Author: bibncollar

A coalition of Civil Society Organizations, CSOs, under the aegis of Save Nigerian Democracy Group, SNDG, on Friday, faulted the position of Governor Charles Soludo on the Supreme Court judgement that granted. full financial autonomy to the 774 Local Government Areas, LGAs, in the country. In a statement it made available to newsmen in Abuja, the coalition maintained that contrary to Governor Soludo’s contention, allowing the LGAs to receive their allocations directly from the federation account would encourage grass root development. It lauded President Bola Tinubu for initiating the action, saying it was his “spirited attempts to navigate the…

Mr Sly Ezeokenwa, the factional National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance(APGA), says the appointment of Mrs Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu as a minister is an audacious and laudable move by President Bola Tinubu. Ezeokenwa, who was elected as APGA National Chairman in 2023 following the completion of a two-term eight-year tenure by the former National Chairman, Chief Victor Oye, spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) on Friday in Abuja. Tinubu had on Wednesday, appointed seven new ministers and assigned portfolios to them, subject to confirmation by the Senate. Mrs Odumegu-Ojukwu was assigned the Minister of State for Foreign…

The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 general election, Omoyele Sowore, has said that the continuous detention of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, is a confirmation that the Nigerian State has an Igbo problem. Sowore, who said this during an interview with Rudolf Okonkwo in 90Minutes Africa on Sunday, added that the pro-Biafra agitator is a victim of the post-civil war treatment that the country has meted out to the Igbo. “Nigeria has an Igbo problem. It’s like when a father is dying, they will tell their children,…

National Chairman of All Progressives Congress, APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, has declared that Rivers State would soon become an APC state. He also said the Rivers State chapter of APC would be rebuilt and repositioned. Ganduje said this in Abuja when the 2023 governorship candidate of Action Alliance,AA, Dr. Dawari Ibietela George, officialy returned to the party. At the core of their conversation was the rebuilding and strengthening of the party as a platform to serve the people of the state and Nigeria in general. The leaders also agreed to make the party accommodate broad interests and dispense substantial justice.…

Liverpool’s Dutch manager Arne Slot reacts during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on September 14, 2024. (Photo by Ian Hodgson / AFP) Arne Slot says his Liverpool team are “matching his expectations” after their flying start to the season as he prepares for a tough test against Arsenal. The Reds are top of the Premier League with seven wins in their first eight matches and have also won all three of their Champions League games so far. On Sunday Slot takes his side to face Arsenal…

The Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, Abia State branch, has denied receiving full payment of arrears of pensions and gratuity from the state government. The union stated that the Governor had promised to clear all outstanding pension arrears owed to retirees by December 2023, but has failed to fulfill the promise. They lamented that multiple letters and appeals, they have been unable to secure a direct audience with the Governor, stressing that the situation has fueled concerns that pensioners are being sidelined in favor of other government priorities. Briefing the media in Umuahia, chairman of NUP, in Abia state, Elder…

The Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria and other key stakeholders have vowed to ensure compliance with the European Union Deforestation Regulations in Nigeria. They underscored the need to support the inclusion of youths in cocoa farming and processing through entrepreneurship development for the sustainability of the cocoa sector. The national president of the association, Adeola Adegoke, disclosed to newsmen on Thursday at the 3rd National Festival held in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State. He noted that the theme for this year’s festival was carefully selected to x-ray the role of the National Cocoa Management Committee NCMC and others…

The Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, has said there is no going back on the planned October 26, 2024, Local Government election in the state. This is coming despite a Federal High Court judgement voiding the poll over what it termed “having card-carrying NNPP members as executive officers of the election commission.” Yusuf made the assertion while presenting NNPP flags to the 44 chairmanship and councilorship candidates at the Sani Abacha Indoor Stadium on Thursday evening. He said, “At this moment, the state will not allow anybody to destabilize the existing peace being enjoyed by the citizenry.” According to…

Vice President Kashim Shettima’s trip to Samoa to represent Nigeria at the 2024 Commonwealth Heads Of Government Summit has been cancelled after a foreign object hit his plane during a stopover at JFK Airport in New York. A statement issued last night by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said “The foreign object damaged the cockpit windscreen of the plane.” According to the statement, “President Tinubu, acting promptly, has approved a ministerial delegation to represent Nigeria at the summit in the Samoa capital of Apia while the plane’s repair has commenced. “The delegation, which will…

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, has confirmed that the federal government would impose 15 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on luxury goods, adding that total subsidy removal became effective last month. Fielding investors’ questions at a meeting on the sidelines of the on-going IMF/World bank Annual Meetings in Washington DC, he said that a bill before the National Assembly would bring about a situation where rich Nigerians would pay VAT rate that would increase over time to 15 percent. He clarified, however, that the poor and vulnerable will pay less or…