Author: straightnewsng.com

As Nigeria marks her 61st independence anniversary, Nigerians have in retrospect came hard on  the topsy-turvy situations and concluded that the country was more united and peaceful before independence day than now. In an interview conducted by Straightnews on Friday, October 1, some decried the prevailing disunity in the country while others bemoaned the insecurity caused by kidnappers, robbery suspects and cultists. They applauded how excited they were on October 1, 1960 and how they felt, ruminating over the thoughts and atmosphere of the political independence celebration. Imo Ibok, a retired Director of Fisheries, Akwa Ibom Ministry of Agriculture and…

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has admitted that sycophants and mediocres have taken over the leadership of the country. Speaking to journalists shortly after the Church service held at the Chapel of Grace, Government House, Makurdi, to mark this year’s Independence celebration, Ortom noted that leaders including himself have failed the citizens as nothing is happening in every sphere of the nation. “There is nothing to celebrate. That’s why here in Benue state, we choose to celebrate God for giving us life. We cannot celebrate anything. Is it the economy close to N600 per dollar? Is it what?” he said.…

Nigeria’s independence did not come on a platter of gold. Men of goodwill and of great vision and courage bound in love and unity toiled, sweated day and night for her freedom. Virtuous women with impeccable character and steel heart midwifed, labored and nurtured the baby to life. Red-faced colonial masters were reluctant to see the face of the baby, but at God’s appointed time they superintended over the birth of Nigeria, which is today 61. Over the years, the country has undergone pains of war, riots, pogroms, assassinations, coup d’etats. Songs by ethnic militias for self-determination, as well as…

Two mega refinery projects in Akwa Ibom and Lagos States midwifed by Nigerian government will soon join the stream of high stakes in the production of petroleum products. Though the locations of the projects were not mentioned, they are basically to be packaged and undertaken under Private-Public Partnership arrangement. President Muhammadu Buhari who announced this Friday in his October 1, 2021 independence anniversary speech noted ”Nigeria’s Roadmap on Local Refining is on track with the commissioning of a Modular refinery in Imo State. ”A second is scheduled for commissioning by the end of this year in Edo State and the…

INDEPENDENCE DAY ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, MUHAMMADU BUHARI, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ON THE OCCASION OF NIGERIA’S SIXTY FIRST INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY, FRIDAY, 1ST OCTOBER, 2021  Citizens of Nigeria.. It is with full gratitude to God that today, we celebrate Nigeria’s sixty first Independence Anniversary. For 1st of October 1960 to happen, all hands were on deck. East, West, North all came together to celebrate freedom. Today should not only serve as a reminder of the day the British handed over the reins of power to Nigerians, but also unified Nigerians from all ethnic groups, religions and regions.…

The Sole Administrator and Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Mr. Effiong Akwa has again been given a pat on the back for effectively representing Akwa Ibom State and Okobo local Government Area in his national assignment. The President of Okobo Women Association in Uyo, Mrs. Eme Atakpo made the commendation while fielding questions from our reporter on her assessment of Mr. Akwa’s performance so far. She said Okobo women and indeed Okobo people were proud to identify with Mr. Akwa who has been able to redirect the energies and focus of the stakeholders in the…

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has zoned its National Chairman position to the North. Chairman of the Zoning Committee and Governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi made the announcement on Thursday, September 30. Noting that the mandate of his committee did not include zoning of the office of President and Vice President, Ugwuanyi added that the National Working Committee (NWC) positions currently being held would be swapped between the North and the South. This is coming after PDP Governors’ Forum held a meeting on Wednesday night, with nine governors voting in favour of the position of National Chairman going to the South.…

Court of Appeal, Abuja has granted Lagos State request to strip the Federal Internal Revenue Service, FIRS, of the right to collect Value Added Tax, VAT. The Court of Appeal, in a unanimous decision by a three-judge panel on Thursday, held that the Lagos State, through its Attorney General, established that it “has a direct and substantial interest” in the matter. Thus, he issued an order, joining Lagos State as the third defendant in the appeal filed by FIRS to overturn the judgment of a Federal Superior Court in Port Harcourt, which gave Rivers State the go-ahead to collect the…

Two Nigerian telecom operators, MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria, are likely the first two players to roll out the fifth generation 5G network in Nigeria by January 2022. The Executive Vice President of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Prof. Umar Dambatta, revealed this Wednesday, when he shed more light on the 5G roadmap at the Nigerian E-Government Summit in Lagos. Danbatta, while delivering a keynote speech at the forum, stated that the commission had given Airtel the right to demonstrate its own 5G services, to determine how efficient it can be. Recall that MTN was given the same opportunity and…

Tears flowed as the remains of University of Uyo (UNIUYO) graduate were on Wednesday buried in his hometown, Mbiopkoro Nsit in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom state. Kubiat Isaac Akpan, who was doing clearance in his institution’s Department of Architectural Science, was arrested by Police operatives at Eni’s supermarket along Edet Akpan Avenue, Uyo, Akwa Ibom state capital on alleged involvement in cultism. He was said to have later died suspiciously within 24 hours of being held at the Police detention facility, forcing the family lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, to suspect the Police and demand for an autopsy.…