NIGERIAN NEWS BLOGGERS

FORMER National Chairman of All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has said that he was so sad that the country has not attained its full potentials at 60, adding that this saddens him. He spoke, yesterday, in Benin City, while fielding questions from journalists. Oyegun said: “Things have been tough. What I can say confidently is that the basic foundation of our future growth has been laid, no question in my mind about that but the administration has not been lucky at all. “We have had very tough periods of dwindling resources right from the beginning of this administration and I think that but for careful management, we probably would not have got as far as we have today. There is no question at all.   “There is hunger in the land, the economy is not growing as it should, unemployment is very high, terrorism has raised its ugly head again after initial success and controlling it, cost of production of crude oil now is almost equating what we are getti...

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has finally issued an order suspending the September 1, 2020 hike in electricity tariff for two weeks.   This is in line with the agreement reached with the organised Labour on the suspension of strike over the hike in electricity tariff and increase in pump price of petrol Sunday night.   NERC Tuesday night handed the order to the 11 electricity Distribution Companies, DISCOs, in the country to suspend the recent hike in tariff.   The suspension of the hike in tariff for 14 days in the first instance is to enable wider consultations between the Government and labour with a view to reaching a compromise and resolution of the contending issues involved.   According to the NERC, the tariff suspension will be from September 28, 2020 to October 2, 2020. The Order, No. NERC/209/2020, with the title: “NERC Order on suspension of the Multi Year Tariff Order 2020 for the electricity distribution licensees,...

   The Publisher of Nigerian News Bloggers has called on youths to look into their Financial Recklessness and Bad Habits.  Ifeanyi Valentine, the young Publisher addressing fellow youth through the Nigeria Federation of Catholic Student Alumni Platform of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, highlighted areas that is required of every youth to work.  In his presentation, Valentine said "Personal Financial Planning (PFP) is the task of determining how an individual will afford to achieve his/her strategic goals and objectives that leads to a desired good life and comfort; "Financial planning describes each of the activites, resources and materials that are needed to achieve our life objectives as it relates to our finances".  He said,  "PHP in this context typically involves creating a personal budget, planning for expenses, setting up savings and developing a debt management or recovery plan.   Continuing, in other not to bore you, I will take you str...

                             Minister of State for Transportation, Gbemisola Sarak i A committee for the disbursement of N10 billion palliatives approved for transportation sector operators by the federal government has been set up, Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki has said.   Senator Saraki, who disclosed this on Thursday when the immediate past National President and the incumbent National President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, Alhaji Najumdeen Yasin, and Prof. Tajudeen Ibikunle Lawal respectively paid her a courtesy visit in Abuja, said the members of the committee are drawn from the Ministry of Transportation and all other relevant stakeholders in the transportation sector. The Minister advised the unions to interface in a bid to form a common front that the Ministry can deal with for ease of distribution.   While congratulating the new Presid...

AHEAD of September 19 Edo State Governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has deployed additional five  Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and three   National   Commissioners (NCs) to the state.   The additional five Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs who are drawn from five geopolitical zones of the country are expected to work in synergy with the Edo State REC,  Johnson Alalibo.   Of the six geo- political zones of the country, only that from South-South was not drafted to Edo State to  participate in supervising the conduct of the election.   Disclosing this yesterday in Abuja, a  top official of  INEC who did not name the five RECs that have been deployed to Edo State, said that  the two National Commissioners are not of South- South extraction, adding that refusal  to disclose the identities of those on redeployment was  to safeguard them from undue pressure from de...

Gunmen, on Tuesday, killed a policeman while four others sustained injuries following an attack on them in Ohafia council area of Abia State.   Vanguard gathered that the gunmen suspected to be about 12 attacked five police officers at a bus stop at Okagwe Junction, Ohafia, during a heavy downpour in the early hours of Monday, September 7, 2020. The five policemen reportedly went on a ‘pin down operation’ in the area when the gunmen struck. In the ensuing gunfire, a policeman was shot dead while the gunmen escaped with bullet injuries.   The injured policemen are said to be receiving medical attention at an undisclosed hospital in the state.   As at the time of this report, efforts to get the reaction of the State Commissioner of Police, Mrs Janet Agbede, was unsuccessful as her mobile number was unavailable. However, a senior police officer in the state command confirmed the incident.   Meanwhile, Abia state government in a statement by the Commissioner for Inf...

  Ifedayo Olarinde, aka, Daddy Freeze, has reacted to the statement credited to the Founder and General Overseer of Salvation Ministries, Pastor David Ibiyeomie, wherein he described Freeze as a half-caste and ‘a bastard son of a Somalian’.   The Nigerian-Romanian broadcaster and radio talk show host, in a new video, drew the attention of the general public and of course the Nigeria Police force, saying that Pastor David Ibiyeomie should be hold responsible if anything happens to him.   He wondered why the Pastor has not been arrested by security officers for allegedly threatening his life.   The outspoken Freeze described Pastor David’s statement as ‘Hate Speech’, demanding apology from him for demeaning ‘broadcasting profession’.    “You must apologize to all journalists for demeaning the profession”, he said. On ‘Half-Caste’, Daddy Freeze, said he is proud to associate with Romanians, saying that they are wonderful people like Nigerians.   He equall...

  …Full re-opening likely by December …Curfew now 12am to 4am …Parks, cinemas to resume operations at half-capacity … ….. Bars, nightclubs remain shut … …... All schools to work towards re-opening   The Federal Government has relaxed emergency restrictions put in place in the wake of the outbreak of  COVID-19 pandemic as a way of limiting its spread. It also expressed optimism on the possibility of fully reopening the economy by December, if only Nigerians would abide by all non-pharmaceutical measures to halt spread of the pandemic. Chairman of the Presidential Task Force PTF on COVID-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Mr Boss Mustapha, disclosed this during a briefing of the task force yesterday. Accordingly, night-time curfew has been relaxed and would only be effective as from 12am to 4am. Also, amusement parks, cinemas, recreation centres are to re-open but would operate at half capacity, while bars and nightclubs remain closed till further not...

The All Progressives Congress (APC), has called on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to wake up to a new Nigeria where the government works for the citizens, not for a few interests. Mr Yekini Nabena, the party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary made the call in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.   The statement was in response to PDP’s criticism of the recent increase in petroleum pump price from N143 to N151 by the Federal Government and the hike in electricity tariff.   The PDP, in an earlier statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, rejected the new fuel price and hike in electricity tariff.   “The PDP vehemently rejects the fresh increase in the price of fuel to N151 per liter and electricity tariff to N66 per kwh under the APC and its government,” Ologbondiyan had said.   He demanded a reversal of the prices to avert what he called a national crisis.   According to him, the increase will result in an upsurge in the costs of ...

The Police in Niger have arrested two brothers in connection with alleged employment scam in the state Ministry of Health.   Mr Adamu Usman, the Commissioner of Police told the Newsmen in Minna on Tuesday that the scam was uncovered during the ongoing verification exercise in the state.   He said that the committee discovered that a staff of the ministry allegedly surreptitiously added his brother’s name to the list of people shortlisted for employment into the state civil service in 2009.   According to the CP, the committee discovered that one of the brothers had been employed into the civil service without any valid qualifications on Grade level 11.   Usman said that the committee discovered that the employee of the state Ministry of Health facilitated the employment of his brother, a commercial motorcycle rider without any valid credentials, into the service in 2009.   “Mohammed Ndanusa confessed to the crime saying that he fraudulently employed his brother ...