NIGERIAN NEWS BLOGGERS

THE Northern Elders Forum, NEF, has faulted the Senate’s move to review and alter some provisions of the 1999 constitution (as amended).   According to the elders, federal lawmakers, since 1999, have spent huge amounts of money to fund the constitution review process without any meaningful impact on the lives of the people.   So, the Forum advised the National Assembly to direct its energy and mandate towards convincing President Muhammadu Buhari to bring an end to the insurgency in the North East and killings in most parts of the country.   The Northern Elders spoke at a briefing by NEF’s Director of Publicity, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, in Abuja yesterday. It would be recalled, that the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) had invited the public to submit memorandum to assist the “further alteration of the provisions of the Constitution (as amended)”.   The invitation said all Nigerians had only two weeks to submit their memoranda...

To ensure synergy and effective ministry supervision, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the transfer of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. A statement by the Spokesperson of the Minister, Mrs. Uwa Suleiman said the approval for the transfer was based on Mr President’s consideration for the critical role of NIMC towards the realisation of the objectives of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria (NDEPS). It said also said that the President directives for NIMC to be under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy is an illustration of Mr President’s vote of confidence on Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), the Minister, based on an unprecedented achievement he has recorded within a short time in office. It will be recalled that Dr. Pantami has, within his first year in office, amongst others, resolved the ICT sector’s decade-long dilemma of Ri...

UNN VC, Prof. Charles Igwe (3rd right); his deputy, Prof. Pat Okpoko (3rd left); and other management and staff of Faculty of Engineering, UNN, during the unveiling of the anti-COVID-19 digital machine at UNN, August 27th, 2020. The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, has launched a contactless digital hand-cleaning machine that uses sensor to monitor body temperature, dispenses hand sanitizer, detergent and water.   Inspecting the equipment produced by the institution’s faculty of Engineering, the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof Charles Igwe, said that the machine was an improvement over the manual hand cleaning machine that dispenses detergent and water.   “This machine is different from what we have seen before, it performs four functions at a time without the user making any physical contact,”  the Vice-Chancellor, who was visibly elated said after using the machine to clean his hand and measure his temperature.   He challenged the Faculty of Engineering...

The junta that seized power in Mali wants a military-led transitional body to rule for three years and has agreed to release the ousted President, a source in a visiting West African delegation and the rebel soldiers, has said.   Last week’s coup, Mali’s second in eight years, followed months of protests calling for Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to resign as public discontent with the government grew over the collapsing economy and a brutal Islamist insurgency.   “The junta has affirmed that it wants a three-year transition to review the foundations of the Malian state. This transition will be directed by a body led by a soldier, who will also be head of state,” a source in the ECOWAS delegation told AFP after talks with the junta. “The government will also be predominantly composed of soldiers” under the proposal, the source said on condition of anonymity.   A junta official confirmed to AFP that “the three-year transition would have a military president and a government mostly...

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN,  has moved against unscrupulous Nigerians and corporate, who abuse the Form M system through over-pricing as it introduces Product Price Verification Mechanism (PPVM).   It has, therefore, directed authorised dealers to use the PPVM to verify quoted prices of goods and services before approving Form M for their customers.   In a circular referenced: TED/FEM/FP/GEN/01/005, dated August 24, 2020 and signed by the Director of Trade and Exchange, Dr Ozoemena Nnaji, the apex bank also directed authorised dealers to stop opening Form M which payment are routed through a buying company/agent or any third party.   It said: “As part of continued efforts by the CBN to ensure prudent use of our foreign exchange resource and eliminate over-invoicing, transfer pricing, double handling charges, and avoidable cots that are ultimately passed to the average Nigerian consumers, authorised dealers are hereby directed to desist from opening Form M which...

West African envoys held talks with Mali's military junta on Saturday to try to push for a speedy return to civilian rule after a coup in the troubled nation. The delegation, headed by former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, held talks for half an hour with soldiers who seized power on Tuesday, including new strongman colonel Assimi Goita, an AFP journalist said. The envoys from the regional ECOWAS bloc also hope to meet ousted president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who is being detained by the junta at a military camp outside Bamako. Rebel soldiers seized Keita and other leaders after a mutiny on Tuesday, dealing another deep blow to a country already struggling with a brutal extremist insurgency and widespread public discontent over its government. Mali's neighbors have called for Keita to be reinstated, saying the purpose of the delegation's visit was to help "ensure the immediate return of constitutional order". "ECOWAS appreciates what is happening in Ma...

Boss Mustapha The Presidential Taskforce PTF on Covid-19 has blamed Nigerians for the continued non-compliance with Covid-19 safety protocols, saying it would have flattened the curve by now, but for the lackadaisical attitude of Nigerians towards containing the pandemic.    It also lamented the increasing Covid-19 case fatalities in the country, disclosing that of the 985 deaths recorded so far, 14 of them were medical doctors who contracted the virus in the line of duty.   “In coordinating this national response, I can assure you that our biggest challenge has been the attitude of some Nigerians. That is our biggest challenge. Everything to fight Covid-19 has been placed out our disposal. We arrested the 2020 budget and got it revised, all in an attempt to deal with the financial means in fighting Covid-19.     “We are not in short of any resources to fight Covid-19. We have coordinated a national response that took in everybody that matters in this country. T...

Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo on Thursday said that the Sept. 19 governorship election would put a final end to godfatherism in the state.   Obaseki, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said this during his ward to ward campaign tour across the 10 wards in Esan North East Local Government Area.   He said that the election was very vital for, not just the state, but the country at large, as the decision had to be made whether or not the state should move forward.   Describing Edo Central Senatorial District of the state as a PDP enclave, he urged members of the party and its supporters not to succumb to threats and intimidation.   He said that the state and Nigeria did not belong to a few people.   Earlier, Chief Dan Orbih, Chairman of the PDP state campaign council, had urged party members to keep vigil toward ensuring that votes counted in the election.   Orbih said that, not only would the party mobilise members and its supporters to vote, but w...

  THE Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, yesterday issued a seven-day nationwide strike notice over alleged unprocedural sack of members by Chevron Nigeria Limited and its service contractors on Wednesday.   The union in a statement yesterday, lamented that no fewer than 175 members working in YKISH Integrated Services for the offsite/onsite maintenance services with Chevron Nigeria Limited, Delog Nigeria Ltd and EUROFLOW Services, (all service contractors to Chevron Nigeria Ltd), were sacked through WhatsApp messages to their respective mobile telephones.   In the statement by its President and General Secretary, Prince Williams Akporeha and Afolabi Olawale, respectively, the union demanded their immediate reinstatement within seven days, failing which members will down tools and begin a nationwide strike. The statement  said NUPENG was disturbed and pained over alleged flagrant disrespect for the extant labour laws by Chevron Nigeria Ltd an...

source: Vanguard ACTING Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Expanded Interim Management Committee, EIMC, Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Prof Kemebradikumo Pondei,  Tuesday, opened his heart on the ill-starred incident at the House of Representatives, where he unexpectedly fainted while being questioned by lawmakers, a month ago.   Pondei, undoubtedly stressed but back to his feet, in an exclusive interview with Vanguard, disclosed that he had a mysterious and unpredictable health challenge and was stunned people thought he was acting.   “I had an unexplained, unexpected health challenge. It is ridiculous to think that people believed I was acting. I would not pray for anyone to experience what I went through. I do not run from issues. I have put all that behind me.   Speaking on the delay in passing the Commission’s 2019 Budget, he revealed: “A minor typographical error was noticed and we asked for 10 minutes to amend the errors, but the presen...

Following the killings of innocent citizens in Southern Kaduna and reports accusing governor El-rufai of taking sides, the outspoken governor, Monday faulted the report, saying that the leaders of Southern Kaduna want him to appease them.   E l-rufai who disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s programme, Sunday Politics, monitored by newsmen, said: “I have no time for nonsense. I will not appease criminals.   “I will not appease idle people who have nothing to do but to raise a specter  of genocide. They do that to get money into their bank accounts and get donations from abroad instead of standing up,” the governor said during an interview on Channels Television’s programme, Sunday Politics.   “Anyone that is moderate anyone that is promoting peaceful co-existence between various ethnic groups is considered a sellout.    “And a governor like me, who does not appease them because they are used to being appeased, they cause troubles, they...