Author: straightnewsng.com

The purported resignation of the four personal aides to Godswill Akpabio, the immediate past Senate Minority Leader and Senator representing Akwa Ibom North West in the National Assembly has been busted as media hype. On Sunday, social media and some media organisations including Naijanews published the story on a banner headline: Four Personal Aides To Senator Akpabio Resign, listing the aides as Barr. Utibe Nwoko, Senior Legislative Aide; Chief (Barr) Moses Akpan, Kufre Ini-ima and Prince Ukandu Ukpe. The media further reported that the aides have disassociated themselves from the planned defection of Akpabio to the All Progressives Congress, pledging…

All is set for the formal defection of Senator Godswill Akpabio to All Progressives Congress, APC, in colourful ceremony to be graced by Professor Yemi Osinbajo, the acting President in Ikot Ekpene on Wednesday, August 8. As Akwa Ibom people await the defection, more surprises are about to unfold the emerging political drama. In a deft move, some bigwigs of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the state are expected to join the moving defection train. Straightnews can authoritatively report that one of them, Udom Ekpoudom, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police is ready to join APC Wednesday. In a telephone…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and international banks, Monday, signed a third party financing deals to the tune of $3 billion for the development of the oil and gas industry. Dr. Maikanti Baru, the Managing Director of the corporation who stated this at the 42nd Nigeria Annual International conference and Exhibition of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), in Lagos, also said Nigeria needed to leverage on its vast mineral wealth in terms of the 37 billion barrels of oil reserves and 199 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, among others, to prop up other sectors of the economy and…

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has urged Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State to remain resilient, unbowed, and undeterred, despite the persecution that followed his decision to defect from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. In a recent letter to the governor on his decision to dump APC, Prof. Soyinka observed that Ortom had a moral right to seek an alternative political platform, given the level of insensitivity exhibited by his former party to the wanton killings in Benue State. Soyinka noted that the choice of the governor to seek an alternative platform should…

The departure of Senator Godswill Akpabio from Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, seen as the arrowhead of the party’s fortune,  has caused panic both at the state and the national levels. At the state level, Governor Udom Emmanuel is desperately working hard to reposition the party ahead of his re-election bid in the 2019 general elections, Straightnews investigation shows. As a step, the governor is bowing to outside pressures to rejig his media team in the face of media assaults by the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state against his administration. Consequently, Emmanuel is set up Image and Strategy…

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) Tuesday this morning barricaded the National Assembly complex, Abuja, preventing lawmakers and staff from entering their office. The officials said the order to barricade the National Assembly complex is from above. However, the security operatives did not allow the lawmakers to enter their offices and chamber for their deliberations. Journalists were equally not allowed to enter but to stand outside the gate. Reports from National Assembly complex said lawmakers of All Progressives Party, APC, were not seen at the gate or inside the complex. However, some Senators from Peoples Democratic Party were…

Senator Godswill Akpabio has tendered his resignation as Minority Leader of the Nigerian Senate, Straightnews has gathered. The resignation letter, dated 4th August, 2018 however did not state any reason for the resignation. Senate caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has begun moves to replace the Minority Leader of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, Akwa Ibom North West and regretted not getting rid of him earlier. A source said the PDP has already commenced plans to replace the Minority Leader once he steps out to his new party. According to the senators, fear of overheating the polity and causing…

Hamza bin Laden, the son of the late al-Qa’eda leader, has married the daughter of the lead 9/11 hijacker, according to media reports. In an interview with The Guardian, Osama bin Laden’s half brothers said their half-nephew has married into the family of Mohammed Atta, who flew American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Hamza holds a senior position within al-Qa’eda and has sworn revenge for his father’s death in a US raid in 2011, they added. “We have heard he has married the daughter of Mohammed Atta,” said Ahmad al-Attas, son of Osama…

The Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, has resolved to closely monitor the operations of 14 indigenous oil and gas companies involved in managing Nigeria’s marginal fields in line with set standards and guidelines. The companies are Oriental, Midwestern, Walter Smith, Niger Delta Petroleum, Green Energy/Lekoil, Network E&P, Platform, Pillar Oil, Prime Energy, Excel E&P, Frontier Oil, Suntrust, Oando and Energia Limited. Consequently, the government will achieve set objectives, especially increased indigenous participation, local content and capacity building in the industry, previously dominated by International Oil Companies, IOCs. The marginal fields were previously owned by the IOCs but left undeveloped before…

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has accused the opposition of using fake news as a campaign tool against President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, ahead of the 2019 general elections. Mohammed made the remarks in Abuja Monday when he visited the corporate headquarters of Authority Newspapers to kick-start the media tour in furtherance of the campaign against fake news, which was recently launched by the Federal Government. He said because Buhari’s administration was performing well, political opposition believed that the best way to de-market the administration was to latch on to fake news to create religious and ethnic…