Author: Olukayode Oke

The National Industrial Court sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, has struck out the regulation of the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, prohibiting unmarried female personnel from getting pregnant for being inconsistent with Section 42 of the 1999 Nigeria Constitution (as amended) and Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights which abolishes discrimination based on gender. In a landmark judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Dashe Damulak also held that the claimant, Miss Omolola Olajide, has a right to challenge the constitutionality of Section 127 of the Police Act and Regulation 127 thereof. Recall that Miss Olajide…

Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, has approved the redeployment of three commissioners to various ministries in a minor cabinet reshuffle. This was contained in a statement, issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the state governor, Mr Richard Olatunde, on Wednesday. According to the statement, those affected are the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Akinwumi Sowore; Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives Services, Mrs Lola Fagbemi, and Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Amidu Takuro. The statement read, “In the minor reshuffle, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Sowore moves to the Ministry of Commerce,…

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, said that 93,469,008 voters are contained in the register for the 2022 general elections. In a meeting with 18 political parties in Abuja on Wednesday, Yakubu disclosed that 44,414,846 registered voters are females and 49,054,162 are males. Meanwhile, of the total registered voters, the number of young people between 18 and 34 stood at 37,060,399, representing 39.65% of the total registered voters. In contrast, the elderly between the ages of 50 and 69 stood at 17,700,270, representing 18.94% of total registered voters. According to him, every other arrangement is…

The World Bank Group has once again lowered its growth projection for Nigeria’s economy, citing a weakened oil sector as its primary reason. This was contained in the bank’s Global Economic Prospects report published on Tuesday. According to the projection, Nigeria’s economy will further decelerate to 2.9 per cent in 2023 and is not expected to record any growth in 2024. Specifically, the lender said Nigeria’s growth weakened to 3.1 per cent in 2022 and would further decelerate to 2.9 per cent this year. The Washington-based bank said growth momentum in the non-oil sector was likely to be restrained by…

Despite the ongoing war with Russia, the Ukrainian government on Wednesday expressed its readiness to establish grain hubs in Nigeria and other African countries to boost bilateral ties. This was made known when Ukrainian Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, Mykola Solskyi, led a delegation to the Nigeria Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohammad Abubakar, in Abuja. Onyeama lauded Ukraine for the grain donation, adding that the gesture was coming even when the country is still at war. He noted, “Notwithstanding the situation in which your country finds itself, you are…

Manchester City have been knocked out of Carabao Cup as Southampton shockingly defeated the Cityzens 2-0 at St. Mary’s Stadium on Wednesday night. In an underwhelming performance, City had no shot on target despite having 73 per cent possession and more passes than Southampton. Also top footballers like Kevin deBruyne, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden among others all featured in the clash and could not garner a win for the Pep Guardiola-led side. Southampton’s Sekou Mara and Moussa Djenepo scored the only two goals of the match in the 23rd and 28th minutes respectively. Southampton had four shots on target two…

Al Nassr forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, has sold his 2013 Ballon d’Or award to the richest man in Israel, Idan Ofer. The plaque was auctioned off for charity and fetched a price of around £532,000 for the Make-A-Wish foundation. With the real trophy reportedly on display at his Madeira museum, Ronaldo requested that a replica be made to sell at a charity auction in London, according to Marca. Ronaldo has won the award five times during his illustrious career of his five awards, 2013 was a year that saw the then-Real Madrid forward narrowly pip Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery to…

The World Bank says the high costs of borrowing, reduced energy prices in the international market, inflation and slow growth in oil production have weakened Nigeria’s fiscal position. The latest data from the Global Economic Prospects report by the World Bank on Tuesday disclosed. The US-based bank also said Nigeria’s growth dropped to 3.1 per cent in 2022 and will further reduce to 2.9 per cent this year. Policy inconsistency, continued high inflation, and rising incidence of violence are expected to temper growth. Agriculture sector growth is likely to soften because of the destruction from last year’s flooding. The fiscal…

A resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic and escalating geopolitical tensions could push the global economy into recession. If this happens, it would mark the first time in more than 80 years that two global recessions occurred within the same decade. The forecast is contained in the World Bank’s latest Global Economic Prospects report. It said global growth is slowing amid higher inflation and interest rates, reduced investment and disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The report predicts the global economy may grow by 1.7% in 2023 and 2.7% in 2024 while growth in developing economies could decelerate from 3.8%…

The Lagos State Government has advised students in the state to shun bad gangs and cultism. Commissioner for Education, Folasade Adefisayo counselled the learners during the monitoring of school resumption for second term. Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Abayomi Abolaji, Adefisayo admonished them to be diligent in academics and shun hooliganism. The official charged the students to pursue greatness, exhibit creativity and maximise the use of digital learning. Adefisayo said the government had provided 1,047 new classrooms, constructed new schools and rehabilitated 197 since 2019. There has been commissioning of a technology-driven modular school, digital learning initiative, retraining of teachers,…

The former chairman of the Labour Party in Lagos State, Kayode Salako, who resigned as the party’s chairman in the state yesterday, has said that he gave up the top job to pursue his ambition to contest the seat of the Oshodi-Isolo Constituency 1 in the House of Representatives. Salako disclosed this on Wednesday hours after he handed over the party’s leadership in Lagos to a former deputy women leader in the state, Dayo Ekong. He said,“We held our legal stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos yesterday (Tuesday). I willingly handed over the running of the affairs of the party to Mrs.…

The Diasporans for Good Governance (DGG) have questioned the integrity and efficiency of the systems the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would use for the 2023 election. The Automatic Biometric Identification System (ABIS) and Biometric Voter Accountability System (BVAS) were deployed for the Anambra, Ekiti and Osun governorship polls. On Tuesday, the non-governmental organisation complained about the data released by INEC after the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR). The exercise recorded a high number of de-validated voters in the South-East and South-South regions, a situation many fear would disenfranchise the people affected. At a media briefing in Abuja, a member of…