Author: straightnewsng.com

Amidst allegations of electoral fraud, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has been re-elected for the sixth term in office with 58.6 percent of the vote. Museveni, 76, has been in power for more than three decades. “The electoral commission declares Yoweri Museveni… elected President of the Republic of Uganda,” said election commission chairman Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama. His main rival, Bobi Wine trailed with 34.8 percent, but rejected the result, saying it did as not represent the outcome of the election. Bobi Wine, a singer-turned-politician whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, came a far second in the vote, according to the country’s…

Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited has completed divested 30 per cent interest in Oil Mining Lease 17 in the Eastern Niger Delta and associated infrastructure to TNOG Oil and Gas Limited for $533 million. TNOG Oil and Gas is a related company of Heirs Holdings Limited and Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc. A statement by the company’s Corporate Affairs unit said the completion followed the receipt of all approvals from the relevant authorities of the Federal Government of Nigeria. “A total of $453m was paid at completion with the balance to be paid over an agreed period. ”SPDC…

Two members of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Uyo in Akwa Ibom State are said to have died during the long-drawn industrial strike owing to non-payment of their salaries. The nationwide strike that commenced in March 2020 was called off by ASUU on December 23, 2020 after the union reached an agreement with the Federal Government. The lecturers were said to have died due to lack of funds to cater for their health during the strike accompanied by COVID-19 lockdown, Dr. Happiness Uduk, the ASUU Chairman of University of Uyo chapter, has confirmed. Speaking with Straightnews on…

The former speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives tied the knot with the daughter of Kebbi Governor, Atiku Bagudu in Abuja on Friday, January 15. Dimeji Bankole wedded Aisha Shinkafi Saidu, a lawyer and graduate of the University of Hull in the United Kingdom. Bankole, who divorced his first wife in 2017, has been in a sizzling relationship with Aisha. The bride is a granddaughter of late political heavyweight and one-time head of Nigeria’s security organisation Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi, Marafan Sokoto. The bride’s mother is Shinkafi’s daughter and a sister to the former Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Aliyu Shinkafi.…

Nigeria has recorded 1,867, the highest number so far in a day, bringing the overall infections in the country to 107,345. Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) stated this on its official Twitter handle on Friday, noting that eight people also died from the virus in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 1,413. The new cases were reported from 23 states of the federation and the  Federal  Capital Territory (FCT) Lagos State having 713 infections, Plateau, 273; FCT, 199; Kaduna, 117; and Oyo, 79. Others were Enugu-58, Ondo-53, Kano-49, Sokoto-43, Ogun-37, Osun-37, Nasarawa-36, Rivers-28, Benue-24, Delta-24, Niger-24,…

Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets, Friday, crushed their Burkina Faso counterpart 1-0 to qualify for the finals of the WAFU U-17 tournament in Lome, Togo. With this win, the national under-17 male football team have also picked one of the tickets for the 2021 CAF U-17 AFCON scheduled for Morocco later in the year. In the closely contested first semi-finals of the regional tournament, the Golden Eaglets pipped their hard-fighting Burkina Faso counterpart through a lone goal. Michael Emmanuel put Nigeria ahead in the 77th minute after several missed chances in the first half. The first half of the match had ended…

Akwa Ibom government has donated N100,000,000 in support of the Small and Medium Scale Entrepreneurship Scheme for widows of Nigerian Legion in the state. Akwa Ibom Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel announced this Friday at end of activities that marked 2021 Armed Forces Remembrances Day Celebration for the fallen heroes at Cenotaph, Udo Udoma, Uyo. Emmanuel who was the special guest of honour said “I stand on behalf of the government to announce to widows of our fallen heroes that in addition to the things I have mentioned and what we are trying to do through our Social Welfare Ministry, that…

Since an NYSC member allegedly hacked to death a young man in Akwa Ibom State, the media space is awash with various reactions. Miss Chidinma Odume Paschaline, a corps member and a graduate of University of Nigeria, admitted to have allegedly murdered one Akwaowo Japheth on the basis of ‘self-defence’ last Sunday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom capital. Days after the murder, a lady identified as one Effiong Laurel Scott (a strange name since no woman or girl from Akwa Ibom bears Effiong) claimed in the viral video that the deceased- Akwaowo Japheth- she described as a ‘serial rapist,’ had his…

US President-elect Joe Biden has announced a $1.9tn (£1.4 trillion) stimulus plan for the Coronavirus-sapped US economy before he takes office next week. If passed by Democrats-dominated Congress, it would include $1 trillion for households, with direct payments of $1,400 to all Americans. The relief proposal includes $415 billion to fight the virus and $440 billion for small businesses. Mr Biden, a Democrat, has promised to beat the pandemic that has killed more than 385,000 people in the US. He campaigned last year vowing to do a better job handling the virus than outgoing President Donald Trump, a Republican. The…

As England was placed in COVID-19 lockdown for a second time, the United Kingdom economy shrank by 2.6 per cent in November last year, official figures show. The Office for National Statistics said it meant gross domestic product was 8.5 per cent below its pre-pandemic peak. November’s decline came after six consecutive months of growth. Pubs and hairdressers were badly hit as the service sector suffered, the ONS said, but some manufacturing and construction activity improved. The hit to the service sector – which accounts for about three-quarters of the UK economy – meant it contracted by 3.4 per cent…