Author: David Great

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed cutting off power supply to the Niger Republic. TUC Kano State sub-region Public Relations Officer, Adam Umar El-Yandiski, confirmed the news when responding to question on a television programme. According to him, the connection that supplies power to the Niger Republic comes directly from the national grid; therefore, it has no connection with the supply of power to any region in the country. The move was part of putting pressure on the country’s coup leaders. Meanwhile, West Africa’s regional bloc said on Wednesday that a military intervention in junta-ruled Niger was “the…

Former U.S. President Donald Trump is due to appear in court on Thursday to face charges he led a wide-ranging conspiracy built on lies to overturn the 2020 presidential election, culminating in a violent attack on the seat of American democracy. Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is scheduled to appear in a magistrate’s courtroom at 4 p.m. ET (2000 GMT) in Washington, D.C., half a mile from the U.S. Capitol, the building his supporters stormed on Jan. 6, 2021, to try to stop Congress from certifying his defeat. In a 45-page indictment on Tuesday, Special Counsel…

Following the dismissal of the criminal suit filed against three of its staff, a shipping agency, Oilways Logistics and Energy Limited has narrated how the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) implicated and prosecuted its innocent staff on drug-related offences. It would be recalled that Oilways Logistics and Energy Limited and three staff, Tobi Ojo, Kunle Animashaun, and Shedrack, were prosecuted by the NDLEA before Justice Ayokunle Faji of a Lagos Federal High Court on alleged charges of conspiracy and unlawful importation of 43.110 kilograms of cocaine, in a charge marked FHC/L/100C/2021. Shedrack was earlier discharged alongside the Indians who…

Levi Colwill has signed a new six-year contract with Chelsea with an option for another year, the Premier League club announced on Wednesday. The 20-year-old Southampton-born player came through the academy ranks at Chelsea, joining the club at the age of eight, before being sent on loan to Brighton & Hove Albion for the 2022–23 season. He made 22 appearances for Roberto De Zerbi’s side in all competitions and helped Brighton qualify for European football for the first time in the club’s history. “It’s always been an easy decision,” Levi Colwill said in a statement. “As I’ve grown up, all…

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and his wife Sophie said on Wednesday they were separating after 18 years of marriage. Trudeau, 51, and Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau, 48, were married in late May 2005. They have three children, the eldest of whom is 15. For Trudeau, there are also painful historical parallels. His father, former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, separated from his wife Margaret in 1977 when he was in office. He was only 43 when he became prime minister in late 2015 and the sharply-dressed couple quickly captured the attention of the world media. Vogue magazine ran a glowing profile…

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) yesterday appealed to the Federal Government to give interest-free and soft loans to Muslims. In a statement released by its executive director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, the Islamic organization noted that it is forbidden for Muslims to receive or give interest on loans. Akintola said the call was in view of President Bola Tinubu’s promise, in his national broadcast on Monday, of palliatives, including interest loans of about N75bn at 9% interest, a N500,000 loan to N1m at 9%, and another N100bn transportation loan also at 9%, to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal and…

The protest by Organized Labour against the removal of fuel subsidies by the Bola Tinubu administration is heating up as protesters broke down the first gate of the National Assembly (NASS) complex on Wednesday morning and forced their way into the premises. The protesters thereafter proceeded to the second gate of the Assembly Complex, even as Senators immediately entered a closed-door session. The Organized Labour Movement, which comprises the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and their affiliate unions, kicked off a protest today in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, and other states of the Federation, including…

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has blamed the recent increase in fuel prices from N537 to N617 on extortion by security agencies and arbitrary levies by government institutions. The IPMAN National President, Chinedu Okoronkwo, who spoke at a public hearing organized by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on the Recent Hike in Petrol Pump Price on Tuesday, said those factors, combined with international pricing, led to an increase in the price of the product in the country. Okoronkwo told the legislators that IPMAN members are presently cash-trapped and cannot engage in direct importation of fuel as…

Development banker and ministerial nominee from Ogun State, Olawale Edun, says the federal government will deploy biometric validation to transfer the N8,000 palliative to the identified vulnerable and low-income households to cushion the hardship of the removal of petroleum subsidies. He explained that using biometric validation to make payments to vulnerable households will help the federal government reach all the identified beneficiaries. Mr. Edun, who until his nomination was President Bola Tinubu’s special adviser on monetary matters, made this known when he appeared before the Senate on Tuesday for screening. Senate approves Tinubu $800m World Bank loan request Former Senate…

The APC-led government of President Bola Tinubu has stated its commitment to a new era of openness and access to information through various media channels in the country. Tinubu leaves for Benin Republic 63rd anniversary The new Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, emphasized this while speaking with correspondents in the Presidential Villa. He told the State House correspondents that the President has directed that no public official should “talk down” to Nigerians. According to the special adviser, the administration will also be opening up the Presidential Villa in an unprecedented way to promote transparency…