Obire Efe Blog

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Tuesday, said the present regime has recovered looted funds in excess of N800bn. He said the regime also recorded over 1,400 convictions. Mohammed said this at a press conference in Abuja. He said, “This administration’s fight against corruption is as strong as ever, and we have the records to back up this claim. “This administration has recorded over 1,400 convictions, including high profile ones, and recovered funds in excess of N800bn, not to talk of forfeiture of ill-gotten properties. #PayVoices #ObireEfe #ObireEfeBlog READ ALSO: FG spends N15.8bn on hazard allowances — Ngige  

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has advised dignitaries and VIPs to ensure compliance with the airports’ protocols for their safety and that of other passengers during the Eid el-Kabir celebration. Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, the General Manager in charge of Public Affairs at FAAN , made the appeal in a statement she issued on Tuesday in Lagos. Yakubu said that the authority would no longer tolerate the harassment of protocol officers by VIPs at the airport. She said: “We will also like to re-state that protocol officers and orderlies of dignitaries will not be allowed into the airport. “Except if they are travelling alongside their principals, as only travelling passengers will be allowed into the airports. “Also, dignitaries and VIPs are enjoined to please ensure compliance with the airports’ protocols for their safety and that of others.” Yakubu assured all airport users that Nigerian airports under FAAN ’s management were fully ready to play host to air tr...

The Chairman of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Abia State chapter, Johnson Onuigbo is dead. Onuigbo reportedly passed away, Monday evening. A source close to the family who wouldn’t want his name in print confirmed the death of the party chairman whose tenure could have expired on April but for the COVID-19 pandemic. The source however could not give further details as to the cause of his sudden demise. His remains was reported to have been deposited at an undisclosed mortuary in a hospital in Umuahia.     #PayVoices #ObireEfe #ObireEfeBlog READ ALSO: School Resumption:NUT insists on PPE, and SSS3 pupils resume Aug 4  

The equities market recorded another huge sell-off today following the announcement, Friday, of first coronavirus case in Nigeria with investors losing N219 billion at the close of trading. This brought the cumulative losses for two consecutive days (Friday, February 28, 2020, and March 2, 2020) to N517 billion. Securities dealers had said that the outcome of trading this week would depend on the speed and seriousness or otherwise demonstrated by the government in ensuring that all the contacts of the coronavirus patient are tracked and quarantined in good time. “A lot will depend on how the government responds to the problem; particularly, people are looking to see whether they can trace all the contacts of the Covid-19 patient and possibly quarantine them just like they did during the Ebola era. “If the government does not do that, people will keep worrying, especially in the face of the dense population of Lagos State and the market will panic more, though it might not be...

The Pan African Business Forum (PABF) has called on the need to review the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) laws, to include citizen participation in anti-corruption. The President of PABF, Dr. Prosper Ladislas, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja. He also described as apt, the House of Representative’s move to review a Bill for amendment of EFCC Act 2004, to expand the scope of eligible people for appointment as its chairman. According to him, a review of the bill has become important to create room for people who are more vast, competent, and knowledgeable about Nigerian laws, to also be appointed and boost anti-graft operations. “Reviewing the bill sponsored by Mr. Olawole Raji, is apt, to amend the Act which limits only serving member of any government security or law enforcement agency to be appointed EFCC ’s chairman. “When such a bill is passed into law, it will no doubt provide for other eligible...

Manchester City could make Valencia winger Ferran Torres their first summer signing to replace Leroy Sane. Valencia wants £40m for Torres, who has a year left on his contract with the La Liga club, and BBC Sport understands the 20-year-old Spain international is keen on a move to Etihad Stadium. Germany forward Sane left City for Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. City, who finished second in the Premier League , is also expected to target central defenders this summer. England centre-back John Stones, 26, and 32-year-old Argentina defender Nicolas Otamendi fell behind 19-year-old Eric Garcia as a partner for first-choice Aymeric Laporte following the coronavirus shutdown. Spain Under-21 international Garcia started six of City's 10 Premier League games after the season restarted in June. Stones, who missed the first two matches with an ankle injury, started only two and Otamendi three. City director of football Txiki Begiristain has said he is expecting a "stra...

The US Senate Republicans have proposed spending an additional $1tn (£776bn) to address the economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The plan includes $100bn for schools and issuing stimulus payments of up to $1,200 to most Americans. Under the plan, the payment would replace a $600 boost to unemployment benefits during the pandemic. The proposal sets the stage for negotiations with Democrats who have called it "totally inadequate". The US has already spent more than $2.4tn on virus relief measures, sending billions of dollars in aid to businesses and individual households. But economists have warned since the spring that more would be necessary. Senator Mitch McConnell said Republicans wanted to see how existing programmes were working, but had now produced a "tailored and targeted draft" to address the economic fallout of the pandemic. The proposal would reduce the $600 weekly unemployment benefit supplement to $200 until states can set up...

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige has disclosed that the Federal Government has spent N15.8 billion on hazard allowances in public teaching hospitals and medical centres across the country. Ngige who made this known on Monday in Abuja at a meeting with the leadership of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), assured that the federal government is committed to the welfare and safety of health workers’ in the country. The Minister said: “The federal government has so far spent N15.8 billion naira for hazard allowances in its teaching hospitals, medical centres and some other non- COVID-19 facilities where doctors have also been treating virus cases. “Government has cleared the April and May special allowances which is no doubt a big feat, knowing that this is for special allowances only, and at a time its earning has fallen short of the expected earning. “The affected medical personnel will also draw their normal salaries and other allowanc...

The Federal Government on Monday said the Senior Secondary  School 3 pupils will resume on August 4 in preparation for the West African Senior  School Certificate Examination, which is starting on August 17. The Federal Ministry of Education’s Director of Press and Public Relations,  Ben Bem Goong, who disclosed this in a statement titled, ‘Exit classes to reopen August 4,’ said the decision to recall the pupils was taken during a virtual meeting involving the ministry and commissioners of education in the 36 states of the federation. The ministry said on resumption on August 4,  the pupils would have two weeks within which to prepare for WASSCE. Although the Nigeria Union of Teachers and the All Nigeria Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools, in separate interviews, supported the reopening of final year classes, they insisted that state governments must provide running water and personal protective equipment. Recall that schools in Nigeria had be...

Senate Chief Whip and former governor of Abia State, Dr.  Orji Uzor Kalu  arrived Abia State to a tumultuous welcome by supporters and well-wishers from across party line.  This was his first visit to the state two months after being released from the Kuje Correctional Centre. Kalu  arrived at the Domestic Wing of the  Sam Mbakwe Airport , Owerri at 1:30 pm from where his convoy headed for Abia State after he was received by representatives of the Imo State government, Abia state political leaders and some members of state House of Assembly. Equally on hand to receive the former governor were the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youths, the leadership of different social-cultural groups, and thousands of supporters who came to the airport wearing branded face masks. Kalu told journalists at the airport that he was happy to be home and that his constituents didn’t lose anything since the roads and other projects he attracted were going on with any hindr...

A family member of the late Speaker of Edo State , Hon Zakawanu Garuba whose wife Hassana Garuba was kidnapped alongside her driver while conveying the remains of her late husband reported on Monday that he was beaten mercilessly by her abductors when he went to deliver the ransom to free their daughter-in-law. The family member who does not want his name mentioned said the abductors said he provoked them when he raised his voice while he was trying to locate them to pay the ransom. He said:  “It was a terrible experience after going through the trauma of bringing the late Speaker home from Abuja. They were ahead of us then later I got calls from people at home that they saw the late Speaker’s mum along Okene road near a police post. They collected pieces of jewelry and all the money they had from her and the mother of the late Speaker’s wife because they were old people and then went away with Hajia and her driver Ahmed. “Immediately I located them, they started beating...

Former Spain and Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez has tested positive for the coronavirus. The 40-year-old Xavi, now the coach of Qatari club Al-Sadd, said Saturday that he was tested according to the Qatar league protocol and that the latest test showed he had contracted COVID-19. ”Fortunately, I’m feeling OK, but I will be isolated until I am given the all-clear. When the health services allow it, I will be very eager to return to my daily routine and to work,” Xavi said on Instagram. Al-Sadd announced on its website that Xavi would not be joining the rest of the team for its league game against A It is third-place Al-Sadd’s first game since the league was suspended in March due to the pandemic. The league resumed on Friday. Qatar has recorded 109,036 positive cases and attributed 164 deaths to the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University. #PayVoices   #ObireEfe   #ObireEfeBlog READ ALSO:  COVID19: Spain races to save tourism as cases rise ...

Olivia de Havilland, one of the last remaining stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood, has died at the age of 104. De Havilland’s career spanned more than 50 years and almost 50 feature films, and she was the last surviving star from Gone with the Wind (1939). The film earned her one of her five Oscar nominations. De Havilland, who had lived in Paris since 1960, was central in taking down Hollywood’s studio system, giving actors better contracts. She also had a tempestuous relationship with her sister, fellow Oscar-winning actress Joan Fontaine. At the time of her death, De Havilland was the oldest living performer to have won an Oscar. She died of natural causes at her home in the French capital, her publicist said. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hosts the Oscars, labeled her as “an immeasurable talent” “Here’s to a true legend of our industry,” the Academy said. In a statement, the estate of fellow Hollywood star Humphrey Bogart, called Dame...

Spain is fighting to save its embattled tourism industry after the UK government imposed a 14-day quarantine on all arrivals from the country. Government officials insist the virus is under control and want certain areas to be exempt from the UK self-isolation order, including the Balearic Islands. About 18 million Britons traveled to Spain in 2019 - almost a quarter of all arrivals in the country. But junior health minister Helen Whately has defended the quarantine. Ms. Whately told the BBC that after all the "sacrifices" made during the lockdown, the UK could not take the risk of going back to a situation of rising virus rates across the country. Spain's rate of infection has jumped in recent days. While the outbreak remains under control in many parts of Spain , certain parts of the country - in particular Catalonia in the north-east and the neighboring region of Aragón - have seen a huge spike in infections. According to the European Centre for Disea...

The Sudanese government is sending more troops to the restive Darfur region, following a spike in violence there. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said the forces would protect people during the farming season. Unidentified gunmen killed more than 60 people in the region on Saturday, and another 20 the day before, the UN said. Hundreds of thousands of people have died in fighting between government forces and rebels since 2003. Millions have been forced from their homes. In the latest upsurge, several villages were burned, and markets and shops looted, said the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). "The escalation of violence in different parts of the Darfur region is leading to increased displacement, compromising the agricultural season, causing loss of lives and livelihoods and driving growing humanitarian needs, " it said in a statement. No group has so far said it carried out the attacks. Former President Omar al-Bashir, who...

The lawmaker representing Kachia/Kagarko Federal Constituency, Kaduna, in the House of Representatives, Gabriel Saleh has slammed the Muhammadu Buhari-led Nigerian government on the handling of security issues. “So I feel the Federal Government has failed Nigeria. Our people are crying and suffering, over 40 people were killed in less than two weeks,” Saleh said while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday. “We, the APC voted in Buhari because he was a (major) general but we are disappointed.” The lawmaker’s criticism of the Nigerian president and the government comes after over 40 people were killed in Southern Kaduna within two weeks. The latest killings were reportedly carried out around 7 am on Saturday when unknown militiamen attacked three communities in Jema’a and Kaura local government areas of Kaduna State and killed at least nine people. Eleven people reportedly sustained varying degrees of injuries during the attack. Several houses were als...

The former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole , says he regrets his mistake of supporting Mr. Godwin Obaseki for the governorship in 2016. Oshiomhole said this on Sunday in Benin while addressing some members of the APC. He disclosed that he supported the governorship aspiration of Obaseki in 2016 to ensure the continuity of his projects and programmes. “I have made honest mistakes. Only God is perfect. I am now 68 years. I have come to apologize for the mistake of supporting Obaseki in 2016. “I am in Edo to repair my mistakes. God had a reason for what happened to Ize-Iyamu in 2016. Leaving as the National Chairman of APC is to give me enough time to correct my errors. “Obaseki pretended for almost eight years, while he did not believe in what I was doing as the governor. Ize-Iyamu stepped down for me. In 2012, he was the Director-General of my re-election campaign organization and we won in all the 18 local government areas of...

Aba Fire Service Commander, Mr Okezie Uche, has warned residents to desist from siting Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) retail stations near residential areas in the state to avoid fire outbreaks .  Uche, who is the Assistant Chief Fire Superintendent for Aba gave the warning in his office in Aba on Sunday during an interview with  the News Agency of Nigeria  (NAN). He said that unauthorized establishment of LPG filling stations or retail outlets poses a huge threat to public safety and should be discouraged. eateries in Aba has consequently prompted the rampant establishment of different levels of LPG dispensing outlets. Uche said that although his office was among government agencies responsible for inspecting gas retail sites, sometimes, the businesses established before inviting them for inspection. According to him, such situations reduced their impact on the decisions of the sites and the emerging businesses. “I have fought a series of fires involving ...