Author: straightnewsng.com

No fewer than five persons are feared to have died between Tuesday and Wednesday, March 19, 20, this year  in Urua Ekpa community in Uyo metropolis, Akwa Ibom State, following a battle of supremacy between two rival cult groups. The cult war which began Tuesday night and prolonged to Wednesday morning was said to have been miffed between members of the deadly Viking confraternity and the dreaded Iceland group. Though the actual cause of the clash was not fully established, sources, however, speculated that the two groups were allegedly fighting over a girlfriend belonging to a member of one cult…

Like MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria has reportedly opened discussion with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on the need to list its stock on the local Stock Exchange. A meeting held at the headquarters of the Nigerian Communications Commission in Abuja on Wednesday had Raghunath Mandava, managing director/chief executive officer, Bharti Airtel Africa; Segun Ogunsanya, managing director, Airtel Nigeria; Mr Oscar Onyema, chief executive officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange; Prof Umar Danbatta, and executive vice chairman, NCC in attendance. According to Punch, the two top officials of Stanbic IBTC attended the meeting. The Security and Exchange…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, remitted $1.413 billion, an equivalent of N432.378 billion, to the Federation Account in 2018. This showed an improvement by 50 percent compared to $942.244 million, an equivalent of N288.327 billion, remitted in 2017. According to data obtained from the NNPC’s Monthly Financial and Operations Report for December 2018, the amount remitted to Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, accounted for 25.3 per cent of total proceeds from the export of crude oil, gas and other commodities by the corporation. The report further stated that the amount remitted to the Federation Account was 33.89 per cent…

President of the Court of Appeal, PCA, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, yesterday, disclosed that over 250 Judges handling election petition cases across the federation, have been placed on watchlist. The PCA, said the judges would be “closely monitored,” vowing that any of them found wanting in the discharge of his or her duties, would be seriously dealt with. She warned all the election tribunal judges not to grant frivolous adjournments or allow undue technicalities capable of causing delay in the dispensation of petitions brought before them. Justice Bulkachuwa gave the admonition while flagging-off an induction programme, organised for justices of the…

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has said Nigerians will treat All Progressives Congress, APC, thugs dressed in military uniform to assist it to rig the March 23, supplementary elections, as fake soldiers. The party also noted that its position is predicated on claims by the Federal Government that the soldiers who unleashed violence and helped the APC to rig the February 23 Presidential election were fake. In a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP expressed its readiness to “confront, resist and dismantle all rigging machinery of the APC and consolidate on its already established victory in the March…

Oil prices slides yesterday, retreating from a four-month high, as concerns that trade talks between the United States and China have stalled, stoking fears over the outlook for global economic growth. International Brent crude oil futures were at $67.49 a barrel down 15 cents, or 0.2 per cent, from their last close. Brent touched $68.20 a barrel on Tuesday, its highest since November 16. US West Texas Intermediate, WTI, crude futures were at $58.86 per barrel, down 17 cents, or 0.3 per cent, from their last settlement. WTI hit a high of $59.57 a barrel on Tuesday, the highest since…

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, has cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, against setting a dangerous and evil precedence in the political history of Nigeria by declaring elections inconclusive. Dogara stated this Wednesday, while addressing the 85th Emergency National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which held at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja. Calling on INEC, to go about its job in Saturday’s supplementary elections with a sense of professionalism, the Speaker expressed worry that Nigeria was gradually becoming a ready example for the outside world to cite…

Israel Umoh The Federal Executive Council, FEC, yesterday, approved N27.4 billion for intervention in states ravaged by flooding and conflicts. Vice Chairman of the National Food Security Council and Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents after the weekly FEC, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chamber, Presidential villa, Abuja. Governor Bagudu explained that N8.558 billion was for intervention in states ere affected by insecurity that led to their displacement, while N18.94 billion is for 14 states ravaged by flooding. He said that the intervention will take form of seedlings, fertilizers…

The 2019 Appropriation Bill of N672.984 billion into law by the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel has become an Act. Emmanuel who spoke on Wednesday after the brief ceremony at the Executive Chambers of Government House, Uyo thanked the House members particularly the speaker for the speedy deliberations and passage of the bill into law. He pledged to implement the budgetary provisions accordingly to benefit Akwa Ibom people, but called for cooperation of the people in all spheres. Earlier, members of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly led by Mrs Felicia Bassey, the Deputy Speaker,  and Dr.…

The Nigerian parliament secretly spent over N1.752 trillion in 17 years, a civil society organisation, which deals with budgeting and open governance, has said. The group, BudgIT, released the figure in a statement Wednesday, with a breakdown of the cash the National Assembly had allocated and spent between 2003 and 2019. In the statement by Signed Shakir Akorede, Communications Associate of BudgIT, the group noted with dismay the failure of the NASS leadership to honour its promise to make the process transparent and open to Nigerians. It said: “That Nigeria’s National Assembly, an arm of government that supposedly upholds accountability,…