Author: straightnewsng.com

African Champion, Nigeria moved up10 places in the latest FIFA rankings released on Thursday, to become the third best football team in Africa. The Super Eagles, who were eliminated in the preliminary round, garnered 660 points and moved up 10 spots to 34th as against their previous 631 points which left them 44th position in June. Algeria, who got to the second round of the World Cup for the first time in their history, has 874 points to occupy the 24th position in the world and be the best team in Africa, while Cote d’Ivoire has 850 points for 25th…

A village head and four others in Akwa Ibom State arrested for allegedly abducting 19 ExxonMobil staff members are cooling their feet in the police station. The suspects were alleged to have kidnapped the staff traveling from Port Harcourt to Qua Iboe Terminal (QIT), Ibeno in Akwa Ibom for a crew change of duty. The four suspects claimed that Chief Inam Unanaowo, the village head of Atibe in Eket local government area gave them the approval to abduct the ExxonMobil staff. A police source, who claimed anonymity, had said “Initially four persons were arrested in connection with the abduction of…

As the race hots up for the election of a presidential candidate by Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, an ex-Nigerian Vice President made a detour to the political path by outlining his robust plans to resuscitate the nation’s trudging power sector, create jobs and ensure security of lives and property. Answering a series of questions posed by a twitter user on his verified handle @Atiku, on how he intends to find solutions to salient problems of national unity, unemployment, security and some other topics on Nigeria’s development, Abubakar Atiku said if elected as president, he would generate power by ensuring full…

The All Progressives Congress, APC has ignored the rebellion of the Buba Galadima led Reformed All Progressives Congress, RAPC with a four-point criminal charge against the leaders of the group. In a statement made available to journalists at the weekend, Mr. Babatunde Ogala, the National Legal Adviser of the APC, also denounced the formation of the group as grievous to law saying that its emergence was likened to a coup. Asserting that the convention was properly organised against the claim of the RAPC, Ogala said that the convention was the culmination of a series of congresses even as he affirmed…

The senator representing Kaduna Central senatorial district has proffered seven recipes to end the current executive-legislature face-off, urging the Presidency to stop using state apparatus to attack and intimidate members of the National Assembly, NASS. Senator Shehu Sani said this remains the only way the longstanding feud between the Executive and Legislature can be resolved. Sani, who made his proposal in a Facebook post, entitled ”Immediate recipe for peace between the Presidency and the Parliament,” identified at least seven quick tasks to be undertaken by the concerned arms of government. He asked the Presidency to prevail on its appointees to…

Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has petitioned Mrs Kemi Adeosun, the Minister of Finance, and rejected the recent 500 per cent increase in tariff on locally produced alcohol, spirits and tobacco, saying it will lead to massive job loss. This came as the National Union of Food Beverage and Tobacco Employees, NUFBTE, said the 500 per cent hike in excise duty of these products had placed no fewer than 200,000 jobs in the sector under threat. NLC in the petition copied Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari and Director General of Department of State Services, DSS, warned that besides the…

The Presidency Sunday pleaded with Nigerians and the international community to exercise restraint in making inflammatory remarks over Farmers/herders clashes, saying President Muhammadu Buhari does not discriminate against any people or religion. The Presidency also reiterated that Farmers/herders clashes had been and an age-long matter, even as it noted that President Buhari was making every effort to put to an end to the animosity between farmers and herders. In a statement by Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, the Presidency noted that climate change had become one of the contributing factors to…

OPINION By: Innocent Okon Chinua Achebe decades ago, identified Nigeria’s problem as leadership! In his treatise: THE TROUBLE WITH NIGERIA, Achebe observed that the political firmament of the country was unfortunately held captive by a clique who regarded plum leadership positions as a pension and gratuity for whatever sacrifices they made to secure flag independence for Nigeria. If the writer and patriot were to be alive, possibly he would have added lack of foresight as one of the terminal ailments ravaging our body polity! The privileged few in positions of power, authority and influence have this penchant of proffering ad-hoc…

Trouble-prone pop star Justin Bieber is linked to model Hailey Baldwin whom he has dated for one month and may become a married man sooner than expected, reports said on Sunday. The 24-year-old Canadian heartthrob, who has become better known for his off-stage antics, proposed to the 21-year-old over dinner Saturday night at a restaurant in The Bahamas, the celebrity news site TMZ said. The site quoted witnesses at the restaurant, who said that Bieber’s security team asked them all to put their phones away for the proposal. A representative for Bieber did not comment but relatives of the couple…

A Kenyan referee expected to have officiated at the ongoing World Cup in Russia has been handed a life ban after being caught in a bribery sting. Aden Marwa is one of the 22 referees sanctioned by Confederation of African Football (CAF) in an unprecedented clean up, announced at the weekend. Marwa was filmed receiving a 600-dollar bribe during the CAF assignment in Ghana. Expected as a reserve at the 2014 finals in Brazil, Marwa had earlier been removed from the list of match officials due to officiate in Russia 2018. The life ban was handed out by CAF’s disciplinary…