Author: straightnewsng.com

Akwa Ibom State government has frowned at what it called illegal deductions of N8 billion by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) from its two-month allocation. Governor Udom Emmanuel who spoke on Monday at the Nigeria Labour Congress House, Atan Offot in Uyo local government area said FAAC has deducted N4 billion each from its December and January allocations. Emmanuel who was later adopted by members of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress, TUC and United Labour Congress, ULC in Akwa Ibom as their governorship candidate for the March 2 election lamented that the money would have been ploughed…

The Department of State Services, DSS, Monday, warned that it would not stand idly by and watch trouble-makers and miscreants cause avoidable crisis during the polls. The warning came on the heels of Saturday’s presidential and March 2 governorship elections in Nigeria, calling on trouble-makers and carriers of fake news capable of sparking violence, to keep off the election space or face the consequences. The agency in a statement issued by its spokesman, Peter Afunanya, in Abuja, In particular, the DSS warned that while it would conduct its operations professionally in line with its mandate, it would not hesitate to…

Senator Ita Enang, Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters (Senate) has assured the people of Akwa Ibom State that the President has approved the completion of an abandoned bridge project at Okopedi, Itu local government area of the state. Enang disclosed this while addressing the people of Okopedi, Itu on Monday on the need to vote for President Buhari during the general elections coming up on Saturday. He also said that the Federal Government has awarded a 40x60x233 MVA Power generating Station to an indigenous contractor who would soon be mobilised to site at Ididep…

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said it would publish campaign expenses of political parties immediately after the elections. Consequently, INEC has engaged the services of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Financial Investigation Unit, FIU, to track campaign finances of political parties and their candidates. Speaking during the inauguration of the Inter-agency campaign finance monitoring group Monday, Prof. Anthonia Okosi-Simbine, INEC national commissioner, said the report of the 2019 campaign finances would be released immediately after the elections. National Broadcasting Commission NBC, Nigeria Communication Commission NCC Centre for Social Justice CSJ, the Nigeria Police Force,…

More trouble awaits the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, as the National Judicial Council, NJC, on Monday ordered him to respond to a fresh petition lodged against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. The Council, which took the decision at the end of its emergency meeting in Abuja, further constituted a Preliminary Complaints Assessment Committee, to consider responses of both Onnoghen and Justice Tanko Muhammad, the Acting CJN, to various petitions against them. The NJC, in a statement signed by its Director of Information, Mr. Soji Oye, said it would reconvene on Wednesday…

The Nigerian Army has vowed to break the unholy alliance between the Boko Haram terrorists and Islamic State West Africa or ISWA. Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, the Chief of Army Staff, made the assertion Monday in Abuja, when he declared open a two-day maiden “Career planning and management’’ seminar for senior officers. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Buratai maintained that the army was making gains in the counter insurgency operations in the North East. Buratai said: “I am glad to note that we are making strides against the Islamic State West Africa or ISWA in our bid to…

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has warned President Muhammadu Buhari’s government to stop harassing its members, saying their unlawful arrest and detention was an invitation to anarchy. The party described the recent arrest of its spokesman in Kaduna State as highly provocative and one capable of derailing the nation’s democratic order. National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, stated this Monday while addressing a press conference at the PDP national secretariat in Abuja. According to him, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, is bent on instilling fear in the electorate in a bid to scuttle the 2019 general elections.…

The suspension of Nigeria’s most senior judge by President Muhammadu Buhari broke international human rights standards on independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers, Diego Garcia-Sayan, UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, said Monday. Buhari, who was a military ruler in the 1980s and was voted into office in 2015, is hoping to win a new term in a presidential election scheduled to take place on Saturday. The chief justice could preside over any dispute over the election result. Nigeria’s judiciary has helped resolve electoral disputes in past votes, some of which have been…

The Nigerian Army has appointed the new Director of Army Public Relations. A statement signed Monday by Col. Aliyu Yusuf said Colonel S. Musa is to function in acting capacity. He replaces Brigadier General Sani Usman who until his retirement last Friday, was the head of the Directorate of Army Public Relations. Similarly, Colonel A. .A. Yusuf was appointed Deputy Director, Public Relations, 82 Division, Nigerian Army. The statement explained that the Nigerian Army released the postings and appointments of some of its senior officers on Sunday. According to the statement,Colonel AD Isa is posted to Theatre Command Operation Lafiya Dole…

President Muhammadu Buhari has warned politicians against resorting to violence ahead of Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly Elections, saying he was not an apostle of bloodshed. Buhari described those who sponsor election violence as unpatriotic, vowing sanctions for such perpetrators. The President also vowed to ensure that those who mismanaged the nation’s resources lived to regret it. President Buhari gave the warning Monday in Southern Kaduna, during the women conference of the First African Church Mission, held in Zuturung, Gada Biyu, Zango Kataf Local Govt Area, with the theme “I will help you”. Represented by Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Republic…