Author: straightnewsng.com

Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses author, was taken off a ventilator and could talk Saturday, a day after he was stabbed as he prepared to give a lecture in upstate New York. Rushdie was hospitalized with serious injuries, but fellow author Aatish Taseer tweeted in the evening that he was “off the ventilator and talking (and joking).” Rushdie’s agent, Andrew Wylie, confirmed that information without offering further details. Read also Attack: Salmon Rushdie, author of Satanic Verses, Hospitalised Earlier in the day, the man accused of attacking him Friday at the Chautauqua Institution, a nonprofit education and retreat center, pleaded…

Casual employees of Akwa Ibom Broadcasting Corporation (AKBC) are groaning  under economic hardships, trauma and depression after years without regularisation as permanent staffers, Straightnews has gathered. A casual employee is a worker engaged on a temporary basis and whose salary does not compare with that of his colleague on a permanent employment. Under Casualisation, the worker is not entitled to such pecks as transport, housing, leave allowances, promotion or special benefits package. It is understood that AKBC employed casual workers numbering more than 98. Some are said to have put in nine years ago while others were engaged few years ago…

Akwa Ibom journalists and the state Police Command may tread collision path over alleged attempt to intimidate and abduct the Editor of The Mail Newspaper, Comrade Ifreke Nseowo. Nseowo wanted in respect of unnamed publication is said to have been freed by Nigeria Union of Journalists, Akwa Ibom with a promise to produce him at the police headquarters, Ikot Akpan Abia in Uyo Local Government Area on Tuesday, August 16 at 11 a.m. In a press release of August 13 by Comrade Amos Etuk , the state Chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Akwa Ibom Council and Comrade Dominic Akpan,…

The Village Head of Efen Ibom in Ika Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Essien Matthew Odiong is to die by hanging for murder, the State High Court in Uyo ruled Friday. Odiong, who is married to 12 wives with 60 children, was standing trial on a four-count charge of conspiracy, ordering unlawful trial by ordeal, stealing of the motorcycle and murder of the owner, and a member of his community, Udoma Akpan Udo Ubom. The Court presided by Justice Edem Akpan, found the 82-year-old monarch guilty of the murder of Ubom by injecting some chemical substance on…

A clergyman and two persons in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria’s South South region were jailed by the state High Court, Uyo over fraudulent practices for impersonation. The convicts were found to have impersonated as officials of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).  Among the convicts was a clergyman, Rev. Nobert Rampa, a 53-year-old native of Ekpene Ukim, in Uruan Local Government Area, who was found guilty of defrauding people under false pretences of being a senior official of the two anti-graft agencies.  Others include a 34-year-old Gabriel Udo, a barber from…

Members of the Roman Catholic Church, Thursday, were livid on Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong’s reference to the Pope, urging him to tender apology or face sanction. Lalong, while defending his new role of leading the APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket campaign, said he is a Catholic with the highest Papal award of Knight of Saint Gregory. Defending his acceptance to serve as the Director-General of All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council for the 2023 election, he said the Pope had not told him he was doing wrong for backing a Muslim-Muslim ticket. Read also Gov Lalong may become APC Vice…

Kwara State government has supported businesses owned by 100 young people in the state with N1million grant per beneficiary. Speaking at the occasion, Kwara Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq saw the grants as keys to sustainable future to youth inclusion and productive engagement. The N1million grant is funded through Kwapreneur 2.0, a programme specifically designed to support businesses owned by young people and funded through the Kwara State Social Investment Programme (KWASSIP). Read also Kwara Govt Floats N500m Recovery Fund For ENDSARS Victims Kwara Goes For N7.1b Loan To Access UBEC’s Grant 1,000 Kwara Traders, Artisans To Get N1b Soft Loans, Says…

Salman Rushdie, the author whose publication led to death threats from Iranian authority in the 1980s, stabbed Friday as he was about to give a lecture in western New York, is in the hospital, authorities said. The British-Indian author was about to speak at an event in western New York on Thursday morning, according to law enforcement and witnesses. Rushdie “suffered an apparent stab wound to the neck, and was transported by helicopter to an area hospital,” state police said in a statement. Read also USAID identifies factors fueling arms conflict in Akwa Ibom Biden, Lapid sign US-Israel promise to…

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State, South-South Nigeria is in a dilemma following the ‘failure’ of Pastor Umo Eno, its governorship candidate, to throw in the towel, Straightnews has learned. This is as the party failed to beat the August 12 deadline following closure of window period by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for political parties to substitute their candidates. For weeks, the party men, this online newspaper learned, were said to have held consultations and nocturnal meetings capped with political lobbying, and subterfuge in a deft move to convince their governorship candidate to voluntarily withdraw from…

Mr Udom Emmanuel, Akwa Ibom Governor, has hailed young Valour Inyang for excelling in West African Examination Council and Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination  (UTME) conducted by Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB). Master Valour Mbre Inyang, the Akwa Ibom-born student of Topfaith International Secondary School, Mkpatak in Essien Udim Local Government Area of the state, made A’s in nine subjects in the 2022 WAEC result, and 343 in UTME score. The governor, who lauded the student for achieving academic excellence of monumental proportions, and enjoined others to emulate and be inspired by the educational achievements of the young genius. Read also…