Author: straightnewsng.com

Edwin Clark, a one-time Federal Minister of Information has condemned what he described as the continuing marginalization of the Ijaw people in the oil sector, especially in the area of appointments in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC. Clark whose house was invaded by the police last week said “NNPC is the engine room of the oil industry, you (Federal Government) appointed nine people, six of them from the North, one from the West, one from the South South. Also 36 senior managers of NNPC and 17 from the South, and you don’t want me to talk about it. That…

Nigerian government has flayed Switzerland for being accessory to keeping Abacha loot and making the process of repatriation of the assets strenuous, describing the action by Swiss authorities as “daylight robbery.” The Abacha loot refers to monies believed to have been stolen and stashed in countries and tax havens around the world by Sani Abacha, the late Head of State. Switzerland recently agreed to repatriate a fresh $350 million as part of the Abacha loot in that country. Geoffrey Onyeama, Foreign Affairs Minister said he was also shocked and angry by the chunk of the money retained by…

Indications are rife that most Peoples Democratic Party presidential contenders may settle for transparent and credible primaries. This follows Tuesday’s rejection of the consensus candidate option by two PDP Presidential aspirants of the, Senators Bukola Saraki and Jonah Jang. An official of the party told Vanguard in confidence Tuesday that the rejection of the option by the aspirants was in connection with the earlier pledge by the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party to provide a level playing field for all aspirants to the various elective offices in the 2019 general elections. Although the leadership of the party has…

MTN Nigeria Monday sued the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF over allegations of improper repatriation of about $8.1billion and unpaid taxes of $2.0 billion the duo levied against it. The telco is seeking injunction to restrain them from taking further action in respect of their orders to reclaim the alleged debts. CBN had, last week, alleged improper dividend repatriations by MTN Nigeria and requested that $8.1 billion be returned to the coffers of the CBN. In the other hand, the AGF had also alleged that MTN did not pay taxes on foreign…

Three All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential aspirants Monday threatened to organise a parallel national convention on the claim that the N45 million nomination forms were illegal and against the provisions of the Electoral Law. The three aspirants, Dr. SKC Ogbonnia, Chief Charles Udeogaranya and Alhaji Mumakai Unagha in demanding the scrapping of the nomination forms also urged President Muhammadu Buhari in the light of his anti-corruption crusade to also join them in rejecting the amount fixed for the forms as he had confessed that he could not afford them. The three aspirants said that the failure of the party to…

The United Nation has called for better funding of law enforcement and other relevant agencies to effectively combat the menace of human trafficking in Nigeria. UN Special Rapporteur, Maria Giammarinaro made the call Monday in Abuja while briefing news men on her preliminary observations after a week visit  to assess issue of trafficking in persons in Nigeria. The envoy, who commended the Federal Government for the efforts made so far in the fight against trafficking in the country however, said there was need for redoubling of efforts. She also called on the international community to increase their support and cooperation with Nigeria in…

Justin Peter Rose has jogged to world number one position in the golfing world. Born in Johannesburg to English parents, Justin moved to England at the age of five and by the age of 14 he was playing off a handicap of +3. Despite failing to get over the line at the extended BMW Championship, the current Olympic champion dethroned the 2016 U.S. Open champion, Dustin Johnson and became the fourth Englishman to rise to the summit of the men’s game. At the age of 17, Rose secured the Silver Medal during the 1998 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale by…

The three tiers of government consisting of Federal, states and local government councils in the country shared N2 trillion in the second quarter of this year, the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, NEITI, has said. The increase in crude oil price as well as domestic oil production raised the nation’s revenues from oil. The Director, Communications and Advocacy, NEITI, Dr Ogbonnaya Orji, said in a statement made available to correspondents on Monday that the disclosure was contained in agency’s Quarterly Review. According to the statement, the federal, state and local governments shared N3.95 trillion from the Federation Account in the first…

The Federal government has secured a $500 million loan facility from the Export Import Bank of China (CEXIM), through the Bank of Industry (BoI), to establish modular refineries and implement the Flare Gas Recovery Programme. The establishment of modular refineries is part of the federal government’s strategy for ending importation of petroleum products and discouraging illegal oil bunkering, especially in the Niger Delta. The government said the credit arrangement reinforced its determination to stimulate economic growth, drive investment, and provide jobs for Nigerians. Speaking at the signing ceremony in Beijing, Mr. Olukayode Pitan, Chief Executive of BoI, said highlighted the…

A bus carrying pilgrims from a temple in Southern India on Tuesday veered off the road and plunged into a valley killing 43 people, an official said. “We have pulled out the bodies and we are taking them to the hospital for autopsy,” B. Rajesham, a senior administrative official told AFP. Passengers who survived the accident in Telangana state are being treated for injuries.