Author: straightnewsng.com

The Federal Government and Siemens have signed a contract for the pre-engineering phase of the Presidential Power Initiative that seeks to generate 25,000 megawatts electricity for six years in the country. Our correspondent gathered that the award letters were signed last Thursday by Siemens Energy Nigeria and FGN Power Company, a special purpose vehicle created by the Federal Government for the project. The Federal Government and Siemens AG had in July 2019 signed a Letter of Agreement on the Nigerian Electrification Roadmap, now Presidential Power Initiative, with the aim of ramping up electricity generation in the country. The Federal Executive…

National Bureau of Statistics says that Nigerian real estate sector grew by 9.15 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020. NBS stated in its Gross Domestic Product report for Q4 that the sector contracted by 3.55 per cent in the full year 2020. The report reads, “In nominal terms, real estate services in the fourth quarter of 2020 grew by 9.15 per cent, or 6.64 per cent points higher than the growth rate reported for the same period in 2019 and 17.21 per cent points when compared to the preceding quarter. “Quarter-on-quarter, the sector growth rate was 27.34 per…

The General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (Worldwide), Dr Daniel Olukoya, has won defamation suit against a United Kingdom-based blogger for libelous publications. Ogun State High Court in Abeokuta has awarded N500 million damages against Maureen Badejo for libelous publications against Olukoya and the church. The court also granted “a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant by herself, her agents, servants, privies or other persons howsoever called or described from further making, publishing and/or disseminating defamatory stories and statements about the claimants or any one of them.” Justice Abiodun Akinyemi described the report as the worst case of…

Two policemen  were allegedly felled by the bullets of unknown gunmen at Ikpe Annang junction in Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. The incident, Straightnews gathered, occurred in the early hours of Monday, February 22. The suspected hoodlums also set ablaze a Hilux vehicle used by the deceased police officers, that belonged to Quick Response Squad attached to the Essien Udim Police Division and was usually stationed at Ikpe Annang Junction. An unidentified police inspector was said to have been burnt beyond recognition. However, it could not be ascertained if the gunmen shot and killed the police…

The insurance sector contracted by 12.05 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020, latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics have shown. Figures obtained from the NBS on the industry’s performance also revealed that the insurance sector accounted for 8.6 per cent of the entire financial sector in the period under review. Part of the report read, “The finance and insurance sector consists of the two subsectors, financial institutions and insurance, which accounted for 91.40 per cent and 8.6 per cent of the sector respectively in real terms in Q4 2020. “As a whole, the sector grew at…

Senator Rochas Okorocha representing Imo West in Nigerian Senate who was arrested and detained by Imo Police Sunday evening has been released. This was as South-East Governors’ Forum waded into the feud between him, the immediate past Imo State governor, and his successor, Hope Uzodinma. Okorocha was arrested when fracas broke between his aides and security agents over the government’s sealing of Royal Spring Palm Hotel belonging to his wife, Nkechi. Both the police spokesperson in the state, Ikeokwu Orlando, and Senator Okorocha’s personal aide, Ebere Nzewuji, confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that the senator was released on Sunday night. The Chairman…

Suspected gunmen have abducted a lecturer with the University of Port Harcourt and a first-class traditional ruler in Rivers State. Dr Jones Ayuwo of the Department of Linguistics and Communications Studies, University of Port Harcourt was abducted Sunday night along the Andoni-Ogoni Road. The lecturer was returning from Andoni Local Government Area after a function by his Local Language Bible Translation committee which he serves as the secretary. Reports monitored from Channels TV show that three journalists with the Rivers State Government-owned television who went for the coverage of the event were also attacked with their valuables and cameras taken…

As All Progressives Congress continues its registration and revalidation exercise nationwide,  Senator Godswill Akpabio, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs has revalidated his membership in the party. Akpabio who had served as a two-term Governor under Peoples Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom defected to APC in August 2018. The Senator, together with wife, Unoma, was at the Independence High School, Ukana, in Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State for the revalidation. The exercise was witnessed by the acting state caretaker committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Ita Udosen, among other stakeholders of the party. After…

Manchester City moved a step closer to the Premier League title as Raheem Sterling’s early goal gave the runaway leaders a 1-0 win against Arsenal on Sunday. Pep Guardiola’s side made it 18 successive victories in all competitions thanks to Sterling’s second-minute header at the Emirates Stadium. With 13 games left, City are 10 points clear of second-placed Leicester, who had closed the gap to seven with a 2-1 win at Aston Villa earlier on Sunday. City have equalled the club record of 11 successive away victories in all competitions, set from May to November 2017. They are the first…

United States (U.S.) death toll from the Coronavirus topped 500,000 on Sunday, NBC News tally has revealed. The tally is a milestone that underscores the grave threat the virus still poses nationwide even as more Americans get vaccinated. The coronavirus has claimed the lives of more than 2,462,000 people worldwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The death toll in the U.S. is the highest in the world, even though the country has less than 5 percent of the global population. NBC News’ tally showed that roughly 500,001 people had died of Covid-19 as of Sunday afternoon. The number…