Author: straightnewsng.com

President Muhammadu Buhari, Thursday, passed a damning verdict on the state of facilities in Nigerian universities, saying this has made it difficult for students to cope with modern methods of learning. He also said investments in education was a critical factor in driving innovation, technological advancements and employment opportunities in advanced economies. Speaking at the commissioning of the Post-Graduate Centre of Excellence built by the Central Bank of Nigeria at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the President said the federal government had invested close to N1.3 trillion towards the development of the education sector in the past four years, excluding funds…

By Akanimo Sampson Despite the massive presence of the armed security operatives in the vastly polluted Niger Delta, Nigeria’s honey comb, oil thefts, pipeline vandalism and illegal refining of petroleum products in the region seem to be on a worrisome proportion. Data from Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), a subsidiary of the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas major, Shell, alone, tend to indicate that oil theft has resulted in a loss of some 11,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2018, which is more than the 9,000 bpd recorded in 2017. The big oil corporation is claiming that since 2012, it had…

By Akanimo Sampson Prospects for pollution-free energy are getting brighter as the day goes by. One of the latest Rael-Science posts says scientists have developed a large-scale economical method to extract hydrogen (H2) from oil sands (natural bitumen) and oil fields. This, according to the post, can be used to power hydrogen-powered vehicles, which are already marketed in some countries, as well as to generate electricity; hydrogen is regarded as an efficient transport fuel, similar to petrol and diesel, but with no pollution problems. The process can extract hydrogen from existing oil sands reservoirs, with huge existing supplies found in…

By Akanimo Sampson Alleged unwholesome activities of a petrochemicals corporation operating in Rivers State, Nigeria’s oil and gas capital are fueling a disturbing unease in Eleme local government area of the big oil-polluted state. Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited is being accused by her host community of employing divide- and- rule tactics in dealing with the people of Eleme, the host community. The situation there has put members of the community at loggerheads with one another. In early colonial records, according to Wikipedia, Eleme was called Mbolli. The name came from the slave merchants of Arochuku who used the words Mbolli…

By Akanimo Sampson Nigerians are deeply worried about the state of affairs in their dear country, The Guardian warned this Wednesday in its editorial opinion. This is even after President Muhammadu Buhari, according to the influential newspaper has  finally given orders to the military to shoot at brigands wherever they are, thus reducing the fear that he is soft on the notorious herdsmen who have been so complicit in acts of mass murders. The Guardian says in the last two weeks, such individuals and groups as Professor Wole Soyinka, a Nobel laureate, Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), Senator Bola Tinubu,…

By Akanimo Sampson Four months after Mozambique was hit by two catastrophic storms, not less than 500,000 citizens are still in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. This is the fallout of the visit of the Director-General of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), António Vitorino. Vitorino who is currently on a two-day visit to Mozambique to assess and support the humanitarian response after the country was devastated by the two catastrophic storms earlier this year, says there is still a lot to do, and urgent humanitarian needs to be met, in the reconstruction of the lives of people affected by…

Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Winifred Oyo-Ita, Wednesday, attended the swearing-in of the 43 ministers, at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja. Oyo-Ita was reported to be on medical leave after her encounter with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on corruption allegation. She was also reported to have submitted her resignation letter to the Presidency over alleged contract scam totalling about N3 billion. She sat on her `traditional’ position at the Council Chamber of the presidential villa. Mrs. Oyo-Ita, who arrived the presidential villa shortly before the commencement of the inauguration of the ministers by…

Africa is set to be declared polio free as Nigeria marks three years without recording a single case of polio infection, thus moving a step closer towards polio free certification by the World Health Organization, WHO, in early 2020. The last time a case of the wild polio virus was reported in Nigeria was August 21, 2016, in Borno State. Nigeria is the last country in Africa to record wild polio virus infections, and if no more cases are found in the next few months, Africa could be declared polio free. The last reservoir of polio in Nigeria was Borno…

President Muhammadu Buhari in his final argument at the Presidential Elexction Petition Tribunal Wednesday in Abuja, said no law in Nigeria stipulated that he must produce his certificate to prove his eligibility to contest the February 23 elections. His argument came against the backdrop of the claim by Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, that the President was not qualified to contest the election because he didn’t possess the requisite certificate. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, also in its final argument, said the claim that results of the February presidential election were transmitted to…

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Bayelsa state has advocated the adoption of indirect primary as the best option in the party choosing its candidate during the forthcoming governorship election in the state. Chief Richard Kpodoh, populary called Pererich, who is a one-time chairman of the defunct New PDP in the state, said in a statement on Wednesday that if the party could settle for the indirect primary system in Kogi State, it was only wise for the same system to apply in Bayelsa State. This is coming just as Kpodoh has commended President Muhammadu Buhari and…