Former Senator Emmanuel Onwe, who represented Ebonyi Central Senatorial Zone, has called for the establishment of a Food Intelligence Agency (FIA) to support the Federal Government’s recent declaration of emergency in food production and security. Onwe made this call during a press briefing in Enugu, discussing his Open Letter to President Bola Tinubu titled, “Declaration of a State of Emergency on Food Security and ‘Commodification of the Naira Using Cassava’: What Can I Do for my Country”. Onwe stated the urgency of a coordinated approach to combat food inflation, hunger, and potential population starvation, highlighting the critical role an…
Author: Omolemi Eboisetale
Iran’s first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, is expected to assume the presidency after Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash as the country gears up for early elections. The Iranian constitution stipulates that the first vice president take over “in the event of the president’s death, dismissal, resignation, absence or illness for more than two months”. Raisi, who died on Sunday along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other officials, was nearing the end of his first four-year term as president. Mokhber’s interim appointment requires the approval of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final word in…
The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of undue interference and partiality in its ongoing internal leadership crisis. The accusation follows the attendance of INEC officials at a convention organized by a faction of the party, despite a court notice challenging the event. The NNPP leadership crisis erupted post-2023 general elections, leading to the expulsion of its presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, by the party’s Board of Trustees headed by Boniface Aniebonam. The expulsion was allegedly due to anti-party activities, specifically Kwankwaso’s visit to President Bola Tinubu, which fueled speculations about him seeking a…
The German Ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs Annett Gunther, says her country is working to improve the visa issuance process for Nigerians seeking to study in Germany. Gunther, who said her country is not against Nigerians coming, said already there are no less than 4,000 Nigerians schooling and working in Germany. Gunther made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Abuja. According to her, the German Academic Exchange Service gives out not less than 1,000 scholarships yearly. She said that the German government was working on improving visa approvals for intending Nigerian students to…
A trailer lost control and crushed three minibusses, leaving seven persons dead at the Imo State University junction in Owerri, the capital of Imo State on Saturday. The accident occurred around 7 pm when the heavy-duty truck, reportedly driving against traffic, rammed into three minibusses carrying nine passengers each, including the drivers. Eyewitnesses reported that the buses were hit in quick succession, causing severe damage and numerous casualties. Sources indicate that the truck hit about 20 individuals, with some of the injured rushed to the Federal University of Technology Hospital Owerri (FUTHO) for urgent medical attention. Unfortunately, seven victims were…
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s army announced that it thwarted an attempted coup early Sunday morning, arresting several perpetrators, including foreigners, following a deadly shootout in Kinshasa. “An attempted coup d’etat has been put down by the defence and security forces. The attempt involved foreigners and Congolese. These foreigners and Congolese have been put out of action, including their leader,” stated army spokesman Sylvain Ekenge. He did not clarify if the individuals had been detained or killed during the incident. The violence erupted near the residence of Vital Kamerhe, a prominent member of parliament anticipated to be named the new…
Over the weekend, high-ranking officials, including Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, and Minister of Niger Delta Development Affairs, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, inspected the ongoing reconstruction of the Benin-Abuja express road. This infrastructure project aims to repair the severely degraded route, essential for the seamless movement of goods and people between Nigeria’s southern and northern regions. Joining the ministers were Senator Adams Oshiomhole, representing Edo North in the National Assembly, and Senator Monday Okpebholo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate for the September 2024 election in Edo State. Their presence underscored the road’s strategic importance and highlighted the government’s…
Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo has dismissed all transition committee chairmen across the state’s 21 local government areas. The announcement was made through a letter titled “Expiration of tenure and handover to Heads of Local Government Administrations (HLGAs),” dated May 17, 2024. The directive, signed by Collins Nwabunwanne, the state Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Community Affairs, mandates the termination of their duties effective Monday, May 20, 2024. The letter directed the outgoing chairmen to immediately hand over the affairs of their respective councils to the Heads of Local Government Administrations (HLGAs). “Following the expiration of your tenure as…
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has initiated a lawsuit against 36 state governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Mr. Nyesom Wike. The lawsuit alleges the failure of these officials to account for trillions of naira received from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) since 1999. Filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the suit seeks to compel the governors and Mr. Wike to disclose detailed spending records of FAAC allocations collected by their states and the FCT. This includes providing a list and locations of projects funded with these allocations.…
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of 555 individuals to serve as Pro-chancellors/Chairmen and members of Governing Boards for 111 federal universities, polytechnics, and Colleges of Education. This development follows the submission of a list of nominees by the Ministry of Education.The Ministry of Education, through an advertorial signed by its Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, detailed the appointment of a chairperson and four members for each institution. The official inauguration and retreat for the Governing Councils are scheduled for May 30 and 31, 2024, at the National Universities Commission in Abuja. Confirming the appointments, the President’s Special…
The US President Joe Biden has accused his rival, Donald Trump, of suppressing diversity on Friday. Biden had stepped up efforts to shore up support among Black voters ahead of November’s election. In a speech at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, the 81-year-old democrat said the “extreme” Republican and his allies were trying to “erase history.” “My predecessor and his extreme MAGA friends are now going after diversity, equity, and inclusion all across America,” said Biden, referring to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement. “They want a country for some, not for all,” he…
Governors from Nigeria’s Northwest geopolitical zone gathered at the United Nations House in Abuja on Friday to seek support from the UN in addressing a myriad of developmental challenges plaguing their region. Led by Katsina State Governor and Chairman of the Northwest Governors Forum, Dikko Radda, the meeting included governors and representatives from Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto, and Zamfara states. In a statement released by the National Information Officer, UN Information Centre in Abuja, Oluseyi Soremekun, the governors highlighted urgent issues such as insecurity, multidimensional poverty, a significant number of out-of-school children, increasing drug abuse, high child and maternal mortality…