Author: Khadijah Olowode

President Bola Tinubu on Saturday, 15 July, 2023, in Nairobi, Kenya, called on African leaders to respect democracy, rule of law, and ensure political stability. In his statement at a high-level event organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the margins of Fifth Mid-Year African Union (AU) Coordination Meeting, the President urged African military institutions and states to recognize and respect the need for democratic renewal. The Nigerian leader, who is also the Chairperson of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, said coups d’état should be discouraged in the continent, especially in the face of challenges…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has congratulated veteran journalist, elder statesman and former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, on his 84th birthday, saying his exemplary life and remarkable achievements are worthy of emulation by many, particularly upcoming Nigerians. Chief Osoba, a prominent progressive politician who served twice as Governor of Ogun State first from 1992 to 1993 during the aborted Third Republic and then from 1999 to 2003, clocked 84 on Saturday, 15 July, 2023. President Tinubu prayed for more years for the former governor so that he and many others can continue to benefit from his immense wisdom…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Returning Officer for Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State during the state governorship election, Dr Ahmad Kainuwa, has claimed that the officials the commission instructed him not present the result sheets he collated from the ward collation officers but from the server of the electoral body which they said is authentic. According to him, there was tension during the collation exercise at Maradun, adding that the Divisional Police Officer mandated him to hasten the process as bandits were in transit to the area. Kainuwa made this disclosure on Friday, 14…

Twenty Nigerians are departing the shores of the country between mid-July and early August for university education in India, which is fully sponsored by the Government of India. The Nigerians are mostly going in for MBA, Bsc or Msc (Zoology, Chemistry, Physics, Geology, Space Science, etc), PhD, Pharmacy, Engineering, Economics, Agriculture, IT, Cyber Security, among other. The Indian government has yearly since 1958 been sponsoring Nigerians to study at various Indian university under the Indian Council Cultural Relations (ICCR) Scholarship Programme which has seen several thousands of student worldwide and over a thousand Nigerians benefiting from the scheme. The Indian…

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has said that it is investigating a shooting incident involving its officers during the raid of a drug joint at Okpanam area of Asaba, Delta state, where a young person was hit by a stray bullet resulting in death while undergoing treatment in the hospital. The agency in a statement on Saturday, 15 July, 2023, signed by its spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said the Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd) has after receiving initial briefings from the Delta state command of NDLEA, set up a panel of top officials from the national headquarters…

President Bola Tinubu has constituted a special committee to work on the fresh selection and nomination modalities for the replacement of new appointees into the dissolved Federal Government boards. The special committee headed by the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, is tasked with the responsibility of finding new appointees to replace affected board appointments. According to a source within the Presidency, “Tinubu demands thoroughness in understanding the agencies whose establishment Act mandates federal character representation or specified educational and technical expertise.” Members of the special committee who will be working alongside the Chief of Staff are: Secretary to Government…

By Michael Chibuzo Following the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Day 1 of his presidency, the pump price of PMS was adjusted to reflect market realities. This naturally brought about increase in cost of transportation and commodities such as food and household items. With no commensurate increase in their incomes, the worst hit by this increase in cost of living are the very low income earners who are already below the poverty line. It was therefore necessary to roll out palliative measures to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal on the most vulnerable…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said the first 1,000 days of a child’s life is a critical period for survival and lifetime development. UNICEF’s Chief of Bauchi Field Office, Dr Tushar Rane, who made this disclosure on Friday, 14 July, 2023 during a media dialogue in Gombe, said it was critical to physical and brain growth. According to Rane,the first 1,000 days of life comprise the days between conception (9 months of pregnancy) and the first two years of a child’s life He said growth failure during this period was associated with long-term consequences,s inclusive…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike After two days of heavy rain in South Korea, no fewer than seven people were confirmed dead and two others missing. Additionally, landslides left eight people trapped in central areas on Saturday, 15 July, 2023. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety confirmed the sad development adding that three people were killed Saturday after landslides caused by torrential downpours buried their houses in two central towns. The Ministry also confirmed that four other people were also found dead elsewhere in landslide-related accidents on Friday and Saturday, just as it added two other people died in a building…

By Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, CON In offering my thoughts about a blueprint for tomorrow in Nigeria, I choose to deal with what I call first principles. I will deal locally and globally with what had happened, and is happening. What we all know and need to look at again, and from here hope to project what tomorrow offers. No part of the earth is new except those that are yet to be discovered by human beings. Powers, Nations and Countries have all existed in various forms and evolved differently. One first principle that History has taught us, is that…