Author: straightnewsng.com

Ibom Airline established by Akwa Ibom government is set to carry out demonstration flights on designated routes to be supervised by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA. Expected to operate as a limited liability company, the airline has taken delivery of the third aircraft, a statutory requirement of the NCAA for commercial flight operations. The Commissioner for Special Duties and Aviation Development, Mr. Akan Okon, speaking on AKBC Radio programme-“UPDATE AKWA IBOM” on Friday, said the proven flights will be preceded by the airline’s base inspection. Akan said after the inspection of the Uyo, Abuja and Lagos bases of the…

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the arrest of Uwemedimo Nwoko, Akwa Ibom Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice and Nsikan Nkan, the state Commissioner for Finance and two other persons over alleged money laundering charge. Other officials of the Akwa Ibom State government to be arrested are Mfon Udomah, the state Accountant-General and Margaret Ukpe, a cashier of the state government. Justice Rilwan Aikawa granted a bench warrant on Friday for the arrest which was moved by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on the premise that the defendants are at large. As such, the officials…

Stakeholders, including experts in family law, Thursday, in Abuja, proffered solutions to the cultural practice of preventing women and girls from inheriting the properties of deceased relatives as witnessed in some parts of the country. They spoke at a round table on women and traditional inheritance organized by Epiphany Azinge Foundation with the theme: “Breaking the barriers of gender discrimination.” The round table was aimed at creating a platform to find lasting solution to the seeming discrimination against women in property inheritance in various parts the country. The keynote speaker, Prof. Joy Ezeilo (OON), in her presentation, said law reforms and…

The Supreme Court Thursday fixed May 17 to deliver judgment in a suit the Cross River State government filed to challenge the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, by President Muhammadu Buhari. A seven-man panel of Justices of the apex court, led by Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, adjourned to determine the legal propriety of the action President Buhari took against Onnoghen on January 25. President Buhari had on the basis of an ex-parte order issued by the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, in Abuja, ordered Onnoghen who is facing corruption charge, to step aside, even as…

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja Thursday discharged and acquitted two Chinese nationals, who were accused of using forged documents to illegally re-allot shares of a Nigerian firm, BN Ceramics Nigeria Ltd. The defendants- Hao Aijun and Lui Yangxi- were in a charge filed by the former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, alleged to have illegally diverted over N1.8 billion from the firms account, after they used a bogus document to remove its chairman. The prosecution told the court that the fraud was perfected with the help of one Obi Anthony Chibuzor, cited also as the 3rd…

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has registered more than 1.8 million candidates for the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME. Stating this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Lagos Thursday, Fabian Benjamin, the Head, Media and Information of the board said registration of candidates for the all Computer Based Test, CBT, terminated on February 21. Benjamin said the registration was a huge success, adding that there were no hitches at all across the various accredited registration centres nationwide. “We have concluded the registration and we recorded over 1.8 million candidates for the UTME…

Ahead of the March 9 governorship and State Assemblies elections, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, of instigating deployment of the military to lay siege to states in the South South region, its stronghold. The states are Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Akwa-Ibom and Cross River. The party described the move as provocation and noted that the illegal operation was to further militarise the South South, by using soldiers to suppress voters and re-enacting the massive rigging of polls for the APC, in a manner reminiscent of the February 23 Presidential election. Addressing a world press…

Following an announcement of the 2019 presidential poll, the market capitalisation of listed equities on Tuesday shed N85 billion in six hours of trading. The market capitalisation, which opened at N12.194 trillion, shed N85 billion or 0.69 per cent to close at N12.109 trillion. Also, the All-Share Index lost 226.30 points or 0.69 per cent to close at 32,473.82, compared with 32,700.12 recorded on Monday. Mr Ambrose Omordion, the Chief Operating Officer, InvestData Ltd., attributed the market pullback to profit taking embarked by some smart investors. Omordion said that the smart money that pushed the market up with expectations that…

The 13 per cent derivation principle allocation shared among the nine oil producing states in the country suffered a shortfall of N3.37 billion in February 2019. Akwa Ibom, which produces 504,000 barrels per day, being the highest, shared N45.36 billion in January with eight other states against N41.99 billion received in February this year. Addressing journalists shortly after the meeting, Alhaji Ahmed Idris, the Accountant-General of the Federation, said the gross revenue that accrued into the federation account dropped by N42.21 billion from N547.46 billion recorded in December last year to N505.24 billion in January. Idris spoke after the end…

An Abuja High Court at Maitama Wednesday declined to stop the ongoing trial of the detained former National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki, even as it okayed accelerated hearing of two separate money laundering charges against him. The high court held that an application the former NSA filed for an order halting further proceedings in the case against him, lacked merit and constituted an abuse of the judicial process. Dasuki, who has been in detention since 2015, had on January 9, filed a motion asking the court to adjourn his trial sine die (indefinitely), pending when the Federal Government,…