Author: straightnewsng.com

Some prominent Nigerians have described President Muhammadu Buhari as a committed, progressive concerned with the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians. Former President Goodluck Jonathan, in a goodwill message to Buhari on his 76th birthday, Sunday, “Yours has been a life of great service to our dear nation, having served as a brave soldier, governor, minister of petroleum, head of state and now president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the message reads. “I join you, your family, well-wishers and fellow Nigerians to give thanks to Almighty God for the gift of a long life. “I wish you good health and…

In what is seen as revenue leakage, the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee probing under-remittance to the Federation Account by companies operating in Nigeria has ordered Pillar Oil to refund $300,000 that it failed to remit since 2016 into the Federation Account. Chairman of the Ad-hoc committee, Mr James Faleke, (APC, Lagos) gave the ruling during an investigative hearing on under-remittance of funds to the Federation Account, weekend. Faleke hinged his ruling on the fact that since 2016, Pillar Oil has been exploring oil but failed to pay an outstanding balance of $300,000 for a $1million remittance from 2012. He…

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, Enough is Enough, EiE, and BudgIT have sent a joint Freedom of Information request to Lt. General Tukur Buratai, Nigerian Chief of Army Staff, requesting him to use his good offices and leadership position to “urgently provide information on the 2015, 2016 and 2017 budget implementation reports of the Nigerian Army. The groups also urged General Buratai to furnish them with “the amounts released (financial implications) and expended in fiscal years 2015, 2016 and 2017 for: Operation Lafiya Dole, Operation Safe Haven, Operation Python Dance, Operation Ruwan Wuta, Operation Delta Safe, Operation Mesa, Operation…

The Nigerian Army said, Sunday, its troops located at Gudumbaliin, Borno State, last Friday, repelled an attack by suspected Boko Haram terrorists, who disguised as civilians in Internally Displaced Persons, IDP, camps. The terrorists took advantage of the ongoing distribution of relief materials by the Nigerian Army at Gudumbali and opened fire on the troops. The trucks conveying the relief materials were set ablaze. However, the troops fought gallantly and inflicted heavy casualties on them. A soldier was killed during the encounter, while another was wounded. A Cobra Armoured Personnel Carrier and a truck belonging to the unit were damaged.…

Liverpool returned to the top of the Premier League as Xherdan Shaqiri inspired a 3-1 win over bitter rivals Manchester United, while Arsenal’s 22-match unbeaten run was shattered by a shock defeat at Southampton on Sunday. Jurgen Klopp’s side made it six successive league victories thanks to Shaqiri’s late double after United’s Jesse Lingard had cancelled out Sadio Mane’s opener at Anfield. Shaqiri’s superb substitute cameo allowed Liverpool to reopen a one-point lead over second-placed Manchester City after the champions had knocked the Reds off the summit with their win against Everton on Saturday. Liverpool’s first win in their last…

Borussia Dortmund 15 12 3 0 41 15 39 Bor. Moenchengladbach 15 9 3 3 33 16 30 Bayern Munich 15 9 3 3 32 18 30 RB Leipzig     15 8 4 3 28 14 28 Eintracht Frankfurt 14 7 2 5 30 17 23 Hoffenheim    15 6 5 4 30 21 23 Hertha Berlin 15 6 5 4 23 22 23 VfL Wolfsburg 15 6 4 5 22 20 22 Werder Bremen 15 6 3 6 25 25 21 Mainz 05 15 5 4 6 14 19 19 Bayer Leverkusen 14 5 3 6 20 25 18 SC Freiburg…

The Federal Government has commenced ‘N-Power-Enhance’, designed to advance the social investment programme (N-Power). Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Job Creation and Youth Employment and the National Coordinator of the Federal Government Social Investment Programme, N-Power, Mr. Afolabi Imoukhuede, announced this on Saturday. He noted that candidates qualified for ‘N-Power-Enhance’ are Batch A beneficiaries. He disclosed this at the N-Power Edo South programme, with the theme “Build the Future” which held in Benin City, Edo State. Imoukhuede urged beneficiaries to fully utilise the opportunity provided by the federal government through the N-Power programme to achieve more for…

In a renewed religious crackdown, a prominent Chinese pastor and former legal scholar is one of 100 Christians detained by authorities after he was reportedly arrested on allegations of “inciting subversion of state power.” Wang Yi and his wife, Jiang Rong, were taken into police custody early last week in the city of Chengdu, where they run the Early Rain Covenant Church, according to ChinaAid, a US-based non-profit that advocates on behalf of China’s Christian communities. A church parishioner, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed Wang’s arrest in a phone call with CNN. Authorities with China’s National Religion Bureau…

Sri Lanka’s ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been sworn into office again, two months after being removed by the president. Mr Wickremesinghe’s supporters set off fire crackers as the ceremony took place behind closed doors. His surprise sacking by President Maithripala Sirisena plunged Sri Lanka into a political crisis. Mr Wickremesinghe was replaced by a former president and ally of Mr Sirisena, Mahinda Rajapaksa. But Mr Rajapaksa was unable to command a parliamentary majority and resigned on Saturday. Journalists were not allowed to attend Sunday’s swearing-in ceremony in President Sirisena’s office but a picture was tweeted by MP Harsha…

A popular Nigerian actress has advocated the need for women in the country to be taught self-defence from primary school to university level as a way of reducing violence against them. Omotola J. Ekeinde in her Twitter handle wrote on Sunday further called on the government to permit women to use peppersprays. On Saturday, December 15, 2018, a group of women staged a march at Yaba market in Lagos to protest the sexual harassment and somewhat derogatory sexual slurs that accompany it. Anybody who patronises popular markets in Lagos like Oshodi, Yaba, Balogun and Tejuosho markets will be familiar with…