We have created 12M new jobs – Presidency (Nation)
The Presidency has disclosed that the Mohammadu Buhari led administration has created 12 million jobs since it was elected into government. The Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, made this known when asked about the Bureau Statistic (NBS) data indicating that millions of jobs have been lost when he appeared on Sunrise daily, a programme on Channelstv. Disputing the figures of number of job losses released by the NBS, he said the Director General of NBS, Dr.… Read more
Alleged N4.75bn, $5m fraud: Ex-Skye Bank’s Chair, MD, arraigned (Nation)
*Each gets N50m bail Former Chairman and Managing Director of Skye Bank Plc (now Polaris Bank) – Tunde Ayeni and Timothy Oguntayo – have been arraigned in relation to alleged money laundering offences involving about N4.75billion and $5million. Ayeni and Oguntayo were arraigned on Monday before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja on an eight-count charge brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Read Also: Diamond Bank confirms merger with Access Bank The duo,… Read more
Diamond Bank confirms merger with Access Bank (Nation)
The board of Diamond Bank Plc on Monday finally announced its merger with Access Bank Plc expected to be completed in first half of 2019. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that both banks recently denied media reports of any merger. Mr Uzoma Dozie, the bank’s Chief Executive Officer, said in Lagos the board had selected Access Bank as the preferred bidder with respect to a potential merger of both banks. Dozie said the potential merger of the two banks… Read more
Osinbajo to attend Africa, Europe Heads of Govt meeting in Australia (Nation)
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will participate in the Africa-Europe High Level Forum with other African and European Heads of States and Government in Vienna, Austria. Vice President’s spokesman Laolu Akande, in a statement on Monday in Abuja, said the forum was hosted by the Austrian government on behalf of the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU). Osinbajo would be speaking on the theme of the forum, ‘Taking Cooperation to the Digital Age’ holding from Dec. 17 to Dec.… Read more
Workers shut down National Assembly (Nation)
…say won’t stop Buhari Budget presentation Workers of National Assembly have commenced the four-day warning industrial action with a threat to put off power supply. The workers are protesting non implementation of the Consolidated legislative Salary Suucture (CONLESS) that was approved in 2010 among other demands. The Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) said the industrial action is not a picket as no one would be stopped from accessing the National Assembly but members of the union would not… Read more
Aisha Buhari predicts Emmanuel’s move to APC (Nation)
Wife of the President Mrs. Aisha Buhari has predicted that Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel and his wife, Martha, will join the All Progressives Congress (APC). She spoke in Uyo while inaugurating an empowerment programme for over 11,600 Akwa Ibom women, sponsored by the Future Assured programme, in conjunction with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE). Mrs. Buhari said the incident at the Victor Attah International Airport when she arrived was an indication that Akwa Ibom State would become… Read more
Gunmen terrorise motorists, others in Ondo (Nation)
Suspected kidnappers and robbers at the weekend invaded Akure-Owo-Oba-Akoko-Ikare Road and operated with impunity. Sources said some lecturers of the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPO) narrowly escaped being abducted on the spot where their colleague was abducted and killed last Sunday. Observers said the development might not be unconnected with the recent dismantling of the military checkpoints across the state, which they believed had given criminals freedom to operate within the last one week. Between Owo-Oba-Akoko-Akungba-Akoko, it was learnt that… Read more
We will sustain Employment Trust Fund, says Hamzat (Nation)
Deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, has said the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration, if elected, will sustain and expand the state’s Employment Trust Fund which the current administration initiated. Hamzat said the Security Trust Fund (STF) initiative will form part of the focal areas of preference, if the APC continues the next dispensation in Lagos State. Hamzat spoke at the weekend in a live programme on Television Continental (TVC) in response to… Read more
‘Liverpool are streets ahead’: United legends turn on Mourinho (Supersport)
Jose Mourinho came under fire from Manchester United legends after his side’s dismal display in a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool that underlined just how far they have fallen. Mourinho’s side were out-classed by Liverpool as Xherdan Shaqiri’s late double killed off United at Anfield. United were fortunate to be level when Jesse Lingard cancelled out Sadio Mane’s opener, but Mourinho’s team paid the price for another disjointed performance that left them languishing 19 points behind table-topping Liverpool….Read more
Five things we learned from the Premier League (Supersport)
Liverpool underlined their determination to win the Premier League title as they blew away bitter rivals Manchester United 3-1 on Sunday. Manchester City also won 3-1 against Everton on Saturday, but the champions remained in second. Arsenal’s long unbeaten run came to a shock end, while Eden Hazard thrived as a ‘false nine’ for Chelsea. Here are five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend:…Read more
Latest embarrassment leaves Mou running out of time at Man Utd (Supersport)
Manchester United had not lost to Liverpool in the Premier League for eight games and over four years prior to Sunday’s 3-1 defeat, but the current chasm between the two sides was exposed as Jose Mourinho’s men fell 19 points behind the league leaders at Anfield. Match-going United fans have been reluctant to turn on Mourinho, instead often pointing fingers at executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward’s reluctance to back the manager in the transfer market this summer or the club’s American owners, the Glazer family….Read more
Shaqiri revels in ‘beautiful feeling’ (Supersport)
Xherdan Shaqiri says scoring a double in the 3-1 win over Manchester United on Sunday for Liverpool was a “beautiful feeling” and puts him on course for his most prolific Premier League campaign. The 27-year-old Swiss international midfielder came off the bench to take his tally to five goals in 13 league appearances, meaning he is already just three shy of his best previous total in the Premier League for Stoke last season….Read more
New EU referendum would break faith with Britons, May to warn MPs (BBC)
Holding another referendum on the EU would “break faith with the British people”, Theresa May will warn MPs. Former PMs John Major and Tony Blair are among those urging a new referendum if MPs cannot agree on a way forward. But Mrs May will argue that it would do “irreparable damage to the integrity of our politics” and not settle the issue. No 10 said it had “no plans” for votes on other Brexit outcomes if the PM’s deal is rejected after it emerged David Cameron was advising his successor…Read more
Felix Tshisekedi – the man trying to outdo his father to lead DR Congo (BBC)
By becoming president, Felix Tshisekedi would achieve something his father never did. Felix Tshisekedi Tshilombo is one of the main opposition candidates vying for votes in Sunday’s presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but Louise Dewast considers if he can escape his father’s shadow. The 55-year-old father of five is mostly known for being the son of the late veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, but he insists he is not trying to compete with his father’s reputation. Read more
DR Congo elections: Why do voters mistrust electronic voting? (BBC)
A fire broke out at one of the main electoral commission warehouses in Kinshasa. The Democratic Republic of Congo is heading to the polls on 23 December to elect a new president for the first time since 2001. Current President Joseph Kabila is stepping down and, as polling day nears, concerns about the running of the election in this vast country – nearly the size of Western Europe – are growing. In the early hours of Thursday, 10 days before the vote, a fire gutted one of the main electoral commission warehouses, destroying more than two-thirds of the electronic voting machines allocated for the capital Kinshasa. Read more
Ghana ‘bribe-taking’ judges sacked (BBC)
100 judiciary staff were caught in the 2015 corruption scandal. Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has sacked three high court judges – three years after an investigating committee found them to have been involved in alleged corruption. They had been suspended after the report was released, but it’s unclear why Mr Akufo-Addo chose to act now. They were part of over 100 judges and court staff implicated in a corruption scandal that shocked Ghana in 2015…Read more
E-cigarette use among US teens rises dramatically, study says (BBC)
The use of electronic cigarettes by US teenagers has dramatically risen this year, a new report says. The percentage of 12th grade students, typically aged 17-18, who reported vaping nicotine rose to 21% from 11% in 2017, a survey by the University of Michigan said. Researchers say the trend is reversing declines in the number of adolescents who use nicotine. The survey asked students if they had vaped over the preceding 30 days. Read more
YouTuber James Charles: Stop showing up at my house (BBC)
YouTuber James Charles has told his fans to respect his privacy after one of them turned up at his house in LA. It’s happened before. “Please stop showing up at my house. I will not hug you, I will not take a photo with you, and I absolutely will not sign your palette,” the beauty vloggler tweeted. The 19-year-old has 11 million subscribers to his YouTube channel. James Charles is from New York but has a house in LA. Read more
Abductors kill two ransom payers (Nation)
Two persons sent to pay ransom to free an abduction victim have been killed by the kidnappers at Onuebum in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. The Nation learnt that the victims, who were given an unspecified amount of money to deliver to the abductors, did not come back alive. It was gathered from security sources that relations who wanted to free a kidnapped family member of an official of the Bayelsa State Government sent the duo. A source… Read more
Suspected female robbers battle police in hotel (Nation)
About 10 suspected robbers at the weekend engaged the police in a gun battle in a hotel in Ogidi, Anambra State. The suspects, including two women, were said to be operating in the hotel when the police arrived, following a tip-off. The Nation gathered that the suspects locked the hotel gate on sighting the police and engaged them in gun duel, which lasted close to an hour. A source said one of the suspects sustained gunshot injuries while attempting to… Read more