NIGERIAN NEWS BLOGGERS

 ... To Pay 40,000 Monthly Stipend to Interns  As part of efforts to reduce the rate of unemployment in Lagos State, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has approved Internship Programme for 4,000 unemployed graduates in line with the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda of the present administration and the Youth Development Programme of the State.  Speaking recently on the programme with newsmen, the Honourable Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs. Yetunde Arobieke, said the Graduate Internship Placement Programme (GIPP) is designed to give candidates the opportunity to develop employability and work-ready skills that are needed in securing gainful employment.    She added that the Internship Programme will be addressing the third and fourth pillars of the present administration's T.H.E.M.E.S agenda, which are Education and Technology and Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy, while the beneficiaries will be paid a monthly stipend of N40,000 for the six months duration of...

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has emerged as the new director-general of the World Trade Organisation,  The former Nigerian finance minister clinched the position by a wide margin against South Korean Yoo Myung hee, Arise reported citing officials in Europe. Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala received widespread support from Africa and other continents for her role. She was a former World Bank executive who has sat on the boards of several international organisations, including Twitter and the Global Vaccine Alliance. Her victory came days after European Union member nations backed her candidacy against Ms. Myung hee, who was supported by the United States. Earlier this month, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, chairman of the African Union, said Africa will ensure her emergence for the top WTO job. Source: ARISE TV

  The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has re-appointed Prof Mahmood Yakubu as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday titled “President Buhari nominates Prof Yakubu as INEC chairman for second term in office.” The statement read, “President Muhammadu Buhari has presented the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, for a second term in office. “In a letter to President of the Senate, Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, the President said in accordance with the provision of Section 154 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), ‘I am pleased to present for confirmation by the Senate, the nomination of Professor Mahmood Yakubu for appointment as Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for a second and final term.’ “Prof Yakubu was first appointed by P...

ADDRESS TO THE NATION BY HIS EXCELLENCY, MUHAMMADU BUHARI, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA ON THE ENDSARS PROTESTS, 22ND OCTOBER, 2020        Fellow Nigerians,   It has become necessary for me to address you having heard from many concerned Nigerians and having concluded a meeting with all the Security Chiefs.   2. I must warn those who have hijacked and misdirected the initial, genuine and well - intended protest of some of our youths in parts of the country, against the excesses of some members of the now disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).   3. On Monday 12th October, I acknowledged the genuine concerns and agitations of members of the public regarding the excessive use of force by some members of SARS.   4. The choice to demonstrate peacefully is a fundamental right of citizens as enshrined in Section 40 of our Constitution and other enactments; but this right to protest also imposes on the demonstrators the responsibilit...

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested one Mrs Nike Lawal, of 30 Anjorin Street, Aminkanle, Lagos State, for driving recklessly and killing two innocent Nigerians at Ikola Road, Alagbado, during the EndSars protest.   The Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement released on Thursday, said that Lawal was the driver of Toyota 4Runner SUV with REG. NO. GGE 346 BK that ran into a tricycle. Adejobi said “Ojo Azeez, 27, and Yusuf Sodia, 26, both of Command road, Alagbado, Lagos State, the duo in the tricycle, died on the spot.“   The suspect, who intentionally removed the number plates on her SUV, shortly after the accident, joined the protest at AIT junction, Alagbado, and started driving recklessly before the fatal accident“The Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, has commiserated with the families of the deceased and assured them of the command’s commitment to obtain justice in the case,” he said.   Adejobi also said that Odumosu had a...

The Federal Government, states and local government councils have shared N639.901 billion for the month of September, Mr Aliyu Ahmed, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, has said.   Mr Hassan Dodo, Director of Information in the ministry, quoted Ahmed as disclosing this in a statement issued at the end of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting  in Abuja on Thursday.   Ahmed said that the N639.901 billion shared included cost of collection to Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).   According to the permanent secretary, the Federal Government received N255.748 billion, states got N185.645 billion while local government councils had N138.444 billion He added that the oil producing states received N36.188 billion as derivation (13 per cent of Mineral Revenue) while Cost of Collection/Transfer and Refund was N23.876 billion.   Accor...

​ In the finest spirit of democratic, citizen-centred and community policing, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, NPM, mni has today, 11th October, 2020, dissolved the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) across the 36 State Police Commands and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) where they hitherto existed. The IGP, while noting that the dissolution of SARS is in response to the yearnings of the Nigerian people, observes that by this dissolution, all officers and men of the now defunct Special Anti-robbery Squad are being redeployed with immediate effect. The IGP notes that the Force is not oblivious of the ever present need to combat armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes in the country which was before now the core mandate of the erstwhile Squad. He assures that a new policing arrangement to address anticipated policing gaps the dissolution of SARS would cause has been evolved and shall be announced in due course. Meanwhile, as part of measures to prevent a re-o...

 President of Uma Ukpai Evangelistic Association, Dr. Uma Ukpai has stated that the agitation for Biafra is beyond Igbo presidency, as the struggle started even before the Nigerian civil war in the 60s. He urged those agitating for or against the creation of an Independent State of Biafra to go about it responsibly, stressing that no agitation should result in loss of life. The renowned clergy refuted media publications which tended to portray him as anti- Biafra or anti- Nigeria since he is both a Nigerian and a Biafran. He said, “Rev. Ukpai is a Nigerian; he is also a Biafran. He is one man in three places. I said that the Biafran boys agitating are Nigerians. But when you think of harming your brother, then it is crazy. Every Biafran as of today is a Nigerian until they are handed the flag of their independence. Every man who calls himself a Biafran today is a Nigerian. “We should agitate for whatever we want without killing anybody. I had said it that before and I’m saying it a...

The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has banned the personnel of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) and other Tactical Squads of the Force from embarking on routine patrols. This IGP’s ban was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the Force, Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba. The statement said the IGP “banned the personnel of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) and other Tactical Squads of the Force including the Special Tactical Squad (STS), Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Anti-Cultism Squad and other Tactical Squads operating at the Federal, Zonal and Command levels, from carrying out routine patrols and other conventional low-risk duties – stop and search duties, checkpoints, mounting of roadblocks, traffic checks, etc – with immediate effect.” The officers were warned against carrying out stop and search duties, checkpoints, mounting of roadblocks, traffic checks, etc with immediate effect. According to the Force spokesman, the IGP war...