Author: straightnewsng.com

The House of Representatives will soon commence consideration of a proposal to set aside $1billion dollars from the Excess Crude Account for completion of work on Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi State. Fund is also expected to be drawn from annual budgets and foreign loans for the projects. A law, entitled “An Act to Provide for the Ajaokuta Steel Company Completion Fund for the Speedy Completion of the Project,” is underway in the Green Chamber. Sponsor of the piece of the bill to set up a fund for the complex, is Uzoma Nkem Abonta(PDP-Abia). The Bill proposes to: “Establish the…

The Federal Government has extended the duration of the ongoing ‘Exercise Swift Response’ across the nation’s borders till January 31, 2020. A directive to this effect has been communicated to Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Area Command at the borders and commanders of the joint border patrol, code-named “EX-SWIFT RESPONSE.” This is as the Federal Government says N2.3tn worth of contraband have been seized from smugglers since President Muhammadu Buhari ordered a partial closure of land borders in the country to tackle smuggling of rice and other goods into Nigeria on August 20, 2019. The exercise, which is being coordinated by…

The two teams representing Akwa Ibom State in the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) for the 2019/2020 season on Sunday picked one point after being forced by their opponents to a 1-1 draw apiece. In one away match, Delta Force forced Akwa Starlets (Dakaada Stars) to a 1-1 draw. In another away match, Warri Wolves played a one-all draw with Akwa United. So far, Akwa Starlets (Dakaada Stars) and Akwa United are occupying sixth and seventh positions on the NPFL table. Plateau United edged out Lobi Stars 3-1 to occupy the top position while Katsina United are occupying the bottom…

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) wants the Federal Government to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and other agencies to investigate corruption allegations in the use of the monthly federal allocations to the 774 local governments in the country through the 36 state governors and the Federal Capital Territory. In an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, SERAP also sought investigations into “the alleged complicity of state governors in corruption cases involving local government allocations between 1999 and 2019, and if there is relevant and sufficient admissible evidence, for suspected perpetrators to be prosecuted by anti-corruption agencies…

By Akanimo Sampson The whereabouts of an abducted four-year-old child and a female volunteer in South Sudan is still largely unknown, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has said. The United Nations migration agency is consequently calling for their unconditional release. They were abducted in South Sudan during a gun-battle the previous Sunday morning that claimed the lives of three IOM humanitarian workers. IOM South Sudan Chief of Mission, Jean-Philippe Chauzy, said “there are efforts being made at this time to try to locate the whereabouts of our missing colleague and the child”, adding, “all possible action is being taken…

One of the controversial ex-Big Brother Naija housemates has been reinstated by the London Metropolitan Police. Khafi Kareem who returned to the United Kingdom two weeks ago was said to have met her superiors. It was alleged that she defied instruction to feature on the Nigerian reality show that lasted for 99 days, though she ejected from the house before then. According to the Mirror newspaper, Khafi, who clocks 30 Sunday said she has been asked to return to work. She and met with her superiors to discuss her conduct. There were reports she had been a subject of a…

By Akanimo Sampson While armed conflicts and crises around the world have left millions of civilians unable to access critical aid, an alarming trend of attacks on aid workers and other non-lethal obstacles to sustained humanitarian access has led to one development: humanitarian access gaps and challenges to principled engagement. The role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has become increasingly recognised in responding to mounting need while delivering effective humanitarian assistance and protection in access-constrained environments. Last week in Istanbul, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) together with the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) addressed these issues convening its first Regional IOM-NGO Humanitarian Consultation for the Middle East and North Africa Region. Consultation participants discussed good practices and complementarities for…

Despite the disagreement between the Federal Government and some local government areas over who has the right to conduct marriages in the country, the Federal Government has published 12 marriage registries and places licensed to conduct statutory marriage across the country. The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Interior, re-emphasised its position that it was the only tier of government permitted by the constitution to regulate and conduct marriages. It added that formation of statutory marriages was within the exclusive legislative list and that it was the regulatory body for the conduct of statutory marriages and the issuance of marriage…

By: Rowland Udoh Akwa (Abasi) Ibom State, is named after God and the people inhabiting the enclave enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), appear very religious. Some people are excited to attend ederi (church) every Sunday. As a matter of fact, they can be likened to the people of Athens who Apostle Paul in Acts 17: 22 tagged “most religious.” Most Akwa Ibom people name abasi for several things if they be not in the ederi fashion. They have abasi enyong (god of the sky or heavens), abasi isong (god of the earth…

By Akanimo Sampson A quarter century after the Beijing Conference on women, delegates gathered last week in the Addis Ababa, the headquarters of the African Union (AU) to press for economic inclusion of forcibly displaced and migrant women in Africa and reflect on their situation since that 1994 conference. Participants from embassies, the AU Commission, civil society, humanitarian aid organisations and refugees all took part in Tuesday’s meeting, which was organised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), in collaboration with the AU Commission, as a side event during the Beijing+25…