Author: straightnewsng.com

The Senate on Tuesday passed a bill prescribing life jail for persons found guilty of kidnapping. The life imprisonment is against the provisions of section 364 of the Act, which proffer the punishment of imprisonment for a term of 10 years, where the offence of kidnapping is established. The new Bill as passed by the Senate has now approved the deletion of the limitation period for the prosecution of defilement which indicates that anyone who commits rape can be prosecuted, anytime the matter is filed. The bill which was read the third time and passed further prescribed that there should…

Hunger and malnourishment are increasing around the world as the coronavirus crisis pushes more people into poverty and limits access to healthy diets, according to the United Nations. Almost 690 million people were undernourished last year, the most since 2009, and the pandemic could tip as many as 132 million people into chronic hunger by the end of this year, the UN said in a report. At the same time, obesity has been on the rise as healthy foods remain out of reach for billions of people, a problem that will be compounded by the economic fallout from the virus.…

The deplorable East-West Road spanning across about four states is to be completed by Niger Dleta Development Commission (NDDC) before December this year, Senator Godswill Akpabio has said. The road whose contract was awarded more than 18 years ago was abandoned by successive administrations, leading to involvement of road users and pedestrians in auto crash and other forms of accident. Akpabio who spoke with Premium Times correspondent on Monday in an interview said “I will like to see bridges sprout in the Niger Delta region. I will like to see regional projects, like Warri-Sapele Road completely dualized; completion of the…

Federal Government is said to be paying salaries to workers of moribund refineries in the country for the past three years now. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva told Arise TV on Monday in an interview that the staffers are still collecting their salaries, though the refineries are not functioning. Sylva said that the government is also promoting the workers for the three years now. He blamed the unions for supporting what he saw as abnormal, particularly encouraging payment of salaries to workers of the non-functional refineries. The Minister, therefore, advocated the privatisation of refineries to make…

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the appeal filed by a governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party in Bayelsa State, Timi Alaibe, challenging the emergence of Governor Duoye Diri as the party’s candidate in the last year’s election. A five-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour dismissed the appeal. Alaibe’s lawyer, Chief Ifedayo Adedipe, withdrew the appeal after the panel members pointed his attention to the fact that the issues raised in the appeal were not about the primary election but about an internal affair of the party. Alaibe, who had lost…

The COVID-19 cases in Nigeria have exceeded 33,000 following the confirmation of 595 new infections in the country. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) stated this on Monday night. According to the agency, the new infections were recorded in 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Lagos maintained the lead position with a total of 156 new infections, followed by Oyo with 141 and the FCT with 99 new cases. Other states with registered cases include Edo – 47, Kaduna – 27, Ondo – 22, Rivers – 20, Osun – 17, Imo – 13, and Plateau – 10.…

By: Israel Umoh The melodrama at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is gradually becoming messier. At the centre of the melodrama is Joi Nunieh, the outgone Acting Chairman of the commission’s Interim Management Committee. And in the main bowl is Senator Godswill Akpabio, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs. Both are lawyers, not theatre artists, from the Niger Delta Region. Joi is the daughter of a second Republic Senator. An Ogoni woman from Rivers State, she was a member of All Nigeria Peoples Party with the name Joi Yowika, later moved to CPC and now All Progressives Congress. A…

The unemployment market has peaked as 4.48 million persons have applied to the Batch C of the Federal Government N-Power National Social Investment Programme (NSIP). The programme which opened for registration 16 days ago is expected to employ 400,000 persons. Of the number, each member of the leadership of the National Assembly is allocated 500, each Senator in the country has 200 slots while each member in the House of Representatives is given 150 slots, remaining the rest to other Nigerians. Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management & Social Development tweeted Monday “My team and…

Nigeria on Sunday reported 571 new cases of COVID-19 with 343 more recoveries. Akwa Ibom State has recorded 11 new cases of infections, bringing the total number of the pandemic to 145. Similarly, Cross River State that the state Government claimed was invulnerable to the pandemic has reported four new cases, summing the overall to nine so far. The latest figures were released on Sunday night in a tweet by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). NCDC noted that the new cases of COVID-19 were reported in 19 states in the country as well as the Federal Capital Territory…

The Minister of Niger Delta, Senator Godswill Akpabio has absolved himself of alleged corrupt practices levelled against him by the outgone acting Managing Director of NDDC’s Interim Management Committee, Ms. Joy Nunieh Akpabio who spoke at Arise TV Friday night dispelled major controversies surrounding the Niger Delta Development Commission before, during and after his appointment as minister, insisting that the rots in NDDC did not start today but dated back to the inception of the commission in 2001. Nunieh in a short viral video had alleged that during her brief tenure at the commission, Mr. Akpabio repeatedly pressured her to…