Author: straightnewsng.com

By: Akanimo Sampson The combative Rivers State Government under the watch of Nyesom Wike, a seeming vociferous Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor on Wednesday ignited a political fire in the state without substantiating its claims with credible security reports. Unarguably, Rivers is the capital of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry and very strategic to the petroleum-led economy of the country. But, in spite of its economic status, the state has been suffering a worrisome bloodletting politics of the contending political gladiators. The political heat in the state is coming from the Ikwerre axis of the big oil and gas state…

By: Akanimo Sampson One in every nine people goes to bed hungry each night, so declares Mercy Corps, a global civic group. According to it, those going to bed hungry include the 20 million people currently at risk of famine in South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Nigeria. Mercy Corps is however working to achieve a real and lasting impact in the world’s toughest humanitarian emergencies. The group has been responding to almost every global natural disaster in the last 20 years, including the Nepal earthquake, the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa, the Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Dorian in…

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Wednesday said Nigeria recorded 284 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in Nigeria to 6,677. NCDC also said that eight new patients have been confirmed dead to the virus in the country, bringing the total number of deaths to 200. It said “On the 20th of May 2020, 284 new confirmed cases and 8 deaths were recorded in Nigeria” No new state has reported a case in the last 24 hours. Till date, 6677 cases have been confirmed, 1840 cases have been discharged and 200 deaths have been…

In a quick succession, ExxonMobil with its Operational Headquarters at Ibeno in Akwa Ibom has drawn the bile of a Nigerian Senator for sacking150 staffers and contract workers. ExxonMobil was in the eye of the storm on Sunday following Akwa Ibom Government’s rejection of 10 vehicles donated by the company for COVID-19 contact tracing in the state. Peeved by the sack, Dr. Akon Eyakenyi, the Senator representing Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District, has called on the company to reinstate the 150 staffers and contract workers sacked from its employment in the state. In a statement signed and made available to…

Amidst COVID-19 pandemic, two states in the country have damned COVID-19 and again flung open places of worship in their states. Bauchi and Cross River Governments have lifted the ban on all religious gatherings earlier placed on the states. A press release signed by Christian Ita, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to Governor Ben Ayade thanked the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, Pastors, Christians of various denominations, and the entire Muslim community for their support and cooperation during the period of suspension of public worship in the state in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. In the…

By: Ray Ekpu Since 1999, Nigeria has had four Chiefs of Staff who served four of our Presidents. Retired Major- General Abdullahi Mohammed served Chief Olusegun Obasanjo for all of his eight years in office and one year of Umaru Yar’Adua’s term. Dr. Goodluck Jonathan had the former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe and later retired Brigadier General Arogbofa. They all served without the trembling of the earth, almost innocuously and almost unconspicuously. Then President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Mr. Abba Kyari, a brilliant Cambridge-trained lawyer who was also a journalist and banker. He gave his Chief of…

By Akanimo Sampson Nigeria is likely to record 10,000 positive cases of COVID-19 by the end of this May. The number of infected persons in the country is already racing towards the 10,000 marks. Apparently worried, a top executive of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has outlined what the world needs at this time of the disturbing COVID-19 crisis. Director of IITA East Africa hub, Victor Manyong, is claiming that circular bio-economy is what the world now needs as it advances in technology, finance, and population. However, Nigeria’s total number of COVID-19 infections has zoomed to 6401 as…

The Federal Government has been asked to relieve the Nigerian Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire of his position over the mishandling of COVID-19 on the visit of Chinese medical doctors to the country. Speaking in an interview on Wednesday in Planet 101.1 FM, Uyo, Mr. Clifford Thomas, the Human rights lawyer, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack Ehanire for committing some inconsistencies in the handling of the COVID-19. When Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) protested against the Federal Government’s decision to bring the Chinese medical doctors to the country, the minister had explained that the medics based on their expertise…

By Akanimo Sampson Simonetta Zarrilli of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and an Associate Professor, Akdeniz University founded in 1982, Nursel Aydiner-Avsar, say tourism has ground to a halt globally, and for many small islands developing states (SIDS) this is their only economic lifeline. Akdeniz is a campus university in Antalya Province of Turkey. It is the leading higher education and scientific research centre of the West Mediterranean region of Turkey. However, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) reports that during the first quarter of this year, $80 billion were lost in export revenues from…

Akwa Ibom Ministry of Education has foiled attempts by some private schools’ owners in the state to resume the third term online without waiting for the government’s approval for resumption. Both public and private secondary and nursery schools in the state were shut in March 26 by the government as a means of curtailing the spread of coronavirus pandemic. The Commissioner for Education, Professor Nse Essien, who gave the warning Monday during an interactive session of Akwa Ibom State Education Think-tank Committee with education stakeholders in the state, said it would announce the resumption of both public and private schools…