United States President Joe Biden is experiencing “mild symptoms” after testing positive for Coronavirus during a campaign trip to Las Vegas on Wednesday, the White House said. Biden will be travelling to his vacation home in Delaware “where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time,” spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. AFP
Author: Editor Francis
The Nigerian House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the first reading of a bill aimed at amending the 1999 Constitution. The proposed legislation seeks to introduce a single six-year term for the President, State Governors, and Local Government Area Chairmen, replacing the current four-year terms with the possibility of re-election. The private member bill, sponsored by Ikenga Ugochinyere, representing Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency of Imo State, along with 50 other lawmakers, aims to curb wastages associated with frequent elections. Key provisions of the bill include: 1. Altering Sections 7, 135, 137, 180, and 182 (1) of the 1999 Constitution.…
French energy giant TotalEnergies has announced the sale of its stakes in three key gas-producing licenses in Nigeria to a Mauritian company. These licenses currently account for 40% of Nigeria’s LNG production. Despite this divestment, TotalEnergies will maintain ownership of its production share and access to critical infrastructure and pipelines supplying gas to the Nigeria LNG plant. Nicolas Terraz, President of Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies, stated, “This divestment allows us to concentrate our onshore Nigeria operations solely on the integrated gas value chain and is intended to ensure uninterrupted feed gas supply to Nigeria LNG in the future.” This…
Recent claims of stringent visa requirements for Nigerians applying to enter the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been refuted by UAE authorities, according to an investigation by TheCable. Earlier this week, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced that the UAE had agreed to lift travel restrictions on Nigerians. Idris stated that applicants would need to obtain a document verification number from documentverificationhub.ae, reportedly costing a non-refundable N640,000 (approximately $800) per application, excluding VAT and visa fees. Additionally, he claimed applicants would need to show a six-month bank statement with a minimum balance of $10,000. These purported…
President Bola Tinubu officially launched the Student Loan Scheme on Wednesday, July 17, at the State House in Abuja, marking the formal commencement of this key education initiative. . The launch was announced by Dada Olusegun, the special adviser on social media, through an update on the social media platform ‘X’. This event follows weeks of preparation and marks a significant step in the administration’s efforts to support higher education in Nigeria. The scheme, a flagship program of the Tinubu administration, aims to provide financial support to eligible students across the country. This support includes coverage for school fees and…
The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday, July 17, voted to remove Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South) from his position as Chief Whip. The decision comes in the wake of recent controversies surrounding Ndume’s alleged attacks against President Bola Tinubu. Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the removal during a plenary session, where members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senate Caucus endorsed the decision through a voice vote. Senator Tahir Mungono (Borno North) was named as Ndume’s replacement for the Chief Whip position. The removal appears to be part of a broader party action against Ndume. In a letter addressed to the…
French President Emmanuel Macron has accepted Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s resignation but has asked him to remain as head of a caretaker government until a new prime minister is appointed. This transition comes as France prepares for the international spotlight of the Paris Olympics. Attal’s resignation allows him to take his seat as a lawmaker in the National Assembly, leading Macron’s centrist allies and avoiding a potential no-confidence vote. The caretaker government, led by Attal, will manage day-to-day affairs. There is no set timeline for appointing a new prime minister. In other news, significant changes in immigration laws have been…
Police in Kenya used tear gas on Tuesday, July 16 to break up protests aimed at maintaining pressure on President William Ruto to step down. The protests continue despite Ruto making several changes. The demonstrations, led by activists angry over proposed tax hikes, called for a nationwide “shutdown” on Tuesday. These protests have become the biggest challenge in Ruto’s two-year presidency. Even after Ruto withdrew $2.7 billion in tax hikes and replaced most of his cabinet, protests persisted, though with fewer people. Protesters want Ruto to resign, blaming him for poor governance, corruption, and the deaths of protesters in earlier…
Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf has appointed three new second-class Emirs for the emirates of Rano, Gaya, and Karaye, effective immediately. The announcement was made on Wednesday through a statement issued by the governor’s spokesperson, Sanusi Tofa. The newly appointed Emirs are: 1. Alhaji Muhammad Karaye – Emir of Karaye (formerly District Head of Rogo) 2. Alhaji Muhammad Umar – Emir of Rano (formerly District Head of Bunkure) 3. Alhaji Aliyu Abdulkadir Gaya – Emir of Gaya (previously dethroned Emir of the defunct Gaya emirate) These appointments follow Governor Yusuf’s signing of a law on Tuesday establishing three second-class emirates…
Right will never be wrong, no matter how unacceptable we may feel about it, and wrong will never be right, no matter how comfortable it makes us feel. When we’re well done, our mind nudges us that we have contributed our quota to making things right, whatever the situation may be in which we find ourselves. So also, when we take the evil fence, our conscience does prick and score us within our mind. Even the most wicked of humans on earth have consciences; we only deny the truth it tells us, depending on whose servant we are. Everyone of…
Reno Omokri, a socio-political activist and former presidential aide, has made controversial claims about Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party. In a series of posts on social media platform X, Omokri alleged that Obi does not believe in his party’s official manifesto and is more aligned with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Omokri, who claims to have played a role in Obi’s inclusion on the PDP ticket in 2019, stated, “Peter Obi does not even believe in the official Labour Party manifesto. He is more politically attuned to us in the PDP.” The activist also touched…
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has issued a directive to security forces and intelligence agencies to combat crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region. The announcement came from Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), following a four-hour closed-door meeting with defence and security chiefs in Abuja. The presidential order follows a recent report by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), which revealed that the country lost $1.84 billion worth of petroleum products from refineries over a nine-year period. Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, who led the meeting, pledged to eliminate…