Author: straightnewsng.com

Pope Francis, Saturday, promoted Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory, the first African- American and 12 new Cardinals to be admitted among the so-called Princes of the Church. Gregory, who turns 73 next month, leads an archdiocese rocked by the scandal of Theodore McCarrick, a former archbishop who was defrocked last year after being ousted as a serial sexual predator. In June, Gregory made headlines after criticizing outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump for turning a visit to the Saint John Paul II National Shrine as “a photo opportunity.” He and other cardinals-elect were given the red hats and rings that come with…

The Nigerian Senate’s resolution asking President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately initiate a way of sacking the current overstayed service chiefs and replace them with new ones with new ideas and solutions may fall on deaf ears. Resolutions of the Senate Tuesday were sequel to a motion entitled, ”Beheading of 67 Farmers in Borno by Boko Haram insurgents: Need for Urgent Decisive Action” and sponsored by Senator Kassim Shettima, All Progressives Congress, APC, Borno Central and co-sponsored by 17 other Senators. The Vote-of-No-Confidence on Buhari’s inability to secure Nigeria comes in the wake of Saturday’s brutal massacre of 43 rice farmers…

Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has reported three deaths and 281 new COVID-19 infections in the country. Of the new infections, Lagos State recorded the highest toll of 123 new cases while Kaduna and Imo trailed with 38 and 15 respectively. NCDC tweeted on Tuesday “On the 1st of December 2020, 281 new confirmed cases and 3 deaths were recorded in Nigeria. “The 281 new cases are reported from 13 states- Lagos (123), FCT (64), Kaduna (38), Imo (15), Rivers (11), Plateau (8), Ogun (5), Bayelsa (4), Kwara (4), Bauchi (3), Edo (3), Kano (2) and Osun (1).” According to…

World Health Organisation says 38 million people in the world lived with HIV infection last year. According to WHO, an estimated 26 million people globally were on antiretroviral treatment in mid-2020, against 2.4 per cent from an estimated 25.4 million at the end of 2019. In marking World AIDS Day on December 1, WHO noted, “This increase is too slow by comparison to last year where treatment coverage increased by an estimated 4.8% between January and June of 2019. “In 2019, there were still 38 million people living with HIV infection. One in five people living with HIV were not…

As the months-old strike lingers, the national leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, is ambivalent over the Federal Government’s offers. Consequently, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, the ASUU National President, said the union is still consulting on what its reply will be to the offers the Federal Government made for it to end its months-old strike. Announcing this on Tuesday in the union’s Twitter handle, he said the consultation is with members across the country and other critical stakeholders. “We have what the government is offering and have transmitted same to our members nationwide and we are consulting on…

Worried by the heightened level of insecurity in Nigeria, the House of Representatives December 1, passed a resolution to invite President Muhammadu Buhari to brief the house on the true state of the security situation in the country. Though no date was fixed for the summon, the decision was taken during Tuesday’s plenary when the House considered a motion moved by members from Borno State on the recent massacre of 43 rice farmers in the state by Boko Haram insurgents. The debate had earlier turned rowdy after the Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila appealed that it would be inappropriate to invite the…

As part of rehabilitation process, 206 repentant militants from Etim Ekpo and Ukanafun Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State have undergone biometrics capturing. The essence is to generate alternative livelihoods for militants who surrendered arms to having improved livelihoods and peace building in Akwa Ibom. Initiated by Leadership for Initiative for Transformation and Empowerment (LITE Africa), the programme is supported by EU/ECOWAS Small Arms & Light Weapons (SALW) Control Intervention For Nigeria. The repentant militants were seen queuing up in batches, collecting forms with the title “Skills Mapping”, while others were sitting, and filling them while a resource person…

Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has confirmed 145 new COVID-19 infections in the country. Of the number, Lagos has the highest number of 49 followed by Federal Capital Territory and Kaduna State with 34 each respectively. NCDC tweeted on Monday “On the 30th of November 2020, 145 new confirmed cases were recorded in Nigeria. “The 145 new cases are reported from 8 states- Lagos (49), FCT (34), Kaduna (34), Plateau (11), Oyo (7), Bayelsa (5), Taraba (4) and Sokoto (1).” On the caseloads of the pandemic, it stated “Till date, 67,557 cases have been confirmed, 63,282 cases have been discharged…

By: Israel Umoh South South geo-political region is seen as Nigeria’s major treasure trove. Such thriving natural resources as crude and gas deposits are abundantly harvested in the area. So, aggravated or otherwise conflict in the region could have adverse consequences on the country’s economic and political configuration. Like a beautiful bride, the region is courted by many. After the ENDSARS protests that rocked the country and snowballed into near-economic and political conflagration, the Federal Government saw the need to meaningfully engage some critical stakeholders to forestall re-occurrence of the unfortunate incident. As welcome as the initiative was, the Presidency…

President Donald Trump told Joe Biden on Sunday night to ‘get well soon’ after the president-elect fractured his ankle while playing with his German Shepherd Major. Biden suffered the injury on Saturday and visited an orthopaedist at Delaware Orthopaedic Specialists in Newark, Delaware, for an examination Sunday afternoon, his office said. As Biden, who will likely be wearing a walking boot for several weeks, was getting ready to leave the doctor’s office, he was photographed by NBC News getting into a vehicle. Initially, Dr Kevin O’Connor said Biden ‘sustained a sprain of his right foot’ and that there was ‘no…