Speaker of House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila says the lawmakers plan to pass Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) by April. Gbajabiamila made the announcement while speaking at a public hearing on the Bill, organised by the House ad hoc Committee on PIB on Wednesday in Abuja. He said that the oil industry had been performing below expectations due to the absence of national legislation. According to him, it is disappointing and frankly difficult to explain how successive governments have failed to deliver on the reform. “This public hearing allows all stakeholders to contribute to the Bill for an Act to provide…
Author: Editor
The Benue Deputy Governor, Engr. Benson Abounu, on Wednesday revealed that nine aides of Gov. Samuel Ortom had tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19). Abounu, who made the disclosure in Makurdi during a press conference, said despite the number of aides that tested positive for the virus, all government activities were going on smoothly. Ortom had through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Terver Akase, announced that his latest COVID-19 test result had returned positive. Abounu, the State Chairman of Action Committee on COVID-19, said the committee had already carried out contact tracing of those who came in contact with all those infected…
The Police Command in Anambra has arrested one Chukwuemeka Obijofa, 28, for allegedly killing his wife, Chisom Chukwuemeka, 26 and his four-year-old male child with a shovel. CSP Haruna Mohammed, the command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO) made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Awka. Mohammed said the suspect allegedly ran amok in circumstances yet to be ascertained before attacking his wife and child. “On Jan. 26, at about 7:45p.m., Police operatives attached to Ozubulu Police Station arrested one Chukwuemeka Obijofa, 28, of Ofufe Nza village in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State. “Suspect allegedly ran amok in…
A suspicious package has been found at site in Wales where the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine is stored. Manufacturing partner for AstraZeneca, Wockhardt UK, confirmed to dpa that emergency services were called to the warehouse in the Welsh town of Wrexham early on Wednesday after the package was found. “Upon expert advice we have partially evacuated the site pending a full investigation,’’ a spokeswoman for Wockhardt UK said. “The safety of our employees and business continuity remain of paramount importance.’’ North Wales Police told dpa, “We are currently dealing with an ongoing incident on the Wrexham Industrial Estate. “The roads are currently closed and…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday re-arraigned four directors of Petrol Union Oil and Gas Company Ltd. charged with £2.55 billion fraud. The defendants are Abayomi Kukoyi (said to be trading under the name and style of Gladstone Kukoyi and Associates), Prince Kingsley Okpala, Prince Chidi Okpalaeze and Prince Emmanuel Okpalaeze. The defendants were charged before a Federal High Court in Lagos and are facing trial along with Petro Union Oil and Gas Company Ltd. They were alleged to have committed the fraud between 1994 and 2007. The EFCC alleged that the defendants fraudulently procured a cheque…
One-third of all African stories in news outlets on the continent are sourced from foreign news services according to a new report from Africa No Filter (www.AfricaNoFilter.org). The ‘How African Media Covers Africa’, highlights the fact that stories about Africa continue to be told through the same persistent and negative stereotypes and frames of poverty, disease, conflict, poor leadership and corruption. Download the How African Media Cover Africa report: http://bit.ly/AfricaNoFilter The research surveyed 38 African editors, analyzed content from 60 African news outlets in 15 countries (Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, DRC, Egypt, Tunisia, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal) between September and October…
Ohaneze Youth Wing urges new Service Chiefs to evolve pragmatic measures to end insecurity The Ebonyi chapter of Ohaneze Ndigbo Youth Wing has urged the newly constituted Service Chiefs to evolve fresh and pragmatic strategies to deal decisively with insecurity in the country. Mr Obiya Sabastine, the state Chairman of the group, made the call on Wednesday in an interview in Abakaliki. Sabastine described the appointment of the service chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari as a welcome development and urged Nigerians to give them the necessary support. “There is need for a change in every aspect of life. The president…
Bayern Munich are donating €100,000 ($121,000) for the reconstruction of a local synagogue, the Bundesliga champions said on Wednesday. Bayern Munich also said they are adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-semitism in another effort to further strengthen their culture of remembrance. January 27 is Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking 76 years since Soviet soldiers liberated the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz. The synagogue in Munich’s Reichenbach street was opened in 1931 but badly damaged during the November 1938 pogroms and World War II. “I will like to thank Bayern Munich from the bottom of my heart for…
Niger governor and chairman, North Central Governors Forum, Abubakar Sani-Bello of Niger on Wednesday, commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment of new Service Chiefs. The governor in a congratulatory message by the spokesperson of the governor, Mary Noel-Berje and made available to ASHENEWS said the decision was noble in view of the level of insecurity the nation is facing. “I enjoin you to evolve new strategies that will adequately address the security challenges that have bedeviled the region and the country as a whole. “Niger as a boundary state to the North western region of the country, is suffering from banditry,…
The Nigeria Governors Forum, NGF, has donated M50 million as assistance to Sokoto state government and victims of the Sokoto Central Market inferno that occurred last week. Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti, announced the donation when he visited the scene of the fire disaster in Sokoto on Tuesday. Accompanied by the Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, Mr Simon Lalong and Jigawa governor Muhammad Badaru, Fayemi said the NGF will pursue the pledge made by the federal government to assist in rebuilding the burnt market as well as the victims of the inferno.