Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu has drawn the ire of the military on its “who says the army can’t take over” comment. Ekweremadu on the floor of the Senate said: “The problem in Nigeria is that our democracy is receding. Who says army cannot take over. Let us not joke with our democracy; that is the issue.” Defence Headquarters urged Nigerians to disregard the apprehension created by the statement. It assured the international community, democratic institutions and the public of the unalloyed loyalty of the Armed Forces to the President…
Read MoreMonth: March 2018
Be wary of Chinese loans – US warns African countries
The United States Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, yesterday, told African countries to be wary of Chinese government and its loan facilities. Tillerson warned that African countries should weigh Chinese loans carefully, adding that Washington was not trying to keep Chinese investment away from the continent. The US Secretary has been taking a dig at China and its investment in Africa in the past few days, although he had been roundly condemned by Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, who is also visiting Zimbabwe, yesterday. On Tuesday, he said China “encouraged…
Read MoreBritain to build prison wing in Kirikiri
Britain will build a new 112-bed wing at Kirikiri Prison in Lagos so that it can transfer Nigerian prisoners there, foreign secretary, Boris Johnson announced in London today. In a written statement to parliament, Johnson said tenders had been placed and a supplier identified to conduct the building work at Kirikiri. He did not name the supplier. The project will be funded from Britain’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, which has an annual budget of more than 1 billion pounds and aims to commission projects that can help prevent conflicts…
Read MoreAU: Donald Trump’s ‘shithole’ remark on Africa ‘resolved’
The African Union says the ‘shithole’ remarks allegedly made against African countries by U.S. President Donald Trump, has been resolved. Chairperson of the AU Commission, Moussa Mahamat, said at a news conference with visiting U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, at the Commission’s headquarters in Addis Ababa. He said that the “incident is of the past” and that the Africa-U.S. relation was cordial. Mahamat also disclosed that following the remark, which was viewed as offensive and insensitive to Africa, Trump wrote a letter to him and that he copied all…
Read MoreWomen want access to abortion
The National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) has appealed to the Federal Government to remove legal restrictions on abortion to ensure safe services. Mrs Gloria Shoda, President of NCWS, made call at a one day sensitisation workshop for women on ‘Unsafe Abortion’ organised in collaboration with IPAS as part of activities to mark the 2018 International Women’s Day in Abuja. Shoda attributed the failure to reduce the high rate of death from unsafe abortion in Nigeria to lack of access to safe abortion. She said that there have been an…
Read MoreJapan, China protest Trump’s tariffs on steel, aluminium
Japan and China reacted Thursday to US President Donald Trump steep trade tariffs on foreign steel and aluminium, warning about their dangers to international trade. Japan said the moves “could have a grave impact on the economic relationship of Japan and the US”, the world’s third and top economies respectively. The world’s second-biggest economy, China, was also vocal in its opposition, deriding the tariffs as “a serious attack on normal international trade order.” Top trading partners the European Union and Brazil also launched broadsides against the tariffs, which are worth…
Read MoreNAF inaugurates new residential quarters in Minna
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), has inaugurated additional 18 x 2 Senior Non-Commission Officers (SNCOs), and 18×1 Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) residential quarters at the 351 NAF Base Minna. The NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, AVM Olatokunbo Adesanya, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja. Adesanya said that the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, was represented by the Chief of Administration, AVM Ibrahim Yahaya, at the inauguration. He said the additional living quarters was in line with NAF’s efforts to ensure adequate…
Read MoreAPC borrowed N11tr in 3 years, PDP N6tr in 16 years — Melaye
Chairman of the Senate Committee on the FCT, Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi), yesterday, told the senate that the APC administration borrowed N11 trillion against N 6trillion borrowed during the 16 years reign of the PDP. Melaye, who spoke when he raised a point of order to protest the rejection of the Peace Corps bill by President Muhammadu Buhari, said the present administration had no specific programme to empower the youths. He said the complaint by the president that there was no fund to cater for the Peace Corps was not…
Read MoreNigeria hijacked by men with no ideas — Sule Lamido
A former Governor of Jigawa State and PDP presidential aspirant, Alhaji Sule Lamido, yesterday in Calabar, alleged that Nigeria has been hijacked and is being ruled by men who lack ideas. Lamido said the ruling APC was only implementing what the former ruling party, the PDP, drew. He stated this when he paid a consultative visit to Governor Ben Ayade on his presidential aspiration. Lamido alleged that whereas PDP was accused of spending about N6tn on some national projects in 16 years, the APC had wasted more than N20tn in…
Read MoreMauricio Pochettino: Tottenham were “much better” than Juventus
Mauricio Pochettino said he was “proud” of Tottenham and felt they were “much better” than Juventus despite losing to the Serie A side in the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday. Having come back from 2-0 down to draw the first leg 2-2 in Turin, Spurs looked to be heading for the quarter-finals after Heung-min Son put them ahead at Wembley. But Juventus scored two goals in three minutes midway through the second half to stun the hosts, who saw a late header from Harry Kane hit the…
Read More