Author: Opalim Lifted

Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has approved the payment of N85,000 as the new minimum wage for civil servants employed by the state. Fubara said the Rivers State’s new minimum wage will be effective in November 2024. The new minimum wage agreement was reached when the Governor presided over a meeting on Friday at Government House in Port Harcourt, where representatives of organized labour from Rivers State attended. Chronicle NG reports that Rivers State becomes the second to offer civil servants N85,000 after Lagos State. The governor also met with the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, led by His…

The NNPC Limited – Chevron Nigeria Limited Joint Venture (NNPC-CNL JV) has made a significant near-field oil discovery with the successful drilling of the Meji NW-1 well, located in Petroleum Mining Lease (PML) 49 within the shallow offshore area of the Western Niger Delta. The area, recently converted to the PIA 2021 terms, is a critical part of Nigeria’s energy production landscape. Chevron’s General Manager, Policy Government and Public Affairs, Olusoga Oduselu, disclosed this in a Friday statement titled, “NNPC-CNL Joint Venture successfully drills the Meji NW-1 Well.” According to the statement, the well was spud on September 2, 2024,…

Shittu Adebowale Usman, a 39-year-old male, is seeking the public’s assistance for financial aid to undergo a kidney transplant this year, 2024, in a well-facilitated hospital. Shittu, who had been battling kidney disease since 2013, is the father of a 6-year-old girl. He did his first transplant in India in 2016, in which a family member donated a kidney, but it only lasted for 3 years. Shittu stated, “Since 2019, I have been back on dialysis.” “My family, friends, and loved ones have tried to help. I don’t even know where to turn to, Shittu lamented. The fund raiser, Ibrahim…

Grammy award-winning artist Ayo Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, has released “Piece of My Heart”, the first single from his highly anticipated album, Morayo. The track features American R&B star Brent Faiyaz, adding to the excitement surrounding its October 18th release. The song is a blend of Afrobeats and R&B which centers around love and heartbreak. Wizkid has continued to build anticipation for the new album, which is his sixth and is dedicated to his late mother. He described it as his best work yet in a post on his X handle. Morayo follows the success of his recent collaboration…

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said the average price of 5kg of cooking gas increased from N6,430.02 recorded in August to N6,699.63 in September 2024. The NBS revealed this in its newly published report on “Cooking Gas Price Watch’’ for September 2024, released on Friday in Abuja. According to the report, the September price represented a 4.19 per cent increase, compared to what was obtained in August. Average price of 5kg of cooking gas increased on a year-on-year basis by 59.90 per cent from N4,189.96 in September 2023 to N6,699.63 in September 2024. The report showed that Rivers recorded…

Kenyan President William Ruto on Friday nominated his interior minister, Kithuri Kindiki as deputy to replace Rigathi Gachagua who was sacked in a historic impeachment. Kindiki, a 52-year-old academic turned political heavyweight, was among front-runners for the post floated by Kenyan media after the Senate voted to remove Gachagua late Thursday after a day of high drama. The impeachment of Ruto’s 2022 election running mate Gachagua had transfixed the East African country, generally regarded as a stable democracy in a turbulent region. The fast-moving drama continued apace on Friday as National Assembly speaker Moses Wetangula announced Ruto’s choice of Kindiki,…

Students at the College of Health Sciences and Technology in Jega, Kebbi State, have set the residence of the Provost, Haruna Saidu-Sauwa over an allegation of extortion. Saidu-Sauwa’s house was set on fire and his vehicle vandalised during the violent protest. The protest erupted over allegations that the college management extorted N23m from the students regarding index registration for 250 graduating students. The controversy originated from a newly introduced Public Health programme, which was initially affiliated with the Reproductive Health and the Public Health Association of Nigeria. The college was said to have merged the programme with the Department of…

The Kenyan Senate has impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. The legislators voted Thursday evening regardless of a plea from Gachagua’s lawyer, Paul Muite, to postpone the proceedings. Muite said Gachagua was hospitalised after falling very sick hours before the vote was set to hold. The senate speaker, Amason Kingi, stated that the vice president had until 5pm local time to show up. The lawmakers impeached the vice president after his health kept him away from the hearing. Rigathi Gachagua: Kenyan senators to vote on deputy president’s impeachment The 59-year-old becomes the first deputy president to be impeached in Kenya’s history.…

Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo will be out for a few weeks after picking up a muscle injury at Aston Villa earlier this month, the Premier League club said on Thursday. Mainoo missed England’s Nations League games against Greece and Finland due to the injury, along with teammate Harry Maguire, who is also out for a few weeks after picking up an injury during the 0-0 draw at Villa. Forwards Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo, who also missed international duty this month due to injury and illness, are back in training ahead of Saturday’s home game against Brentford, the club…

Amid controversies over the Federal Government policy on tertiary education, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has authorized higher institutions of learning to admit candidates who will be 16 years old by August 31, 2025. The 2024 Policy Meeting discussed the minimum age for admission into Nigeria’s tertiary institutions and decided that it would be 16 years for the 2024/25 academic session. Muhammad Babaji, the director of JAMB, declared in a press release on Thursday that the institution should not deny admission by August 2025 to candidates who meet its admission standards only because of their age. “The Board…