the pay-per-view option is very expensive. Dstv’s Chief Customer Officer, Martin Mabutho, disclosed the information on February 2, while announcing price slash on its DStv and GOtv decoders starting from the same day as the announcement. He explained that it was difficult because the billing model for pay-as-you-go has no empirical practice anywhere, adding that it is…
The Nigerian Stock Exchange extended its losing streak on Tuesday following investors’ sell off of Lafarge Africa and some banking stocks. As a result, the All-Share Index declined by 314.11 points or 0.74 per cent to 42,043.79 against 42,357.90 achieved on Monday. Consequently, the month-to-date loss increased to -0.9 per cent, while the year-to-date gain moderated to 4.4 per cent. Also, the market capitalisation which opened at N22.157 trillion shed N164 billion or 0.74 per cent to close at N21.993 trillion. The market loss was driven by price depreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks, amongst which are Nigerian Breweries…
First Bank of Nigeria Ltd., has announced the provision of credit facilities of up to one million naira to its Firstmonie agents across the country. Mr Chuma Ezirim, First Bank’s Group Executive, e-Business and Retail Products, in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos, said the loan was a way of promoting business activities of the agents. Ezirim said that Firstmonie Agents had been integral to filling the financial exclusion gap and providing convenient banking services that are easily accessible. According to him, the agents help in saving time and travel costs for individuals in the suburbs and remote environments that…
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has said that the 2023 General Elections would record significant reduction in electoral violence after the passage of the amended Electoral Act in June by the National Assembly. Lawan gave the assurance on Tuesday in Abuja, while responding to questions after delivering a lecture at the National Defence College, Course 29 Programme, in Abuja. According to him, the electoral act under amendment by the Ninth National Assembly will provide for an Electoral Offences Commission, saddled with responsibility of prosecuting electoral offenders. He said the electoral act, when passed and signed into law, would, among other…
By Our Special Correspondent The management of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, has refuted reports that two female students died as a result of a fire incident at a female hostel, which occurred at it’s Main Campus on Monday. The hostel was gutted by fire in the early hours of Monday, resulting in the destruction of properties, credentials, cash and other valuables of about 68 female students. The vice chancellor of the university, Professor Lawal Bilbis who spoke through the Dean of Students Affairs, Professor Aminu Mode, confirmed that no life was lost and only three students were injured. According to…
Bandits on Tuesday killed 28, injured 40 and abducted several other persons in four communities in the Shiroro local government area of Niger state. The bandits, who rode on unconfirmed number of motorcycles with holding guns, stormed the villages of Kurebe, Sabon-gida , Sarari and Rafin Kanya. ASHENEWS gathered from Alhaji Ibrahim Kurebe that the bandits went to each of the villages, one after another shooting sporadically into houses and killing people. According to him, they killed two in Kurebe, 28 in Sabon-gida and Sarari but none in Rafin Kanya. “They went to villages one after the other and killing…