Author: straightnewsng.com

Aniefiok Christopher  Participants at Friday’s Town Hall meeting in Uyo affirmed that Nigerian leaders are insincere about the development of the country, despite practising democracy for 24 years.  This position was reached at the 15th Town Hall meeting organised by the Open Forum Care For Humanity Foundation graced by the political class, erudite scholars and royal fathers including Sen. Emmanuel Ibok Essien of Ritman University and Prof Akpan Ekpo, a renowned economist, as the Guest Speaker. Presenting a paper on the theme: Deepening Democracy In Nigeria: The Struggle Between Politics And Governance, the guest speaker, Prof Akpan Ekpo said the struggle…

Israel Umoh After the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria for 24 years, Professor Akpan H. Ekpo, Nigeria’s scholar and famous economist, was full of uncertainty over Nigeria’s ability to deepen democracy. Describing Nigeria’s democracy as dictatorship of the elites, he said the country practised Neo-Colonial/ Capitalist as economic system, civilian/democracy regime and Neo-Liberalism as its economic policy at independence in 1960 now still adopts Capitalist economic system, and Neo-liberalism as its economic policy under President Bola Tinubu. Ekpo, the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Uyo, speaking at the 15th Open Forum Town Hall in Uyo, saw bleak future…

MultiChoice Nigeria said that it would appeal Friday’s ruling of the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal in Abuja, which awarded a N150m fine against it for challenging the court’s jurisdiction. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the tribunal had fined MultiChoice Nigeria the sum of N150 million for disobeying its order. The order had restrained the pay-TV company from increasing its monthly subscription pending the determination of the suit brought before it by an Abuja-based lawyer, Festus Onifade. The tribunal also ordered the pay-TV company to provide its Nigerian customers with a one-month free subscription to its DStv and…

A Non-Governmental Organization has doled out multi-millions of Naira in support of the victory of Pastor Umo Eno as Akwa Ibom governor, and empowerment of individuals and rural communities in the South-South and South-East Regions of the country. At a press briefing in Uyo on Friday, the International Coordinator of Prince Archibong Life Foundation, Mr. Uduakobong Akpan said this was part of the philanthropic gestures the organization has given to individuals, groups and communities in both regions over the years. Akpan highlighted achievements by the organisation to mark Governor Eno’s victory at the polls and subsequent inauguration to include provision…

The romance between organised labour and the Federal Government over the new national minimum wage may be temporary as the 36 State governors burst the parley on Friday, saying they cannot sustain the N60,000 being proposed by the government. The governors said if they accept it, a few states would end up borrowing to pay workers monthly. According to the governors, if they sustained the proposed N60,000 minimum wage by the Federal Government, many states would spend all their Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC allocations on just paying salaries with nothing left for development purposes. The governors made their position…

The Super Eagles of Nigeria persevered agonising night as they were held to a 1-1 draw by South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo on Friday. Themba Zwane opened the scoring for the visitors with a superb strike in the 29th minute, giving South Africa a first-half lead against the three-time African champions. Nigeria’s Fisayo Dele-Bashiru equalized in the second half, scoring his second goal for the national team to cancel out Zwane’s opener. Despite several opportunities, the Super Eagles were unable to secure a victory, leaving fans and players frustrated. Bafana Bafana executed…

With less than one day to go, Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has eventually approved the extension of the local government transition administrations for the 31 local government areas in the state for another six months. The Assembly had on December 6, 2023 approved initial six months’ tenure for the transition committees, which elapsed June 6, 2024. It also approved another six month’s extension for the committee during the June 6, 2024 plenary, pending the conduct of elections into the local government councils in the state in October 2024. The resolution of the House is sequel to the adoption…

Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana of South Africa have landed in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital for Friday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier. Both teams played out a pulsating AFCON semifinal four months ago in Cote d’Ivoire, but it will be a different ball game tomorrow as the race for a ticket to the 2026 World Cup gathers steam. Antwerp midfielder Alhassan Yusuf said they plan to attack Bafana Bafana, which was not the case when both teams clashed in Bouake. “It will be a different approach for us,” he said. Also read Finidi George Appointed Head Coach of…

A suspected ex-convict who has been parading himself as a military personnel will appear in a court following his arrest by operatives of Akwa Ibom Police Command. In a statement at state police headquarters, Ikot Akpan Abia in Uyo on Thursday, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, ASP Timfon John, who stated this said operatives of the command on crime prevention patrol, arrested the suspect, Edidiong Matthew, on Wednesday. According to John, preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect, a 35-year-old man was an ex-convict, noting that the suspect had perpetrated a series of crimes in the state…

Israel Umoh Distraught residents of Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital have lamented the adverse impact of economic activities following the collapsed electricity infrastructure that has plunged the area into darkness, Straightnews can authoritatively report. Check by the newspaper revealed that about  200 households in parts of Uyo metropolis, Akwa Ibom capital are groaning over electricity blackout caused by a faulty transformer. It was gathered that the 500-KVA transformer that supplied electricity to more than 6,000 residents of the area, covering a portion of Udo Ekpo Mkpo Street up to Obong Udo Nkang, High Tension, Tonyleen, Ebong Akpakpan Streets, as…