Author: straightnewsng.com

Nigeria’s inflation rate dropped from 11.37 percent recorded in January to 11.31 percent in February 2019, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported. The decline represents 0.06 percent points against the rate recorded in January, the second consecutive drop in 2019. In its “CPI and Inflation Report’’ for February 2019 released in Abuja on Friday, the Bureau said the figure was 0.74 percent points lower than the rate recorded in January 2019. Increases were recorded, according to NBS, in all consumption that yielded the headline index. “On a month-on-month basis, the Headline index increased by 0.73% in February 2019, this is…

The United Nations held a memorial ceremony honouring the lives of 21 UN staff members who died Sunday when an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed shortly after leaving Addis Ababa. The ceremonies were held at UN Headquarters in New York and Geneva, to remember the staff members who were among the 157 passengers and crew members on board the ill-fated Ethiopian airplane Flight 302. “We come together in sadness and solidarity to pay tribute to our fellow UN family members who perished,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said after laying a wreath in remembrance of the workers. “In doing so, we also…

Forty-nine people have been killed at two Christchurch mosques in what Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is calling “one of New Zealand’s darkest days.” Among the dead are Atta Elayyan, goalkeeper for the NZ Futsal team, retired engineer Ali Elmadani, and recent refugee from Syria, Khaled Mustafa. A 71-year-old Haji-Daoud Nabi died trying to shield another person from the gunman. Forty-eight patients, including children, are being treated in Christchurch Hospital for gunshot wounds ranging from minor to critical. Many others remain missing. Accused shooter Brenton Harrison Tarrant appeared in Christchurch District Court on Saturday. Tarrant in his 20s was charged with…

The award-winning musician, David Adeleke, also known as  Davido, has hit 10 million followers on Instagram. Instagram is a social networking application that enables users to capture, share and edit photos, videos and messages with friends in a creative way. The ”FIA” crooner has become the first Nigerian artist to achieve such feat. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the DMW boss took to his official Instagram account to celebrate this achievement and said that he would ”post every win for everyone to see.” The 26-year-old artist had set such record of firsts previously. He was the first…

Fifa has approved a revised 24-team Club World Cup starting in 2021 despite top European clubs saying they would boycott the tournament. The new competition is expected to include eight teams from Europe. It will run every four years and take place from June to July in the slot currently used for the World Cup warm-up event, the Confederations Cup. Fifa president Gianni Infantino said he was “extremely happy” after the Fifa Council backed his plan on Friday. “Now the world will see a real Club World Cup where fans will see the best teams in the world compete to…

Following the collapse of a three-storey building on Lagos Island, killing 20 persons and injuring dozens, the Lagos State Government, Friday, demolished six out of 80 defective buildings meant for demolition this month. This marked the beginning of defective buildings on Lagos Island as directed by the state Governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode. Already, the government has issued a 15-day ultimatum to occupants of the marked buildings to quit or risk losing their belongings in the demolition exercise. So far, officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA, began demolition of distressed buildings on Friday beginning with a three-storey building…

Four English teams will find out their potential route to the final of the Champions League when the quarter-final and semi-final draw takes place on Friday at 11:00 GMT. Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham could face each other in the knockout stages. Arsenal and Chelsea are in the Europa League quarter-final draw at 12:00 GMT. It is the first time in 48 years that England has had six quarter-finalists in major European competitions. The other four teams in the Champions League draw are Spanish champions Barcelona, Dutch four-time winners Ajax, Italian champions Juventus and Portuguese champions Porto. It…

The Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Thursday, charged incoming 9th National Assembly to review the Electoral Law to assist the commission in working on post-2019 elections and road map to 2023. Prof. Yakubu, who spoke at the presentation of Certificate of Return to elected National Assembly members in Abuja, said: “As a process governed by law, the success of elections in Nigeria depend, to a large extent, on the electoral legal framework and most importantly in ensuring adherence to the law. “I want to assure you that we will continue to work with the National…

The National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, and the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, have agreed to commence enforcement of the National Identification Number, NIN, on the new 10-year validity e-passport. President Muhammadu Buhari, had on January 15, 2019, while unveiling the newly enhanced e-passport with a 10-year validity, directed that the NIN, which is issued by the NIMC, be inserted as additional data in the new passports. The Comptroller-General, Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, Muhammad Babandede, said the federal government has no plans of going back on the April 29 date for the integration of the National Identity Number, NIN, on the…

The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, has said its parliament was committed towards resolving the recurring crisis between herdsmen and farmer’s within the region. It also described the problem of youth unemployment in the sub-region as a disease, which must be stamped out. Secretary-General of ECOWAS Parliament, John Azumah, who stated this Thursday in an interview with journalists at the end of the Extra Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament held in Dakar, Senegal, said the parliament as representatives of the people was burdened by the issues herdsmen and farmer’s clashes and other reports of communal violence within…