Author: straightnewsng.com

The Nigerian Football Federation, NFF, has appointed Joseph Yobo, as Assistant Coach of Super Eagles of Nigeria. Yobo who replaces Salisu Yusuf is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He was the captain of the Nigerian National team until his international football retirement in June 2014, and is Nigeria’s joint record appearance holder. From Khana in Rivers State, Yobo had been capped 101 times and represented the Super Eagles at three FIFA World Cups and six Africa Cup of Nation tournaments. During his soccer years, he had played for Everton and Norwich, among other foreign…

Suspected bandits have killed a family of 16 members during an attack on a village in Kaduna State. The incident occurred on Tuesday in Bakali village of Fatika district in Giwa Local Government Area of the state. The bandits were said to have invaded the predominantly Hausa community at about 4 p.m. and started shooting sporadically. While the villagers scampered to safety, the assailants set fire on houses, vehicles, motorcycles and farm products in the village. A community leader told Channels Television on Wednesday that the bandits who invaded the village in their number locked up 16 members of the…

In this interview, Comrade Tina Essien, Akwa Ibom Chairperson, Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC) expresses satisfaction with the agreement signed between the state government and the organised labour on the implementation of New National Minimum Wage in the state. But, she laments that furniture allowance was left out in the last negotiation for payment of N18,000 Minimum Wage to workers. Excerpts: How was the signing of the agreement for payment of the New National Minimum Wage in the state? It was quite fine and very interesting. And I think we had what we were supposed to get for the…

The proposed establishment of the Nuclear Power Plant in Akwa Ibom State has drawn the bile of members of the State House of Assembly. The project proposed by the National Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) for Oku Iboku community in Itu local government area of the state had been opposed by Etetim Onuk, the Itu chairman, Prof. Okon Ansa of Concerned Patriot and Pastor Patrick Henry Edet of Grace Family. In a resolution passed on Tuesday, February 11, the House vehemently rejected the plan and called on the state government not to release any parcel of land in the state for…

An estimated 87% of poor people in Nigeria come from Northern part of the country, the World Bank has reported. A report by the Bretton Wood institution entitled ‘Advancing social protection in a dynamic Nigeria,’ says “the South-South region of the country recorded the most significant drop in poverty from 2011 to 2016. “Poverty in the northern regions of the country has been increasing especially in the north-west zone. Almost half of all poor lived in the north-west and the north accounts for 87 percent of all poor in the country in 2016.” According to the report, “Poverty rates in the southern…

In this interview, Comrade Sunny James, the chairperson of Nigeria Labour Congress, Akwa Ibom State council, states that the 2019 negotiations of Akwa Ibom minimum wage will be completed when Grade Level 07-14 Consequential Adjustments and Health Workers’ Salary are concluded and agreed upon by all. He, however, accuses Joint Council of being the people who negotiated promotion of public servants without arrears in the State. Excerpts: Are you satisfied with the New National Minimum Agreement signed between organized labour and Akwa Ibom State government? In one word: I am not satisfied. But, I want to appreciate the government of…

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…