Simon Ekpa, the self-acclaimed leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra on Monday the sit-at-home have not called off while warning oil-producing companies not to disregard his warning as they would not be able to produce any oil or explore any oil in the South-East region if the sit-at-home order is disregarded. Ekpa made this known in a video shared on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Monday. In the video, he said, “This particular message goes to the oil-producing companies operating within Biafra territory, from Shell down to the lowest. Our attention has been drawn to the…
Author: meridianspy
Former member of the National Assembly Sen. Shehu Sani has identified five reasons for the increasing reemergence of military takeover of governments in Africa, especially in the West African sub-region. Sani frowned at what he considers the increasing reemergence of juntas in the politics of especially West African countries but maintained that they keep recurring because the conditions were being created for them to return. “We have seen in the past few years how democracies in the West African sub-region have collapsed. It has happened in Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali, and now Niger Republic. “Coup d’etats are internal issues…
Osita Okechukwu, a founding member of the All Progressives Congress and the director general of Voice of Nigeria, has pleaded with President Bola Tinubu not to disqualify Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, a former governor of Kaduna State, from a cabinet appointment. El-Rufai had been nominated by Tinubu for a cabinet position, but the Senate declined to confirm it, ostensibly due to a security report. Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Sunday, Okechukwu said El-Rufai would be invaluable to Tinubu’s administration, especially in the power sector. He said, “The extraordinary El-Rufai tonic was lost by Buhari and one will not like…
•Marketers blame sustained rise in crude oil price, exchange rate As oil marketers suggest that the landing cost of petrol has increased month-over-month, MoM, by 37.4% to N632.17 per litre in July 2023 from N460 per litre in June 2023, there are strong indications that the pump price of petrol is expected to record another round of increases, the third within 10 weeks. The landing cost does not include other expenditures such as deport-related fees, transportation logistics, and marketers’ profit, which together would result in distribution at filling stations costing close to N700 a litre. Sources around oil…
Leader of the Niger junta, General Abdourahmane Tchiani has said the military is ready for dialogue. Since his gang overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26, Tchiani’s regime has shunned several peaceful overtures. But speaking during a meeting with Islamic scholars from Nigeria, Tichani was quoted to have said doors were open to explore diplomacy and peace in resolving the matter. It could be recalled that Islamic scholars led by Bala Lau, Chairman of Jam’atul Izalatu Bida Waikamatu Sunnah, met with the junta in Niger’s capital on Saturday. In a statement Lau issued after the meeting, he said his delegation…
The Defence Headquarters has dismissed report on the social media that the Armed Forces received a request for coup in the country. It described the situation as false and disturbing which have awashed the social media space. In a statement release on Sunday by Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, the Director Defence Information. The statement read in full: “RE:MILITARY NEVER RECEIVED ANY COUP REQUEST The Defence Headquarters is concerned about a false and disturbing social media reports twisted to state that the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) received request to effect change of leadership in the country. We want to use…
Zimbabwe-born medical doctor and activist, Arikana Chihombori-Quao’s viral video which hit airwaves last week evokes the music of iconoclastic Jamaican reggae musician, Peter Tosh. The video explains the rebellion going on in the Sahel against France. In Tosh’s system-bashing, anthem-of-resistance song, a call to action against the evils of colonialism and oppression, the coup in Niger Republic and France’s decades of paternal oppression against French-speaking Africa gets graphic detailing. His Mystic album, especially the track Babylon, your Queendom is falling, is pregnant with powerful lyricism that is unpretentious against colonial oppression. It calls on black people of the…
Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 elections, has encouraged ECOWAS leaders to put communication and diplomacy at the forefront of their efforts to restore democracy in the Niger Republic. After President Mohamed Bazoum was toppled and imprisoned by the military on July 26, the West African bloc has struggled to reestablish democratic order in Niger. But reacting in a post on his Twitter handle on Sunday, Obi said “diplomacy must remain the overarching imperative in resolving the present crisis.” The former Anambra State governor said that it is important that the people of Niger are…
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against the Senate, Mr. Godswill Akpabio, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Tajudeen Abbas, for their alleged involvement in “the unlawful plan to spend N40 billion on 465 exotic and bulletproof cars for members and principal officials, and N70 billion as “palliatives” for new members.” Following Mr. Akpabio’s claim that the National Assembly Clerk had transferred “holiday allowances” to “various senators’ bank accounts,” the lawsuit was filed. Nigerians in extreme poverty number 137 million. The suit is coming on the heels of the statement by Mr…
Mixed reactions have continued to trail Anthony Joshua’s first knockout win in three years recorded against Robert Helenius at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday. Netizens have taken to different social media platforms to share their thoughts on the boxing bout between the Nigerian-born British boxer Anthony Joshua and the Finnish boxer Robert Helenius. Joshua, in the seventh round of the fight against Helenius, scored his first knockout win since Bulgaria’s Kubrat Puliev’s in 2020. Helenius had stepped in on short notice after the highly anticipated rematch between British heavyweight boxer Dillian Whyte popularly known as the “The…
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has begun distributing flyers and posters in the southeast to inform residents about cancelling the sit-at-home exercise in the region. The group said its action is to convey Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s announcement about the cancellation of the sit-at-home and emphasise that it will no longer be used as a tool of civil disobedience in their pursuit of self-determination. Kanu, the leader of the group, is currently in the custody of the Department of State Security (DSS). The spokesman for the group, Emma Powerful, said in a statement on Saturday, “Any person or persons…
The co-founder of Nuella Foundation, Seyi Tinubu, has expressed commitment to creating 10,000 jobs for young Nigerians in commemoration of the 2023 International Youth Day. Speaking on this year’s edition which is themed, “Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World”, Tinubu said commitment holds the promise of transforming not just individual lives, but entire communities and industries, aligning perfectly with the theme’s call for innovation and positive impact. In a statement by the foundation on Saturday, Tinubu announced plans to create the jobs in the next few months. He said, “In the next few months, we would create…