An early morning fire on Friday destroyed a section of a storey building at the Sabot-Oke area of Ilorin, according to an official statement from the Kwara Fire Service. A Director in the agency, Falade Olumuyiwa, disclosed this in a statement issued to newsmen by the agency’s Head, Media and Publicity, Hassan Adekunle. Olumuyiwa commended the “swift response and display of professionalism by men of the fire service” which, he stated, stopped the fire from razing down the building completely. The director stated that the fire started at about 8am but added that the cause had yet to be ascertained.…
Author: Newsdesk
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says only eight political parties have notified it of their intentions to conduct primaries for the Ekiti governorship election, as at Friday afternoon. Mr Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of, Information and Voter Education Committee, disclosed this in an interview in Abuja. The eight political parties according to Okoye include the Peoples Democratic Party, All Progressives Congress, Action Alliance, African Democratic Congress; and All Progressives Grand Alliance. Others were Allied People’s Movement, Peoples Redemption Party; and African Action Congress. “So far, as at afternoon Jan. 7, eight political parties have given the…
Munich forward Robert Lewandowski has been named on the final three-man shortlist for the FIFA Best men’s player of the year award for 2021. But the Pole faces competition from Egyptian star Mohamed Salah and Argentine great Lionel Messi. The trio were named by the world football governing body on Friday in a presentation ahead of the award being handed out on Jan. 17 as part of a TV show in Zurich. Lewandowski won the title in 2020 and former Germany international Sami Khedira said there was a “great chance” he would retain the honour. “I would bet on him…
Russian President, Vladimir Putin, held phone calls on Thursday and Friday with leaders of the countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). The leaders included Kazakh President Kassyn-Jomart Tokayev, to discuss the situation in the country and joint efforts to counter international terrorism and ensure order in Kazakhstan. This was made known by the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov on Friday. “Yesterday and today, President Putin held a range of telephone conversations with the leaders of the CSTO member countries. “Talks were held with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, as well as with the…
Kogi state governor, Yahaya Bello on Thursday in Lokoja received His Spiritual Eminence, Sheikh Ibrahim Niasse, Grand Khalifa, Jamiyyatu Ansarideen (Attijaniya) Worldwide, as the state hosts the fourth Nigerian World Maulid celebration. The event, with the theme “The prophetic solutions to questions of humanity”, holds in Lokoja from January 6 to January 8. Also in the entourage is former Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido, who is President of the Jamiyyatu Ansarideen (Attijaniya) Worldwide, amongst other Islamic clerics. The Maulid Anniversary which is in honour of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW), is organised by Jamiyyatu Ansariddeen (Attijaniyya), under the leadership Sheikh…
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on Thursday said that the UN’s benchmark food and commodity prices index rose sharply on average through 2021, compared with the previous year. The agency’s Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices, averaged 125.7 points – a 28.1 per cent increase over 2020. FAO Senior Economist Abdolreza Abbassian explained that, normally, high prices were expected to ease as production increases to match demand. This time, however, the consistently high cost of inputs, the ongoing global pandemic and ever more volatile climatic conditions “leave little room for optimism about a return to…
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday renewed its call for vaccine equity and solidarity to defeat COVID-19 pandemic as the highest number of cases were reported last week across the globe. WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, told journalists in Geneva at his first press briefing in 2022 that the dawn of a new year offered an opportunity to renew collective response to a shared threat. According to WHO latest weekly epidemiological report on COVID-19, published on Thursday, the number of cases increased at a global level by 71 per cent over the past seven days with some 9.5 million cases…
UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) says 55 journalists and media professionals were killed in 2021, noting that impunity against journalists is alarmingly widespread. Fifty-five journalists and media professionals were killed in 2021, according to latest UN data released on Thursday, with nearly nine in 10 killings since 2006 still unresolved. “Once again in 2021, far too many journalists paid the ultimate price to bring truth to light,” UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said. “Right now, the world needs independent, factual information more than ever. We must do more to ensure that those who work tirelessly to provide this can…
President Muhammadu Buhari has again reiterated the commitment of his administration to address the nation’s security challenges before he leaves office in 2023. The president gave the assurance during an interview session televised by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) on Wednesday. President Buhari expressed optimism that the security challenges facing the country could be resolved in some months. According to him, the security forces are working hard to address all the nation’s security problems, adding that more equipment and ammunition are being procured by the government to make the battle against criminals much easier across the country. “Yes, the government…
The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has unveiled a Teacher Management Information System (TMIS) to enhance the management of the teaching workforce and collection of administrative data in six states. The UNICEF Country Education Specialist, Murtala Mohammed, made this known during a one-day workshop for stakeholders on TMIS in Kano. The TMIS, is a system that supports the monitoring of teachers’ licensing, appointments, placements, transfers, evaluations, promotions, and terminations as well as provide an accurate and timely overview of the teaching workforce in the country. ”The aim of the system is to develop a scorecard in education in Kano, Katsina,…