Author: straightnewsng.com

At least, 30 people are feared dead after a boat sank on Lake Mai-Ndombe in western Democratic Republic of Congo, local reports say. The vessel is reported to have carried more than 400 people, of whom 170 have been saved while more than 200 are still missing. Last month, at least 167 people died in two boat accidents on Lake Kivu. The reason for this accident is unclear, but it is believed to have been overloaded with passengers. DR Congo, which is about the size of mainland Western Europe, has a poor road network and many areas are inaccessible unless…

A former Nigerian Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has sneered at Femi Adesina, President Muhammadu Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, over his outbursts on Christian leaders supporting Obasanjo against the president. Adesina had described Christian leaders, who support the former President Olusegun Obasanjo and oppose Buhari as “witches, false prophets and marabouts.” In his latest article entitled, “Ain’t no stopping us now,” Adesina wrote: “The sluice gates of free funds had been slammed shut, and they were unhappy. As dolorous as King Lear at his worst. “The letter writer mobilized the international community, feeding them with misinformation and…

Though President Muhammadu Buhari, Monday, signed the 2019 Appropriation Bill into law, he frowned at an increase of more than N90 billion budget by the National Assembly. Buhari had on December 18, 2018 earlier proposed a budget of N8.83 trillion to the National Assembly, but the passage was delayed due to events such as the Christmas and New Year breaks as well as the general elections. The Senate and the House of Representatives had on Tuesday, May 2 passed the 2019 Appropriation Bill into law after it had undergone a third reading with slight amendments. The N8.916 trillion budget was…

A Nigerian pastor and the founder of Champions Royal Assembly, Prophet Joshua Iginla, Sunday, announced that he has acquired a private jet, a video on social media from the church has shown. Iginla who announced this during a sermon in Abuja has joined the club of Nigerian pastors owning private jets: Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Bishop David Oyedepo of Living Faith Church; Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor of Word of Life Bible Church; Apostle Johnson Suleman of Omega Fire Ministries and several others. The clergyman, who admitted two months ago to have cheated, especially in the…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Sunday, said it earned $490.03 million from export of crude oil and gas in February 2019. In a statement on its Monthly Financial and Operations Report for February 2019, the NNPC said earnings from crude oil and gas export in the month under review, represented a 32.45 per cent increase compared to the previous month’s sale. In the statement signed by its Group General Manager, Group Public Adviser Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, the NNPC noted that crude oil export sales contributed $350.29 million, representing 71.48 per cent, of the dollar transactions compared with $240.23…

The Boko Haram sect has reportedly killed 25 soldiers and scores of civilians in an ambush in Borno State. The insurgent group reportedly attacked the soldiers on Saturday morning while they were evacuating people from villages in the state. The fighters were said to have opened fire on the soldiers and the villagers who were reportedly occupying about 50 vehicles. However, Col. Sagir Musa, acting Director, Army Public Relations, in a reaction Sunday, said: ”There is no truth in the report or claims that 25 soldiers were killed by Boko Haram. It is fake. No report of any terrorist attack…

The Jos University Teaching Hospital, JUTH, weekend undertook its first surgery to remove brain tumor using a machine that drills the skull bone to gain access to the tumor. “It is the first Trans-labyrinthine approach to a posterior fossa tumor. We used the C-Arm machine to drill the skull bone so as to see what is behind even while facing the front of the head. “In the past, we had to open the brain which was always risky and led to deaths because the brain is delicate,’’ Dr Origoya Peter Binitie, the lead neurosurgeon in the operation, told the News…

The Federal Government has said no governor in the 36 states of the federation will say he cannot pay the new minimum wage of N30,000. Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, who stated this in an interview in Abuja, weekend, maintained that payment of the new wage started on April 18 when President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Minimum Wage Amendment Act Bill into law. Ngige said it had become imperative that all employers of labour in the country comply with what he described as a national law, adding that a committee was working out a new template for…

Akwa Ibom Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel is currently holding a valedictory state executive council, EXCO, meeting for the outgoing members of his cabinet at the EXCO hall, Government House, Uyo. The meeting that should have been held last Wednesday did not hold because the Governor had official engagements outside the state. A source in Government House, Uyo speculated that at the end of the meeting on Sunday evening, the Governor may dissolve the EXCO. This is preparatory for the swearing in and subsequent inauguration of Emmanuel for a second term in office as Akwa Ibom governor on Wednesday, May 29.…

The leadership of the Yoruba Council of Youths Worldwide (YCYW) alongside other leading Yoruba youth organizations in Yoruba Land has issued seven days quit notice to all Fulani Herdsmen in South West region of the country. The seven-day quit notice to Fulani herdsmen in Southwest tagged: “Operation Sweep Clean- (Folumo)” would lapse on Thursday, May 30, 2019. It is widely believed that the herdsmen in recent times have clashed with rural farmers allegedly resulting in death of thousands while Boko Haram insurgents have killed thousands of innocent persons, soldiers and policemen in the Northern part of Nigeria and some parts…