By Kabir Abdulsalam Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, says the current administration will not rely on propaganda to propagate government programmes and policies. Idris spoke on Thursday at the opening ceremony of the annual general meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) in Abuja. He said the Bola Tinubu administration will strive to restore people’s confidence and trust in the government by implementing tangible and credible policies. “You are aware that the focus of government now is how to restore the confidence of the governed, in government and its institutions,” Idris said. “This time…
Author: meridianspy
President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, Nyesom Wike, on Thursday, met in private at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The meeting is coming on the heels of the building collapse two days after the former governor of Rivers State assumed duty as the FCT Minister. The agenda of the meeting was not made public but it may not be unconnected with the building collapse in Abuja on Wednesday in which about two persons were feared dead and 37 persons wounded. It was expected that the Minister would brief the President on the unfortunate event…
The confusion over the leadership of Labour Party, (LP)continued on Thursday as a Court of Appeal in Owerri, Imo State removed Julius Abure as the National chairman of the party. The appellate court consequently recognized Lamidi Apapa as the National Chairman of the Labour Party and the one the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC should deal with in terms of candidates of the party for the coming Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections among others. Consequently, the court also ordered INEC to immediately recognise and publish the names of the candidates produced by the Apapa-led National Working Committee in…
President Bola Tinubu has approved the return of a delegation of Islamic leaders (Ulama) to Niger Republic for another round of dialogue with the coup leaders. Following a meeting with the top clerics, led by Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, who were in the capital city of Niamey, Niger Republic, two weeks ago for talks with the junta headed by General Abdourahamane Tiani, Tinubu made the choice on Thursday. Tinubu made the decision in his capacity as the Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Since the junta seized power from President Mohamed Bazoum July 26, 2023, ECOWAS had…
Professor Umar Danbatta, the executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), highlighted significant strides in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector following the inaugural Nigerian Telecommunication Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE). At the ongoing NTICE 2023 event, Engineer Ubale Maska, Executive Commissioner of Technical Services at NCC, conveyed Danbatta’s message. Danbatta noted that the policy implemented after the first NTICE event, which banned the import of whole-body SIM cards, has yielded substantial economic benefits.This ban not only alleviated pressure on foreign exchange demand but also resulted in local SIM card manufacturers generating more than N55 billion in revenue. Furthermore, the ban sparked…
The International Monetary Fund, IMF, has hinted that the lead world economic powers are leading in aggregate global fossil fuel subsidy. It also stated that globally, total fossil fuel subsidies amounted to $7 trillion in 2022, equivalent to nearly 7.1 percent of global Gross Domestic Product, GDP. The Fund in its report titled “IMF Fossil Fuel Subsidies Data: 2023 Update”, released yesterday, disclosed this stating that explicit subsidies (undercharging for supply costs) account for 18 percent of the total while implicit subsidies (undercharging for environmental costs and forgone consumption taxes) account for 82 percent. The report states “Explicit subsidies have…
Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), expressed dissatisfaction over the Abuja light rail’s dysfunction on Wednesday and ordered the permanent secretary to finish paying the Chinese concession business so that the rails’ rehabilitation could be finished in eight months. The Abuja light rail that was built at the metro station began operations in 2018 and ran for nearly two years before it was discontinued, mostly due to vandalism. Wike gave the ultimatum during an inspection of the Abuja Metro Station in Idu and at the Airport Station on his first assignment outside the office,…
Thirty seven persons were rescued, two others were fatally injured and many feared trapped when a building collapsed at Lagos Street in the Garki Village area of Abuja. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) spokesperson Nkechi Isa confirmed the incident early Thursday “Rescue efforts are ongoing as the search for more victims intensifies at the scene of the building collapse at Lagos Street, Garki Village opposite the Garki police station in the FCT,” she said. “A combined team of the FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Federal Road Safety Corps,(FRSC), FCT Police Command, and the VIO are on the ground to…
Troops of Nigerian Army have repelled an attack on the Forward Operating Base by the Indigenous People of Biafra fighters in Imo State. The Army said the IPOB fighters who attempted the attack on its base were met with stiff resistance by the personnel on the ground. A statement on Tuesday by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu said that in the fierce gun battle that ensued on August 20, the troops killed one of the fighters and arrested two. The statement read: “Troops of 34 Artillery Brigade, operating in 82 Division, Nigerian Army Area…
United Nations said Nigeria is highly dependent on the imports of goods, such as refined petrol, cars, smartphones, cereals, and pharmaceuticals. Contained in a report by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in its recently released report titled, ‘The Economic Development in Africa Report 2023: The Potential of Africa to Capture Technology-intensive Global Supply Chains.’ This revelation comes as the UN opined that Africa could position itself as a geographic alternative and optimise its strategic value for future leading-edge supply chains as many companies across the world rethink their supply chain strategies to address gaps and mitigate risks.…
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) Nyesom Wike has approved the demolition of 6,000 buildings in 30 districts in the city. According to the Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA), the affected buildings are among 30 slums that had earlier been surveyed. Recall that Wike after his inauguration on Monday vowed to restore the master plan of FCT, saying that all illegal structures would be demolished and that his administration was ready to end land speculations. He said he had moved round the FCT in the night to see things for himself and lamented that the master plan of…
When the news was first flashed Wednesday evening that Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had been killed in a plane crash, I don’t think many people around the world believe it was an accident. Prigozhin was the man who, exactly two months ago, launched a rebellion against Russian President Vladimir Putin and even led a rebel march on Moscow, until Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko negotiated a truce, Prigozhin called off the march and Putin “forgave” him. It reminded me of an event that took place at the Potsdam Conference of Allied Powers leaders in 1945, as I read…