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  • Ayade Appoints Singer Iyanya As SSA On Tourism

    Ayade Appoints Singer Iyanya As SSA On Tourism

    Ayade appoints singer Iyanya as SSA on Tourism

    The Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, has appointed singer Iyanya Onoyom Mbuk as the Senior Special Assistant on Tourism and Entertainment.

    The singer, who hails from Cross River State, was appointed alongside 26 other aides.

    The Governor’s Special Adviser on Media, and Publicity, Christian Ita, who disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, said the appointment took immediate effect.

    He also updated his Instagram bio with “Senior Special Ass. @sirbenayade, (Tourism & Entertainment) CRS Gov.” to validate his appointment.

    The celebrated artist has also been busy making major moves asides from music, with his Iyanya Foundation.

  • Tokyo Paralympics: Team Nigeria Settle For Bronze In Table Tennis Event

    Tokyo Paralympics: Team Nigeria Settle For Bronze In Table Tennis Event

    Tokyo Paralympics: Team Nigeria settle for bronze in table tennis event

    Team Nigeria have continued to rake in medals at the ongoing Paralympics in Tokyo as they clinched a bronze medal in a table tennis event.

    It was Team Nigeria’s first medal in a sport other than powerlifting at the rescheduled games in the Japanese capital.

    The duo of Tajudeen Agunbiade and Alabi Olufemi settled for the bronze medal after falling to a defeat against Australia in the semi-finals of the men’s team Class 9 to 10 event.

    In the doubles game, Agunbiade and Olufemi lost 3-1 to Australian pair Ma Lin and Joel Coughlan.

    After losing the first set 12-10, the Nigerian team fought back to win 11-8, only to lose 12-10 again in the third set.

    They however failed to keep up the momentum by losing the fourth set 11-5 for a 3-1 major score line.

    Ma went on to beat Agunbiade 3-2 in the opening singles, coming from two sets down (8-11, 9-11) to win the final three sets 11-3, 11-9, 11-8.

    As it stands, Team Nigeria now have three gold, one silver and three bronze medals from the Games.

  • WHO Worried New COVID-19 Mu variant ‘Resistant To Vaccines’

    WHO Worried New COVID-19 Mu variant ‘Resistant To Vaccines’

    The World Health Organisation has revealed that it is monitoring a new coronavirus “variant of interest” named Mu – also known by its scientific name as B.1.621.

    This was disclosed by Dr. Margaret Harris, a spokesperson for the WHO, at a UN press briefing in Geneva on Wednesday.

    In its weekly epidemiological update, WHO warned that the variant was becoming increasingly prevalent in Colombia and Ecuador and had shown signs of possible resistance to vaccines.

    Mu was first identified in Colombia in January 2021, and since then there have been “sporadic reports” of cases and outbreaks in South America and Europe, WHO said.

    While the global prevalence of Mu among sequenced COVID-19 cases is below 0.1 per cent, its prevalence had consistently increased in Colombia and Ecuador, where it is now responsible for around 39 per cent and 13 per cent of infections, respectively.

    Reports on the variant’s prevalence should be interpreted with due consideration given to the low sequencing capacity of most countries, the agency said.

    Mu is the fifth variant of interest to be monitored by the WHO since March.

    It has a number of mutations that suggest it could be more resistant to vaccines, the health agency warned, but stressed that further research would be needed to confirm this.

    Preliminary data show a reduced effectiveness of vaccines “similar to that seen for the Beta variant”.

    The WHO said it would be monitoring “the epidemiology of the Mu variant in South America, particularly with the co-circulation of the Delta variant for changes”.

    As of Aug. 29, over 4,500 sequences (3,794 B.1.621 sequences and 856 B.1.621.1 sequences), genome sequences, analysed samples of the virus taken from patients, had been designated as Mu in the past four weeks.

  • Oando To settle Out Of Court With Investor, Amid $680m Debt Owned By Wale Tinubu

    Oando To settle Out Of Court With Investor, Amid $680m Debt Owned By Wale Tinubu

    Oando to settle out of court with investor, amid $680m debt owned by Wale Tinubu

    Oando Plc has agreed to settle the dispute between the company and its aggrieved investors, Alhaji Dahiru Mangal and Ansbury Inc., a major investor in investment vehicle, Ocean and Oil Development Partners Limited (OODP BVI).

    Ansbury and Alhaji Dahiru Mangal, had filed petitions against Oando to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria (SEC), according to a statement sent to the Nigerian Exchange Group on Tuesday.

    What you need to know about OODP BVI

    OODP BVI, the majority shareholder of Ocean and Oil Development Partners Nigeria Limited (OODP Nigeria) is owned by Wale Tinubu and Boyo. They acquired 30 percent controlling stake in Unipetrol Plc in 2000.

    But a year after, the investment company increased its interest in Unipetrol to 42 percent through an irredeemable convertible loan stock issue, before they led Unipetrol to acquire 60 percent controlling stake in Italian subsidiary rival, Agip Nigeria Plc.

    The acquisition led to the merger of Ship Nigeria and Unipetrol (which was initially controlled by the Nigerian government from 1976 to 1992, after selling off its 60 percent controlling interest to the Nigerian public) into Oando Plc in 2003.

    Issue between Oando and Ansbury

    Ansbury is owned by Gabriele Volpi, who is the main shareholder of Intels Nigeria Limited and chairman of the company. He had loaned $680 million to Tinubu and Boyo in 2012, to acquire ConocoPhillips oil and gas, which was later bought in 2014.

    Volpi invested about $700 million in Ocean and Oil Development Partners Limited through Ansbury. This gave his investment company 61.9 percent stake in OODA BVI, which is the majority shareholder in Oando, with Withmore Limited (owned by Tinubu) accounting for 38.10 percent in OODP BVI.

    Oando is in turn owned by Ocean and Oil Development Partners Nigeria Limited, which has 55.96 percent of the former’s shares, while OODP BVI reportedly accounts for 99.99 percent shares of OODP Nigeria.

    It was gathered that Tinubu and Boyo were unable to refund Volpi the loan, and the investor, wrote to SEC to take action against them. Following the removal of Tinubu and Boyo for alleged mismanagement, infractions and false disclosures by Oando Plc, Volpi moved to have his preferred CEO and directors to head Oando.

    Oando willing to settle with Ansbury and Alhaji Dahiru Mangal

    Oando has now resolved to put its disagreement with the two investors behind the company, like it did with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which sacked the company’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Wale Tinubu and his deputy, Omamofe Boyo – both are co-founders of Oando.

    In the statement seen by Ripples Nigeria, Oando said its Board of Directors, which were appointed by SEC, have been authorised by the shareholders to negotiate and resolve the company’s dispute.

    This follows Oando’s decision to settle out of court with SEC in July, with the company expected to pay the capital market regulator without accepting guilt in the allegation made by SEC.

    Part of the statement reads that, “The Board of Directors of the Company were authorized to negotiate, take all such actions and enter into all such transactions, agreements and appropriate settlements… arising from and relating to petitions brought by Ansbury Inc. (an investor in Ocean and Oil Development Partners Limited (“OODP”) and Alhaji Dahiru Mangal (together the “Petitioners”), against the Company and certain of its directors.”

     

     

  • Nigerian Government Sets Up National Housing Bond To Address Deficit

    Nigerian Government Sets Up National Housing Bond To Address Deficit

    Nigerian Government Sets Up National Housing Bond To Address Deficit

    In order to tackle the challenge of housing among Nigerians, the Federal Government has announced the institution of a National Housing Bond.

    This was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, during a tour of the Federal Housing Authority and Cosgrove’s Estates.

    According to Fashola, the project would help developers provide houses for all categories of Nigerians.

    The Minister further disclosed that private partnership is needed in order to actualise the plans of the FG towards affordable housing for Nigerians.

    “There is Cosgrove Estate in Mabushi which is purely private sector driven; the one at Guzape is in partnership with government (Federal Housing Authority)ENL Consortium and Bauhaus International Limited. The one in Zuba is government-driven.

    “We will be working to create a National Housing Bond that housing developers can access at a very reasonable rate. That is something I will be engaging my colleague, the Minister of Finance.

    “And hopefully, she would be able to engage the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria who controls our monetary policies. This is because fiscal and monetary policies can help the sector.

    “This tour to estates at Mabushi, Guzape and Zuba is to show you that a lot of things are going on in the housing economy of the country,” Fashola said.

  • Teacher Suspended For Defiling 14 Female Pupils In Niger State

    Teacher Suspended For Defiling 14 Female Pupils In Niger State

    Teacher Suspended For Defiling 14 Female Pupils In Niger State

    The Niger State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) has suspended a Grade Two teacher of the Central Primary School, Karabonde, in Borgu Local Government Area of the state, Alhaji Usman Galadima, for allegedly defiling 14 female pupils of the school.

    Galadima was accused of sexually assaulting the pupils and threatening to kill them if they ever revealed the abuses to anyone, but some of the pupils reportedly mustered courage and narrated the incident to their school’s Head Mistress, Maimunat Tanko, who reported the matter to the Head Master, Mallam Abdullahi Toure, leading to an investigation into the cases.

    The activities of the randy teacher were then reported to the social welfare department of Borgu LGA and an investigation was launched as ordered by the Education Secretary of the council.

    The Education Secretary was said to have visited the school to ascertain the true position of the report and afterwards, set up a committee to investigate the matter, even as more girls opened up on being sexually assaulted by the same teacher.

    It was gathered that Galadima appeared before the committee and confessed to the crime, during its meeting.

    The Education Board through its Public Relations Officer, Idirs Kolo, who announced the suspension of Galadima on Wednesday, stated that the accuse has been handed over to the State Child Protection Agency for prosecution.

    Kolo explained that before any further action would be taken against him, the teacher must be suspended first from work.

    “The accused is presently with Child Right Protection Agency. We have to move him from Borgu to Minna to save his life from mob action by parents and families of the victims. They are all furious over what he did to their daughters.

    “The management of SUBEB has suspended him because what he did cannot be swept under the carpet by anyone. The state Governor, Alh. Abubakar Sani Bello, is not happy with the development.”

    The Director of the Niger State Child Right Protection Agency, Barrister Maryam Kolo, also confirmed the development, explaining that the Agency has facilitated the transfer of the case from Borgu LGA to Minna, so that it can be thoroughly investigated.

    Also confirming incident, the State Poice spokesman, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, said the Commissioner of Police, CP Monday Bala Kuryas, has ordered for a thorough investigation into case.

    “The social welfare unit of Borgu LGA reported an incident of defilement of 3 girls of central primary school, Karabonde to the police on 27th Aug, 2021. The Commissioner of Police, CP Monday Bala Kuryas has ordered a thorough investigation into the case and the suspect will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded,” Abiodun said.

  • ‘I Never Said Stealing Public Funds Happens Under Buhari Govt’ – Amaechi

    ‘I Never Said Stealing Public Funds Happens Under Buhari Govt’ – Amaechi

    The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has denied reports quoting him as saying that stealing is done quietly under the Muhammadu Buhari-led government.

    The minister had said in an interview with on Sunday that stealing of public funds under the Muhammadu Buhari-led government is not done in the open.

    Speaking on the legacy of the Buhari administration, the former Rivers governor said that the present administration has handled Nigeria’s resources very well.

    He said: “I want Nigerians to be honest; can you openly take money in this government? I am not saying whether we are corrupt or not.

    “Let us assume we are corrupt, can you openly take money in this government? In the past governments, what happened? You can take money in the streets. Corruption was so pervasive that nobody was talking about it. It was not hidden that people completely and openly displayed their wealth.

    “Most of those who did that had nothing to do to show for it. They did not have a carpentry shop, but they were billionaires. They did not hide it; but here, if you are stealing, it is done quietly. I am not saying it is good, it is a sin punishable. In the previous government, you could steal and you won’t be caught. If you were caught, there won’t be consequences. But in this government, if you steal there are consequences,” Amaechi added.

    But in a telephone interview with the same media outlet on Tuesday, the minister denied saying that corruption is prevalent under the Muhammadu Buhari-led government.

    According to the former Rivers governor, he was misrepresented and misquoted in the widely circulated interview.

    Amaechi added that the administration has succeeded in curbing impunity and corruption, unlike the previous governments.

    He claimed that during the previous government, someone without any means of verifiable livelihood could become a billionaire due to corruption.

  • ASUU Reveals Next Line Of Action As FG Fails To Honour Agreement

    ASUU Reveals Next Line Of Action As FG Fails To Honour Agreement

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has revealed its next line of action after the Federal Government failed to honour the agreement it entered into with the union.

    ASUU president, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, had earlier alleged that the government has not been picking calls pushed through by the union.

    The varsity lecturers had called off their eight-month-old strike in December 2020 after ASUU signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government. Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige had met with the lecturers on August 2 to review the level of implementation of the MoU after several complaints by the academic union.

    Ngige at the time assured ASUU that government will through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), release N30 billion as a revitalisation fund to the union the following week.

    However, the government has not yet fulfilled its promises to the union and the month of August has ended.

    ASUU, in this regard, said it will hold an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) this week with its leaders and principal officials to decide its members’ next line of action.

    The varsity union said it will follow up its NEC meeting with consultations with all its chapters should the government fail to respond positively to the aggrieved lecturers.

    ASUU said Nigerians should hold the government responsible for their next action. Naija News understands that the Federal Government has not spoken on the latest agitations by the varsity teachers.

    Osodeke stressed that the union’s NEC would convene to weigh available options and take a position.

  • Lai Mohammed Cautions Prominent Nigerians Against Divisive Utterances

    Lai Mohammed Cautions Prominent Nigerians Against Divisive Utterances

    Lai Mohammed cautions prominent Nigerians against divisive utterances

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has admonished political, religious leaders, and opinion moulders to stop spewing incendiary rhetoric capable of setting the country ablaze.

    Mohammed gave the admonition during a conference on Wednesday in Sal Island, Cape Verde.

    The minister was in Cape Verde to attend the 64th Conference of the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Commission for Africa and the Second Edition of the UNWTO Global Tourism Investment Forum.

    Speaking on the responsibilities of the media, the minister warned broadcast stations, which are the purveyors of incendiary rhetoric, to abide by broadcast codes and other regulations guiding them.

    “In the last few weeks, the country has been awash, especially from the broadcast media, with very incendiary rhetoric which has created a sort of panic in Nigeria.

    “The incendiary rhetoric that comes from political, religious leaders and some opinions have the capacity to set the country on fire.

    “This is because the rhetoric is pitting one ethnic group and religion against the other and overheating the polity.

    “Our serious counsel to stakeholders is that they should understand and remember that leadership comes with a lot of responsibilities, tone down the hateful rhetoric because they are harmful to the country

    “They should remember that every war is preceded by these kinds of mindless rhetoric, especially when it comes from otherwise responsible people who the people have the tendency to take seriously,’’ he said.

     

  • Journalist Who Interviewed Taliban Spokesman Fears For Her Life

    Journalist Who Interviewed Taliban Spokesman Fears For Her Life

    Journalist who interviewed Taliban spokesman fears for her life, flees Afghanistan

    An Afghanistan female journalist, Beheshta Arghand, who made history in the country by conducting a ground-breaking interview with a Taliban spokesman on August 17, has fled the country because “she is afraid the militant group will kill her.”

    Arghand became an instant sensation with the interview on TOLONews in the wake of the Taliban taking control of Kabul, two days after she interviewed Malala Yousafzai, the activist from Pakistan, who survived being shot in the head in a 2012 Taliban assassination attempt.

    The first interview is believed to be the first time a member of the Taliban had been interviewed live on TV by a woman, while the second was described as the first time Malala had ever been interviewed on Afghan television.

    While the appearance of Arghand and other women on the channel has been commonplace in recent years, as the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, questions were raised whether women would continue to be allowed to work in the media.

    After successfully escaping from the country on Tuesday, Arghand told the CNN she fled out of fear amid reports of Taliban abuse against women.

    Arghand said that while her interview was challenging, she did it for the women of Afghanistan, knowing that resistance to their regime must start somewhere.

    “If we stay in our houses or don’t go to our offices, they will say the ladies don’t want to work, but I said to myself, ‘start working.’

    “And I said to the Taliban member, ‘We want our rights. We want to work. We want — we must — be in society. This is our right.”

    Earlier this month, Beheshta Arghand (pictured left) made history in the country by conducting an interview with a Taliban spokesperson on TOLONews in the wake of the Taliban taking control of Kabul

    “I left the country because, like millions of people, I fear the Taliban.’

    Saad Mohseni, the owner of TOLONews, said that Arghand’s case was indicative of the situation in the country now that the militant group are in control.

    “Almost all our well known reporters and journalists have left,” he told CNN. “We have been working like crazy to replace them with new people. We have the twin challenge of getting people out because they feel unsafe, and keeping the operation going,” he added.