Author: straightnewsng.com

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has canvassed for financial autonomy for States Independent Electoral Commissions, SIECs, saying they cannot be truly independent if they have to depend on the magnanimity of state chief executives to discharge their mandates. INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the call during a meeting of the commission with the Forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions of Nigeria, FOSIECON, in Abuja Thursday. Yakubu urged the SIECs to ensure timely conduct of free and credible councils’ elections across the country. He said: “”here is a special relationship between INEC and SIEC. We are both creations of same section…

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has been directed to sanction mobile network operators in the country making illegal deductions from subscribers. The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, who issued the directive also ordered the immediate stoppage of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data deductions by network providers in Nigeria. In a statement signed by his spokesman, Uwa Suleiman, Thursday, the minister said “We have directed the Nigerian Communication Commission to ask MTN to suspend the plan. We are not aware of it officially. We will investigate and make sure the right thing is done. “The attention of the Ministry…

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Thursday, said within the next 90 days, Nigerians would be able to know the actual volume of crude oil produced in the country, and the actual quantity of petroleum products imported into Nigeria. The actual volume of crude oil produced and the volume of petroleum products consumed in the country had been a source of controversy over the last couple of months. Before 2015, Nigeria’s fuel consumption was put at an average of 35 million litres per day, but today, the NNPC said it was averaging 55 million litres daily and this claim has…

The management of Kaduna State University, KASU, has suspended one of its lecturers for allegedly soliciting sex for grade from a female student. KASU’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Abdullahi Ashafa, who broke the news on Thursday, explained that the suspension of the lecturer, Mr. Bala Umar, was due to a one-man protest at the institution by a female graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, who accused the lecturer of demanding sex from her in 2013. This is even as management of Kogi State University, Anyigba, Thursday, warned members of the university community against any form of sexual harassment, intimidation and extortion in…

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have dropped by one spot in the FIFA World Ranking for the month of October to now place as world 35th country. In the ranking table from the world football governing body, FIFA on Thursday, Nigeria garnered 1,481 points as against 1482 recorded in September. However, in spite of the drop, Nigeria still occupies the third spot in Africa behind Senegal and Tunisia who are placed 20th and 29th with 1,546 and 1,495 points, respectively. On the global scene, although, 184 recent international matches have left their mark on the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, those at the…

Akanimo Sampson One hundred and fifty-four Somali refugees are to be resettled in Germany. The refugees who have been residing in Jijiga and Dolo Ado refugee camps in southern Ethiopia, included 63 males and 91 females, 47 of whom are minors. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Ethiopia the previous Tuesday organised its first international charter flight to carry them. IOM has supported the German Resettlement Programme in their efforts to resettle 500 refugees living in Ethiopia to Germany since March. These efforts are closely coordinated with the Ethiopian Government’s Agency for Refugees and Returnee Affairs (ARRA), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Federal Government of Germany. An additional 220 refugees will depart for Germany on a second IOM-chartered…

By Akanimo Sampson A new report launched the previous Monday by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) finds that Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) are now affecting around 58 per cent of trade in the region. One reason for the rise of NTMs, according to the Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Report 2019 (APTIR), is their growing popularity as weapons of trade policy in regional and global trade tensions. But, while applied tariffs in the Asia-Pacific region have halved over the past two decades, it appears…

By Akanimo Sampson In countries across Africa, internal displacement remains a significant problem with more than 17.8 million people being displaced by conflict and violence. Women and children constitute the vast majority of those affected. This fact is contained in a joint statement by the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to mark the 10th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Kampala Convention. Africa on Wednesday marked the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the African…

The Senate and House of Representatives, Wednesday, directed the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA, to undertake a holistic assessment of all the roads in the country and report back to the National Assembly. The Joint Committee on FERMA directed the agency to present its findings to both the Senate and House Committees on FERMA, to enable the National Assembly take appropriate action. The chairman, House Committee on FERMA, Olufemi Bamisele, who gave the directive at a joint budget defence session organised with the Senate Committee on FERMA, said this became necessary because of the deplorable state of roads across the country.…

As part of the efforts to curb xenophobic attacks, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, said Wednesrday that the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria and South Africa will ensure implementation of the Early Warning Signal mechanisms recently signed between both countries in South Africa. Speaking against the backdrop of renewed zenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa, Dabiri-Erewa said the Consul-General was on top of the situation. No fewer than four Nigerians were injured in fresh xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in Mpumalanga Province the Rainbow country on Tuesday. She said: “The Consul-General, Godwin Adama, is currently…