Author: straightnewsng.com

By Akanimo Sampson Is the Benue State Government, a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) controlled state under the watch of Governor Samuel Ortom, blackmailing President Muhammadu Buhari with the controversial COVID-19 index case in the state? A chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC), Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, who is also a former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP), one of the coalition political groups that formed the APC, tends to be seeing the matter so. Eze is calling on President Buhari to intervene on the continued detention and dehumanisation Mrs. Suzan Lawani Okpe, the alleged index case of…

Nigeria’s confirmed new cases of coronavirus stand at 386, bringing the total to 3,912. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control made this known on Friday said, “On the 8th of May 2020, 386 new confirmed cases and 10 deaths were recorded in Nigeria. “No new state has reported a case in the last 24 hours. “Till date, 3912 cases have been confirmed, 679 cases have been discharged and 117 deaths have been recorded in 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory “The 386 new cases are reported from 20 states- Lagos (176), Kano (65), Katsina (31), FCT (20), Borno (17),…

In this interview, Tijah Bolton-Akpan, a consultant on public policy analysis and an Executive Director of Policy Alert explains in detail why Akwa Ibom and 11 other states in the country missed out on the recent disbursement of N43.42 billion as grant from the World Bank to 24 states and advises the states on what they need to do to qualify for the next round of the grant. Excerpts: SN: What is the N43.42B World Bank SFTAS grant all about? In 2018, Nigeria entered a concessional loan agreement with the World Bank for a $750 million facility to improve governance…

The sacked Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure in Kano State, who mocked the death of Mallam Abba Kyari, the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, has tested positive for COVID-19. Kano Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje had on April 18 sacked Muazu Magaji as a result of his unguarded utterances over the demise of Kyari. In a Facebook post Thursday, Magaji said: “Dear all, I do truly apologise to you not getting across to me on phone or messages. I have been indisposed due to ongoing health challenges some of us are going through in Kano. In Sha Allah, it…

Nigeria has recorded 381 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 3,526. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control made this known via its verified Twitter handle on Tuesday. It tweeted, “On the 7th of May 2020, 381 new confirmed cases and four deaths were recorded in Nigeria. “No new state has reported a case in the last 24 hours. “Till date, 3,526 cases have been confirmed, 601 cases have been discharged and 107 deaths have been recorded in 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory. “The 381 new cases are reported from 17…

The Nigerian aviation sector has been the worst hit since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in the country, Mr. Hadi Sirika, the Minister of Aviation has said. Addressing journalists during the daily briefing by the Presidential Task Force on the control of COVID-19, Sirika said the sector has lost approximately N24 billion due to the closure of the country’s airports. “Based on the trend of events prior to COVID-19, the total loss is about N21 billion approximately plus about N3 billion (trajectionally). It is divided into this form: N7 billion for aviation (what they lose in a month), N10 billion…

Bundesliga is set to be Europe’s first top football league to start the Premier League to complete its season amidst the coronavirus pandemic. This follows a nine-day clearance to resume the football in Germany, though fans will not be allowed into the stadiums. Government officials have confirmed the remaining nine or 10 games remaining for clubs can be played from the second half of his month, with the league announcing matches will start from May 15. Getting the green light from Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany is significant for English top-flight teams, who have been watching Bundesliga progress carefully as…

By Akanimo Sampson The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says the coronavirus crisis is boosting e-commerce as more people are shopping online all over the world. But it seems the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are not adequately prepared to tap the ensuing opportunities. UNCTAD’s rapid eTrade readiness assessments conducted in Benin, Mali and Niger found that the three West African countries need far-reaching reforms to seize the benefits of online commerce. Findings of the assessments released on April 30 during the UNCTAD eWeek reveal that the three nations need better infrastructure and e-commerce strategies, as well as capacity-building and…

Amidst growing debate on who is a better striker,  Amaju Pinnick, President of the Nigerian Football Federation, NFF’s verdict: Nigeria striker, Victor Osimhen, who plies his trade in France is better than Tammy Abraham, the Chelsea forward. Pinnick had tried to lure Abraham to play for Nigeria without success despite his closeness to Tammy’s dad. “I don’t believe that’s an issue. You have a choice; it’s not just today. At a point, John Fashanu refused to play for Nigeria, I was still in secondary school if not primary school,” said Pinnick. “We are all human beings. We are subjected to…

By Akanimo Sampson The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, one of Nigeria’s biggest oil and gas states, is still unrelenting on opening fire on Governor Nyesom Wike. Despite the loud commendation of the vociferous Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on how his administration is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in the state, APC says Wike has been handling the scourge poorly. Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, the media warhead of Transportation Minister, Chibuike Amaechi, in Rivers APC, is alleging that Wike has continued to politicise the pandemic in the troubled oil state.…