Author: straightnewsng.com

Going by an agreement entered between Akwa Ibom government and labour in December last year, the workers and pensioners in the state will smile soon, an agreement obtained by Straightnews has shown. But in a telephone interview with Straightnews on Saturday, Effiong Essien, the Head of Civil Service said ”Government has started and is implementing the agreement.’’ Already, Governor Udom Emmanuel has inaugurated Akwa Savings and Loans headed by Mr. Peter Udoh as Chairman, with Mr. Ime Okon, as Managing Director and four other members, an aspect of the agreement reached by the government and labour. At the wake of…

A Nigerian, Aliko Dangote, tops the list of Africa’s billionaires, maintaining this position for straight 10 years, according to the 2021 Forbes’ Africa Billionaires List released on Friday. Mike Adenuga of Globacom, and Abdulsamad Rabiu of BUA Group, both Nigerians, made it to the list as the 5th and 6th richest persons in Africa respectively. Forbes stated that the continent’s 18 billionaires were worth an average $4.1billion, 12 per cent more than a year ago, driven in part by Nigeria’s surging stock market. “For the tenth year in a row, Aliko Dangote of Nigeria is the continent’s richest person, worth…

Nigeria Centre for Diseases Control has confirmed 1,483 COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 118,138 in the country. NCDC also reported five new COVID-19 deaths, bringing the total to 1,490 since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country in February 2020. ‘’On the 22nd of January 2021, 1483 new confirmed cases and 5 deaths were recorded in Nigeria,’’ it stated on its official Twitter handle of Friday, January 22. The new confirmed cases were reported in 22 states including Federal Capital Territory with Kaduna leading with 545, FCT (235), Plateau (127), Nasarawa (80), Oyo (72), Delta (65), and Rivers…

Non-academic staffers in the Federal universities, Friday, announced their readiness to proceed on total and comprehensive nationwide strike from February 5, 2021 following the inability of the government to address their grievances. The staffers under the umbrella of Joint Action Committee, JAC, comprising the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU, and the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities, SSANU said they will embark on a two-week warning strike. Recall that the two unions had last week embarked on a three-day protest over the alleged government failure to honour the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with them on…

The Real Madrid coach is Coronavirus positive, the La Liga club said in a statement on Friday, January 22. Zinedine Zidane had been isolating earlier this month after a close contact tested positive for Covid-19 and did not attend a training session as a result. Madrid said in a statement on their official website: “Real Madrid CF announces that our coach Zinedine Zidane has tested positive for Covid-19.” In line with protocols, the club will closely monitor their manager during his period in isolation. The French Manager, who is under pressure following Real’s shock cup defeat to third division side…

Thirteen persons died in an auto crash along Kaita-Dankama Road in Katsina State, leaving 70 others injured.  An eyewitness told Channels Television that a truck that conveyed the victims left Dankama town on Thursday night for Lagos State, with most of the passengers from the Niger Republic. Victims who sustained various degrees of injury were taken to various hospitals in the state which include General Hospital Katsina, Federal Medical Centre and Amadi Rimi Orthopaedic Hospital for medical treatment. Seventy sheep were equally killed in the accident.  “On the ill-fated pronouncement made by a member of the forum regarding the Covid-19 vaccine…

The effective date for the implementation of the 65 years’ retirement age and 40 years of service approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) is January 1.  The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu has said that revealed this on Thursday January 21 as he spoke at the 2020 ministerial briefing on Wednesday January 20, in Abuja.  Adamu noted that there would be no uniform take-off date for all the other policies approved by President Muhammadu Buhari at the 2020 World Teachers’ Day. He said effective dates for other policies would be announced subsequently after the submission of the report of the National…

A 23-year-old student in Akwa Ibom State has been sentenced to five years imprisonment for cult membership. The court found the convict, Emmanuel Itoro Thomas, guilty of belonging to an unlawful society known as ‘Red Skin Secret Cult Confraternity’. Thomas, a native of Uruk Uso in Obot Akara Local Government Area, was convicted by Justice Okon Okon of the state High Court in Uyo. Justice Okon said the judgment was passed by the provision of Section 1 sub-Section 2 of the Cultism, Offensive Weapons and Violent Behaviour Prohibition Law 2004 of the state. The provision stressed that: “Any person who…

A former Presidential Spokesman, Dr. Doyin Okupe, has described his son’s decision to openly declare himself a homosexual as a spiritual challenge. Okupe said this in a series of tweets while reacting to a viral photo showing his son, Bolu, wearing rainbow boxers with the caption, ”Yes, I am gay”. Okupe, who served under former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, said as an evangelist, he would never accept homosexuality as it is at variance with Christian values. He, however, said he was hopeful that God would intervene, adding that he had been aware of his son’s sexual orientation for…

Google, Friday, threatened to pull its search engine from Australia over a proposed media code that would require the tech firm to pay for news content. Mel Silva, managing director for Google’s Australian operations, told a Senate enquiry the code was unworkable and the company was unable to calculate the financial risk, news agency AAP reported. Leaving the Australian market is the “only rational choice if this law were to pass,” she said. The news media bargaining code bill was introduced into Australia’s parliament in December. If passed, it will force tech companies to pay news outlets for their content…