Author: straightnewsng.com

Utazi whose botanical name is Gongronema latifolium) is a medicinal plant.  Traditionally, it has been used in the treatment of various ailments and diseases. It is a perennial edible shrub of the family, Asclepiadaceae widely employed in Nigeria for various medicinal and nutritional purposes (Ugochukwu et al.2003. It is mostly cultivated in West African countries such as Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Senegal, etc. In the southern part of Nigeria, Igbos call it Utazi, the Yorubas name it arokeke, Efik and Ibibios call it Urasi or utazi. Gongronema latifolium is characteristically sharp, bitter and slightly sweet taste, especially when eaten…

The people of Oro Nation comprising five local government areas in Akwa Ibom State are set to support any person who emerges as All Progressives Congress, APC candidate in the state during the forthcoming general elections. Speaking Monday, September 10 in an interview on a private radio station- Planet 101.1 FM, Uyo, Engr. Benedict Ukpong, the Federal Commissioner representing Akwa Ibom State in the National Population Commission said Oro Nation would support anybody who emerges as APC governorship candidate in the state in 2019. This is even as Ukpong described Senator Godswill Akpabio, the immediate past Senate Minority Leader and…

Novak Djokovic produced an impeccable performance to beat Juan Martin del Potro in the US Open final and win his 14th Grand Slam title. The 31-year-old Serb won 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to earn his third triumph in New York and equal American great Pete Sampras’ haul of major trophies. Djokovic, who won Wimbledon in July, will climb to third in the world after back-to-back Grand Slam victories. Only great rivals Roger Federer (20) and Rafael Nadal (17) have won more. Argentine third seed Del Potro, 29, was playing his first Grand Slam final since winning the 2009 US Open,…

Oil prices rose on Monday as U.S. drilling for new production stalled and as the market eyed tighter conditions once Washington’s sanctions against Iran’s crude exports kick in from November. Brent crude futures climbed to 77.33 dollars a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at 68.19 dollars per barrel from their last settlement. The U.S. rig count has stagnated since May, after staging a recovery since 2016, which followed a steep slump the previous year amid plummeting crude prices. Outside the U.S., new U.S. sanctions against Iran’s crude exports from November were helping push up prices. Energy consultancy…

Tearful Serena Williams was fined $17,000 by the US Open for three code violations during her loss in Saturday’s women’s singles final, the United States Tennis Association said. Williams lost to an underdog in the game, Naomi Osaka, in New York’s Arthur Ashe Stadium during Saturday’s match that was marred by controversy in the second set after umpire Carlos Ramos penalized Williams a point and then an entire game. Osaka beat Williams in straight sets — 6-2, 6-4 — to win her first Grand Slam title. For the feat, Japan, Sunday, rolled red-carpet celebration for her as she is the…

Nigerian President, 36 governors and 774 local government chairmen are said to blow a whopping $670m (N241bn) yearly on security votes, Transparency International has said. The Africa Director for TI’s Defence and Security Programme, Christina Hildrew, stated this at a two-day event organised by the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre in Abuja last week, said the amount is not subject to audit or legislative oversight. The event was tagged, ‘Impact of Anti-Money Laundering and Illicit Financial Flows: Legislative, Policy and Institutional Gaps to Investigate, Prosecute and Convict for Anti-Money Laundering and Illicit Financial Flow charges.’ Speaking with journalists on the…

Aruna Quadri, Nigerian table tennis star, has won the 2018 ITTF-African Championships by defeating Ahmed Saleh. Aruna performed the feat in the final of the championships held in Mauritius played on Sunday, September 9. The victory was Aruna’s first win in a senior men’s single in Africa after recent defeats in past competitions. The final game played at Port Luis was a five set thriller with Quadri coming out victorious 4-1 over his Egyptian opponent. To advance to the final Quadri beat his compatriot Olajide Omotayo in four straight sets. The final against Saleh ended (11-7, 6-11,13-11, 11-9, 11-1) to…

The development of the $18 billion Centenary City Abuja will commence Monday, with the launch of its first co-development opportunity known as “The Grove.” The massive city is within the proximity of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, and being developed by Centenary City Developers FZE, a joint venture between Front Range Developers, investors from the United Arab Emirate, UAE, and Centenary City Plc. The Grove project, according to the investors, will spread over a total construction area of 91,000 square meters with a total of 236 units of 5-bedroom terrace houses. The project will feature a stylish and contemporary design,…

The production of first oil from Total’s $16 billion Egina project has been threatened as the management of Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics, LADOL, banished Samsung Heavy Industries, SHI, from its dockyard. Consequently, SHI may lose more than $300 million of investments, if permanently sacked from the island as it would be difficult for the Korean firm to remove the fixed assets in the yard and to evacuate the fixed assets would require dredging of the river, which will gulp millions of dollars. Investigations by Vanguard over the weekend showed that the first oil scheduled for December, 2018 would likely be…

At least, three presidential aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have allegedly used surrogates to purchase Senate and governorship forms as they perfect alternative political survival strategies ahead of the national convention of the party. The three including two serving senators and an incumbent governor it was gathered picked the forms through surrogates. The PDP presidential aspirants have consistently played out the option of returning to their present positions in the event of losing out at the PDP presidential primaries due on October 6 multiple sources in the party have repeatedly said. Twelve persons have so far picked the…