Author: straightnewsng.com

The fear of Yemi Osinbajo, acting Nigerian President gripped 28 ministers as the weekly Federal Executive Council, FEC meeting presided over by him, at the Council Chamber Presidential Villa, Abuja witnessed the largest turn-out. The unprecedented number of ministers at the FEC may not be unconnected to the ‘no nonsense’ stance of the Acting President since he took over the realm of leadership from President Muhammadu Buhari who is on a 10-working day vacation in London, United Kingdom. As at 10:30 a.m. some ministers had arrived at the Council Chamber for the FEC scheduled for 11a.m. and as at the time the Acting President…

The House of Representatives’ Committee on Electoral Matters, Wednesday, doubted the sincerity of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, over the duplication of items provided for in the 2018 budget for the 2019 polls. The committee, chaired by Aisha Dukku (APC-Gombe), who queried the rationale behind the huge budget proposal, observed that most of the subheads captured in the N189.2 billion were contained in the N45.5 billion approved budget for Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. A total sum of N45.5 billion as proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari, was approved by the National Assembly. Further findings showed that details of INEC expenditure…

Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, is weighing the option of running against President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 general elections. Saraki, who had earlier hinted of running for the highest office in the land, told Bloomberg in an interview that he had been consulting widely. In the last one week, the Saraki has visited ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Military President, Ibrahim Babangida. Saraki said he would need to win the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to actualise his objective of leading the country. The Senate president, who defected to the PDP from the All Progressives Congress, APC,…

Real Madrid began life without Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane with defeat in the first ever UEFA Super Cup derby as Atletico Madrid scored twice in extra time. Two excellent late goals from Koke and Saul sealed victory for Atletico after the game ended 2-2 in normal time. It was Real’s first match since Ronaldo signed for Juventus for £99m in the summer and Zidane was replaced as manager by former Spain coach Julen Lopetegui. Koke’s smart finish and Saul’s sensational 16-yard volley in extra time helped Europa League holders Atletico win their third Super Cup in as many appearances.…

Nigeria’s Victor Moses has announced his retirement from international football at the age of 27. The Chelsea winger played 37 times for his country, scoring 12 times since making his debut in 2012. He had previously represented England up to Under-21 level, while coming through the ranks at Crystal palace. “I have experienced some of the best moments of my life wearing the Super Eagles shirt and have memories with me that will last a lifetime,” he said. “However, I feel that now is the right time to step away in order to be able to focus fully on my…

The vacuum created by the defection of the immediate past state Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Akwa Ibom State chapter to All Progressives Congress, APC, has been filled by the party. Godwin Afangide who had resigned his position defected with his one-time boss and brother, Senator Godswill Akpabio on Wednesday, August 8 at Ikot Ekpene Sports Stadium to APC. Afangide, a one-time state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources under ex-governor Godswill Akpabio, hails from Essien Udim local government area. Consequently, Sunyie Inokon who until now was the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Udom Emmanuel on Industrial…

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has raised N410 billion from the domestic capital market as public borrowings to fund the 2018 budget. The federal government had indicated that N1.6 trillion would be borrowed to finance about N1.95 trillion deficit contained in the budget. Stating this at a press briefing in Abuja Tuesday, Ms. Patience Oniha, the Director-General of DMO, also said the nation’s public debt stood at N22.4 trillion as at end of June ($73. 31b) of which $22 billion was external. Oniha explained that when compared to the debt figure for March 2018, the Public debt stock decreased by…

The price of refilling Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) in Akwa Ibom State, Southern part of Nigeria is witnessing an astronomical rise, National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, reported. Though two states in the country are leading the pack in high prices of refilling cooking gas, Akwa Ibom is the third in the rung of the average price of a 12.5kg cylinder. In a Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol), Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) and Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) Price Watch released on Tuesday in Abuja, NBS indicates that a 12.5 kg cylinder of cooking gas in Akwa Ibom costs N4,660 while…

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, Tuesday, shunned a meeting summoned by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole led National Working Committee, NWC, of the All Progressives Congress, APC, with the party caucus in the National Assembly to devise strategies towards reconvening the two chambers of the legislature. Dogara who is purportedly linked with defection to Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, had on Tuesday held a joint press conference with Bukola Saraki, Senate President announcing that a noew date for National Assembly to reconvene was not known. Declaring the meeting open, Oshiomhole announced that the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, would be…

FIFA, World football governing body, has given Nigeria a seven-day ultimatum to set its football house in order or be banned. Amaju Pinnick and Chris Giwa who have been in and out of courts have continued to lay claim to the top job of running fooball in the country, a situation that has destabilised football in the country. In a statement on Tuesday, FIFA gave Federal government up to Monday, 20 August 2018 to hand over the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) offices to the legitimate NFF executive committee under President Amaju Melvin Pinnick, who was duly elected on 30 September…