Author: straightnewsng.com

Four airports in Nigeria have been upgraded as Special Economic Zones. The airports are Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos; Port Harcourt International Airport, Rivers; Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. President Muhammadu Buhari has given approval to the airports, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, stated on Thursday. “I am very glad to announce that Mr President has approved our four International Airports as Special Economic Zones. These are Lagos, Kano, Abuja & Port Harcourt. Our roadmap working,” he tweeted. Recall that the minister, Wednesday, assured Nigerians that the national airliner will swing into…

The World Bank plans to dole out $150 billion assistance for Africa in the next five years. Speaking at the Summit on Financing African Economies on Tuesday, the World Bank’s President, David Malpass, said a large portion of the outlay would take the form of grants and zero-interest long-term loans. Malpass said the spending would consolidate the intervention of the bank in key developmental needs of Africa in the past decade during which it invested $200 billion in the region. He said the support would continue to provide “positive net-flow” to the continent to address developmental challenges. “Africa needs large…

The Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, Thursday, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC. Ayade remarked that character, honour and commitment to the vision of a great nation that matters. He spoke this during his formal declaration for the ruling party at the Cross River State Executive Council Chamber, Governor’s Office in Calabar after a two-hour meeting with seven APC governors. Ayade said “We need all governors to recognise that it is not the party that matters. It is a character, it is an honour, it is a commitment to the vision of…

Polaris Bank PLc, Nigeria’s leading retail bank, has launched a digital bank called VULTe. In his welcome address at the well-attended unveiling ceremony which held in Eko Hotel, M.K Ahmad (OON), Lagos, the bank Chairman, stated that the corporate goal of Polaris is to offer customers and non-customers of the bank, a 24-hour seamless service using VULTe. “This is a milestone in our pursuit of a strong and digitally-led retail brand. When we started the Polaris journey almost three years ago, we were very clear on the type of bank we must build and the direction we must go. This…

The eldest sister of the slain Akwa Ibom job seeker, Miss Ifiok Umoren, has carpeted the police in the state for arresting three but failed to parade the third suspect alleged to be instrumental to the death of her sibling. The Akwa Ibom State Police Command had on Friday last week paraded two suspects who were Uduak Akpan and his father, Mr Frank Akpan over their alleged involvement in the   murder case of Iniubong Umoren at the police headquarters, Ikot Akpan Abia, Uyo. But, Ifiok was worried that Emem Emmanuel who began the process of luring her sister through his…

Controversy seems to dog the death of Lagos chef, Mrs Peju Ugboma, who died at a Lagos hospital following a surgical operation. Ugboma, 41, who is famous for her Lagos Menu “I luv desserts,” was reported to have died on April 25 at the Premier Specialist Hospital in Victoria Island, Lagos, after undergoing an elective hysterectomy surgery. At least, 3,000 people signed an online petition urging the Lagos State Government and the Ministry of Health to investigate the death of Ugboma. The Lagos State Government, in its official Twitter account, directed the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency to conduct…

The Nigerian Senate, Wednesday, urged the federal government to halt the deployment of 5th generation (5G) network in Nigeria for now. This followed the consideration and adoption of the report of the joint Senate Committee on Communications, Science and Technology, ICT, Cyber Crime and Primary Healthcare and Communicable Diseases on the “Status of 5G Network in Nigeria and its impact on Nigerian citizens.” The committee recommended that Nigeria should still observe the trend of 5G deployment around the globe and engage in extensive sensitization of the public through all channels before the commencement of commercial deployments in the country, according…

Bitcoin plunged below $39,000 for the first time in more than three months Wednesday after China said cryptocurrencies would not be allowed in transactions and warned investors against speculative trading in them. The comments sent the unit diving more than 10 percent and dealt it another blow soon after being battered by comments from tycoon Elon Musk and his Tesla car company. Trading in cryptocurrencies has been banned in China since 2019 to prevent money laundering as leaders try to stop people from shifting cash overseas. The country had been home to around 90 percent of the global trade in…

British inflation has soared to the highest level since the early stages of the pandemic, official data showed Wednesday, stoking fears of a global inflationary spike as economies reopen. The Consumer Prices Index rate hit 1.5 percent in April, attaining the highest point since March 2020 when the COVID-19 crisis erupted, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement. The upswing, which compared with 0.7 percent in March 2021, was fuelled by rising clothing and energy costs and came as the UK economy embarked on a phased reopening. “Inflation rose in April, mainly due to prices rising this year…

Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, has threatened to embark on a nationwide strike over attack on leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC. NLC President, Ayuba Wabba and other Labour leaders were attacked during Tuesday’s peaceful protest in Kaduna State as part of the ongoing five-day strike to force the state government to rescind alleged anti-workers policies including the recent mass sack of workers. The thugs had attacked the labour leaders after Governor Nasir el-Rufai left the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, adjacent where the workers assembled, with heavily armed security personnel. The armed thugs…