Author: straightnewsng.com

A chieftain of the ruling APC from Bayelsa State says the time is ripe for a comprehensive probe of all activities and transactions of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, under the ousted acting managing director, Prof Nelson Brambaifa. Chief Richard Kpodoh who spoke with journalists on Thursday in Yenogoa that though Brambaifa has been sacked, he must not be allowed to go free because of the rate of decay in the commission. Kpodoh lamented that the last six months was terrible for the Niger Delta because “never in the history of the NDDC have we experienced such bare-faced corruption.…

By Akanimo Sampson About 400 public officials, scholars and farmers from Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kebbi, Niger and Oyo states as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja have so far benefitted from the training of the Nigeria Strategy Support Programme of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI-NSSP). The Institute delivered 16 trainings between March 25 and April 30 this year, covering a wide range of areas, including Group Dynamics, Issues in Agriculture, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), Policy Communications and the use of STATA for policy analysis. Participants included agro-dealers, farmer groups, journalists and researchers in…

A Nigerian, Raymond Ekevwo, has been crowned fastest man in Africa. He secured the title with a 9.96s, a new Personal Best (PB) and African Record to finish in the men’s 100m at the 2019 All African Games in Morocco. His fast finish in the race set several records — becoming the fastest in the continent and helping Nigeria win a Gold Medal. This marks the first win for the country in the 100m event since 2007 when Nigerian sprint legend, Olusoji Fasuba achieved this feat. After his victory, the new African fastest runner told Premium Times, “I just want to give…

By Akanimo Sampson Following a 2018 spate of inter-communal violence, which has so far displaced 800,000 people in the Gedeo-West Guji Zones of Ethiopia, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), a United Nations agency has succeeded in bringing the warring parties and their officials together for a discussion on statutory peace building. According to IOM, Aba Gedas are highly respected “cultural leaders” in the Oromia region and Gedeo Zone in Ethiopia. The talks focused on how future conflicts could be prevented and improving social cohesion in Gedeo-West Guji and familiarising community actors with components of statutory peace building. It is…

As the remains of Mama Janet, mother of Dr Daniel Kolawole Olukoya, the General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) Worldwide will be interred on Thursday, August 29, President Muhammadu Buhari has mourned with the surviving son. Aged 95, Mama Olukoya who was a prayer warrior in MFM died on Sunday, March 31, 2019, 25 years after she lost her husband. The remains of the matriarch will be interred in Ondo State. A statement by President’s spokesman, Femi Adesina, said President Buhari joined the General Overseer, his family members and all worshipers at the Mountain of Fire…

A former petroleum minister, Dr Edmund Daukoru has hailed the appointment of Mr Maxwell Oko, as the Executive Director, Finance and Administration of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, saying he can vouch for his capacity, integrity and capacity to deliver on his new job. Oko, a former chairman, central zone of the Ijaw Youths Counci, IYC, served Daukoru as Special Assistant. He was among those who spearheaded the move for the famous Kaiama Declaration and has since been involved in the Niger Delta struggle. In the interview with journalists in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, Daukoru said his appointment was…

For the umpteenth time, a stakeholder of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Bayelsa State, has warned against the use of direct primary in choosing its flagbearer for the governorship election in Bayelsa State. Chief Richard Kpodoh speaking with journalists in Yenogoa on Wednesday observed that there were worrisome signals which the members were not comfortable with direct primaries. Kpodoh, who is a former chairman of the defunct New PDP in the state, noted that “direct primary will destroy and not build the APC in Bayelsa State. According to him, “I have raised this alarm before now. I am raising…

After 24 years of intensive research, the African Centre of Excellence in Phytomedicine Research Development (ACEPRD) team in the University of Jos, UNIJOS, has discovered anti-snake venom vaccine known as COVIP-Plus. The Vice-Chancellor of University of Jos, Professor Sebastian Maimako represented by the Director of the Research Centre, Professor John Aguiyi announced the breakthrough on Tuesday at the New Senate Chamber at the Naraguta Campus (Permanent Site) in Jos, the Plateau State capital. Maimako noted, “An essential approach to tackling snakebite is to prevent or neutralise snake venom on its arrival at human and animal tissue or blood and it…

Akwa Ibom State Council of Chiefs has implored aggrieved persons at the ongoing 2019 Gubernatorial/State House of Assembly and National Assembly elections to employ extant laws in pleading cases in the tribunal. In a statement entitled, “Let’s Respect the People’s Will for the Reign of Peace, Justice and Progress,” the apex traditional rulers’ council said this necessary rather than “hanging out in the public domain by using the media to misguide the gullible public and by extension muzzle the court away from the facts tendered” which it said “is completely an aberration and a deliberate ploy to steal the will…

By Akanimo Sampson The seeming out of control cyber criminals are currently taking their unwholesome craft to the maritime industry, and in the process, exposing vessels to cyber risks. In a frantic bid to beat them in their nasty enterprise, the existing safety management systems in ships are being broadened to appropriately address cyber attacks. To this end, ship operators have been advised to adhere to their ISM Code, till the first annual ISM audit in January 1, 2021. Initiated by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), ISM code means International Safety Management code for safe operation ships and for pollution…