Author: Opalim Lifted

Businesses and the daily lives of Nigerians have been badly affected by the worsening scarcity of old and new naira notes across the country. The scarcity of the naira, which has persisted for weeks, has radically altered the economic landscape of businesses, the living conditions of the people, and small business operators. As the scarcity persisted, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) confirmed the arrest of some bank managers in connection with hoarding the redesigned naira notes. The bank also advised bank customers to save their old naira notes through POS-super agents by opening savings accounts. In Lagos, a woman…

There are indications that Nigeria might be re-included in the United States (US) Government’s list of countries that violate religious freedom. The US government had in 2021 removed Nigeria from its list of countries that violate religious freedom against the recommendation of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. But according to a report by Fox News on Wednesday, a US representative for New Jersey’s fourth congressional district, Chris Smith, introduced a bipartisan resolution to add Nigeria to the state department’s annual list of countries that violate religious freedom on Tuesday. Also, the report quoted the president and CEO…

A pastor in Ondo State, Paul Oyewole, has been accused of publishing and posting his obituary on the social media platform, WhatsApp, in a bid to avoid repaying a ₦3 million debt owed to a church member. The 43-year-old pastor was arraigned at the Chief Magistrate Court, Ondo Town, Ondo on charges of fraudulently obtaining ₦3m from one Boyede Emmanuel, with the promise to pay back the money within seven days, a promise he failed to fulfill, reports newsmen on Wednesday. Police Prosecutor, Akao Moremi, informed the court that the defendant falsely published his obituary on WhatsApp after he had…

Forty-two passengers narrowly escaped death in a road accident in Umuokpu, along the Onitsha-Enugu expressway, Anambra State. Fifteen men and twenty-four women of them, however, sustained varying degrees of injury in the crash which occurred around 11:30 am on Tuesday, involving two vehicles, a tipper, and a bus with the inscription of a private school. An eyewitness who blamed the crash on over-speeding said the tipper driver suddenly lost control and rammed into the bus from the rear. “The tipper driver was on speed, rammed into the bus from behind, the bus lost control, summated and crashed,” he said. Sector…

Pope Francis has denounced the “poison of greed” driving conflicts in Africa, saying the rich world needs to realize that people are more precious than the minerals in the earth beneath them. Many tens of thousands of people cheered as he traveled from the airport into the capital Kinshasa in his popemobile, with some breaking away to chase it while others chanted and waved flags. But the joyous mood, one of the most vibrant welcomes of his foreign trips, turned somber when the 86-year-old pope spoke to dignitaries at the presidential palace. He condemned “terrible forms of exploitation, unworthy of…

Suspected Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) thugs have held Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Tonye Cole, hostage in Opobo. In a video clip leaked on social media, sporadic gunshots were heard at the place. Opobo is the hometown of the PDP governorship candidate, Siminilayi Fubara. This is the second time the party’s campaign rally was attacked in the state in two weeks. The first one was in Port Harcourt City Council where suspected dynamite exploded, injuring five persons. Abia PDP governorship candidate, Uchenna Ikonne, is dead The police command is yet to react to the attack. The police…

A 16-year-old boy was on Wednesday killed while a 15-year-old girl sustained a gunshot injury in a bomb attack at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and a police station in Ojoto and Nnobi in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State. The hoodlums who carried out the attack invaded the area in the early hours of the day with four Seina vehicles, IEDs, petrol bombs, and other explosives. Newsmen gathered that the boy died in the incident, while the female teenager who sustained a gunshot injury had been rushed to the hospital for medical attention. Police spokesperson Tochukwu…

President Muhammadu Buhari is to be blamed for the hardship caused by the naira redesign and not the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, according to Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai. Speaking on Wednesday during an interview on Channels TV, El-Rufai criticized the timeframe set for the withdrawal of the old N1,000, N500, and N200 noted initially slated for January 31, 2023. Quoting him, “You have to understand the president. People are blaming the Central Bank Governor for currency redesign. No, you have to go back and look at the antecedents of his first outing as a…

Some 1,700 farmers in Enugu have benefitted from N3.4 billion grants from the World Bank’s Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement, and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) project in the state. This was made known on Tuesday during the flag-off of the implementation of the “Women and Youths Empowerment Programme (WYEP)” by Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in Enugu. Newsmen reports that APPEALS project is solely funded by the World Bank to improve the livelihood of women and youths and it is supported by the Enugu State Government. Each of the 1,700 beneficiaries was given grant inputs of N2m totaling N3.4bn. Gov. Ugwuanyi, represented by his…

Herdsmen on Tuesday ambushed and killed the Divisional Police Officer of Naka division, Mamud Abubakar, a Superintendent of Police. Naka is the headquarters of Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State. A source said the DPO was killed around 3.30 pm on Tuesday while he was returning from Makurdi, where he went for peace escort. He was returning to his station at Naka when he was ambushed and killed. The Benue State Commissioner of Police, Wale Abass, who spoke to our correspondent on the phone, confirmed the incident. He said, “It is true that the DPO was killed; he…