A prosecution witness in the trial of a Deputy Comptroller in the Nigerian Correctional Service, NCoS, Abubakar Sani on Thursday, told the Federal High Court in Katsina, how the Officer obtained money from unsuspecting job seekers under the guise of giving them jobs in the Service. A statement by the spokesperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, made available to ASHENEWS on Thursday, said “Sani was arraigned by the Commission on the 9th of December, 2021 before Justice Hadiza Sabi’u Shagari of the Federal High Court Katsina for allegedly using his position as an officer…
Author: Editor
The Sokoto state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), has sympathized with the state government over the fire incident that gutted the central market on Tuesday. The union, in a statement jointly signed by its chairman and secretary, Isa Shuni and Abubakar Imam and made available to ASHENEWS on Thursday, described the disaster as a great economic loss to both government and the victims. Commending government for its timely intervention, the union also applauded governor Aminu Tambuwal for “promptly” setting up a committee, to ascertain the cause of the inferno and assess the damage caused by the fire.…
Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto on Thursday, inaugurated the committee constituted to advise the state government on the upgrade of the Shehu Shagari College of Education (SSCOE) to a university. At its inauguration, Tambuwal said his policy pronouncement during the 22nd convocation and golden jubilee of the college and the subsequent approval by the state executive council on 31 December 2020, informed the constitution of the committee. With the mandate to submit its report in two months, the governor gave the committee five terms of reference. These include to: 1) Develop a well articulated philosophy, mission and vision; and a…
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on Thursday, ruled out running for parliament or any other political office once she steps down as chancellor. “I will not run again… either for Bundestag legislator or chancellor,’’ she told a news conference. Merkel added this was true for “any political function’’. The chancellor admitted it was difficult for her to agree to a fourth term at the helm of the federal government in 2017, but she had not regretted this decision after the coronavirus epidemic hit. Germans will go to the polls in September to elect a new federal parliament, which will vote on…
The Federal Ministry of Education says it will constitute a national committee on the harmonisation of schools and examination calendar following the disruptions by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, made this known at the 2020 Annual Ministerial briefing in Abuja on Thursday. Adamu said that there was a need for the harmonisation so that schools, learners, teachers and examination bodies would be on the same page. According to him, following the outbreak of COVID-19 by the end of 2019, the first step taken as a nation was to close down all the teaching and learning…
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday inaugurated the National Oil and Gas Excellence Centre (NOGEC) Lagos, aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s position as a regional leader in the oil and gas industry. Buhari said the establishment of NOGEC, situated at the Lagos Annex of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), would enhance safety, value and cost efficiency in Nigeria’s petroleum sector. He said: “NOGEC aligns with the administration’s commitment to fostering stability, growth and sustainability of the Nigerian oil and gas industry for economic development. “You will recall that at the inception of this administration, we set a clear road map for…
President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that Nigeria will strengthen its position as regional leader in the oil and gas industry. Speaking at the virtual inauguration of the National Oil and Gas Excellence Centre (NOGEC) at the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) headquarters, Lagos, Buhari said his administration would spare no effort in ensuring maximum benefit from the nation’s huge natural resources. Buhari pledged that the Federal Government would continue to leverage oil and gas for development and pursue economic diversification across all sectors. ”You would recall that at the beginning of this administration, we set a clear roadmap for the…
The Nigerian Army has begun the selection exercise for the Short Service Commission Course 47 and Executive Commission Course 1/2021 candidates at its Training Area Falgore in Kano State. Addressing the candidates on Thursday, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, said the decision to conduct the exercise in Falgore Forest was to ensure that better candidates were selected for training. Buratai, who was represented by the Chief of Training and Operations (Army), Maj.-Gen. Nuhu Angbazo, urged the candidates to be serious with the exercise, saying that only those who meet the criteria would be selected. He assured them…
The National Economic Council (NEC), under the chairmanship of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has endorsed efforts to produce COVID-19 vaccines locally, according to governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state. Briefing State House correspondents, on Thursday, after the first virtual meeting of the council for 2021, anchored from the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Okowa added that the country was also open to partnership and outsourcing arrangements with foreign producers of the vaccines. “Nigeria and May and Baker are already in partnership for quite some time now, in trying to ensure that we are able to produce vaccines locally. “And they are already…
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO, has warned partners that without additional financial resources for fuel, flight time and pilot hours, the 28 locust control aircraft currently flying over the East African region to spot locust swarms and carry out spraying, could cease operations in March. “The locust control system in East Africa is now fully equipped and capable of containing, suppressing and, we believe, stopping this unprecedented upsurge,” said Laurent Thomas, FAO Deputy Director-General on Wednesday during an online meeting. “Governments have built up their capacity in record time and have managed to significantly reduce…