Author: straightnewsng.com

United Nations secretary, António Guterres has called on African leaders to prioritise the empowerment of women on the continent, saying the affairs of Africa and other parts of the world remained male-dominated. Addressing the African Union heads of state summit in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Sunday, Guterres said “We need the meaningful engagement of women and girls. “At the top of the mind is the question of poverty, we still live in a male-dominated world. That is why we’ve placed gender parity at the centrepiece of our reforms and gender equality and the advancement of women a…

The Presidency and Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Sunday, exchanged bitter words over the scale of insecurity to lives and property in the country. The Presidency in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Adesina described NEF as a one-man show that is like a general without troops which revolves on Prof. Ango Abdullahi, saying that it does not have any credible membership. Northern Elders Forum (NEF) under the leadership of Professor Ango Abdullahi had said that President Muhammadu Buhari has failed as far as tackling insecurity in Nigeria is concerned. This…

Another Senator in the 9th National Assembly has passed into eternity. He was Ignatius Longjan representing Plateau South Senatorial District, said to have died in a Turkish Hospital at the age of 75. Lonjan’s demise came barely two months after the Red chamber lost  Benjamin Uwajumogu, a Senator from Imo State, in December last year. One of his colleagues in the Senate confirmed his demise to our correspondent on condition of anonymity on Monday Morning. The senator said. “Yes,  the man is dead but it is either his family, the Plateau State Government or the President of the Senate that…

By: Israel Umoh Once upon a time, Akwa Ibom State stood still. Uyo, the state capital wore a new look. People from various local government areas converged at various venues for the reception of the august visitor. Traditional dancers trooped out and twerked their bodies. Pellets of sweat formed on many faces during the commissioning and ground-breaking ceremonies of the two projects. The hope of turning the hitherto civil service state to an industrial hub in the Gulf of Guinea was imminent. That was the ground-breaking ceremony of the Oqua Gas plant and commissioning of the $600 billion gas processing…

The Federal Government’s plan to borrow N2 trillion from the current N10 trillion pension funds to finance its infrastructure in the country has attracted flaks from the beneficiaries. The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo at the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, which he presided over recently announced that the government had concluded plans to borrow the amount for infrastructure. The United Labour Congress (ULC) unambiguously submitted that the future of Nigerian workers cannot be guaranteed “if a large chunk of pension funds are controlled by crass, profligate and often insensitive politicians famous for their careless handling of public funds.” The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC),…

By: Israel Umoh The news hit the airwaves like a thunderstorm. The story blasted the eardrums like a tornado. The picture of the dead whistleblower doctor in the social media headlined: “Death of whistleblower doctor of Coronavirus” was heart-rending. Yet, “We can repress everything but not sorrow” struck an emotional chord. Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist, posted his story on Weibo from a hospital bed a month after sending out his initial warning. The 34-year-old Chinese, while working at Wuhan Central Hospital, had noticed seven cases of a virus that he thought looked like Sars – the virus that led to…

Kenya Marathoner, David Bamasai Tumo has won the Access Bank 2020 Lagos City Marathon. The 42 kilometres race kicked off from National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos and ended at Eko Atlantic, Lagos. The grand prize of the 42 kilometres race is $50,000. David Tumo finished the race in two hours, 10 minutes 22 seconds. Meanwhile, Kenya’s Sharon Cherop has become the first female athlete to finish the 42km race at the 2020 Lagos City Marathon. The 35-year-old won in the women’s category by setting a new record of 2:31:38, two minutes later than she made a similar race in Eldoret Kenya…

By Akanimo Sampson Access to Seeds Index has said that improving access to seeds for farmers in regions that are currently considered food insecure is key to meeting their future food demands. Hunger is a daily reality for almost one billion people around the world. The global population is expected to grow by a further two billion in the coming decades, precisely in those regions that are food insecure. According to World Vision, a group that is concerned with pulling up the roots of poverty and planting the seeds of change, hunger appears to be on the rise after a…

By Akanimo Sampson Apparently shaken by the worrisome unemployment situation in Nigeria, the Osun State Government in South-West Region is currently setting its eyes on the agriculture sector for a solution. The state is assiduously pushing to raise agribusiness tigers that will be its new massive job providers in the state. To this end, the government is collaborating with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) through the IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA) and Start Them Early Programme (STEP) platforms, to raise agribusiness ambassadors in Osun. Education Commissioner, Folarunsho Oladoyin, has already visited IITA Ibadan campus with his Assistant, Bukola Elufisan and the Special Adviser…

By: Israel Umoh For the first time, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Akwa Ibom have not spoken with one voice on some issues in the recent agreement signed between the state government and the organised labour for the implementation of the New National Minimum Wage for public servants in the state. The NLC leadership led by Comrade Sunny James argued that N30,000 was not negotiable for Grade Levels 01-06 but that negotiation on Consequential Adjustments for workers on Grade Level 07-14 was the key issue and is inconclusive…