Author: Safiu Kehinde
Safiu Kehinde is a Graduate of Mass Communications. He is passionate about accurate reporting and interested in investigating socio-political issues.
Agency Report The Federal Government has handed over the completed 62-kilometre, $3.02 billion worth Port Harcourt-Aba railway project to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC). The Port Harcourt-Aba section is part of the larger Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Eastern Narrow Guage railway project, initiated under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Mr Ayo Dada, Project Supervisor, Federal Ministry of Transportation, formally transferred the railway to the NRC during a brief ceremony held on Thursday in Port Harcourt. He said that the project, completed in May, had significantly improved passenger movement between Rivers and Abia, thereby enhancing their economies. “The assets handed over include…
Safiu Kehinde The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has raised alarm over the “increasing numbers of first-class graduates” produced annually by private universities in the country. The ASUU National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, raised the concern on Thursday at an event organised by the body in honour of Prof. Andy Egwunyenga’s successful tenure as Vice Chancellor of Delta State University (DELSU). Speaking at the event which took place at the DELSU campus, Abraka, Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta Osodeke said that if public universities adopt the same practice without regulation, it could lead to the decline of…
Safiu Kehinde The Federal Government has, on Thursday, handed over 15 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered buses to the transport unions in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Clean Energy Transport Scheme. Speaking at the handover ceremony in Abuja, the Minister of Transportation, Sen. Said Alkali, said the scheme was designed to ease the burden of fuel subsidy removal in the country. The beneficiaries include National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), and National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO). Alikali said the buses symbolised the government’s commitment to empowering citizens while transitioning…
Safiu Kehinde Kaduna State governor, Uba Sani, has on Thursday in Birnin Gwari received the first set of repentant bandits and opened the cattle market which had been closed for about 10 years due to insecurity. The Governor pledged that his administration would be fair and just to all the citizens of the state. ”I will be fair to everyone, be they farmers, herders and traders, in order to achieve lasting peace and development.” he said. Sani disclosed that state government, in collaboration with some federal agencies,had established. ‘ The Peace Dialogue Group’, which has been tirelessly engaging all the…
Safiu Kehinde The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Adm. Emmanuel Ogalla, has expressed optimism that the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) nations are ready to work together to tackle insecurity in the region’s maritime. Ogalla stated this at the end of the 8th edition of the Symposium of Heads of Navies and Coastguards in the GoG, on maritime environment in Abuja. Themed “Maritime Security and Sustainable Development in the Gulf of Guinea” the symposium is hosted by the Nigerian Navy in partnership with the European Union (EU) and the French Navy. In his address, Ogalla said the meeting had recorded…
Agency Report The Minister of State for Education, Dr Suwaiba Ahmad, has said education remains the foundation of every thriving society. The Minister said this on Thursday at the 2nd National Education Awards Programme (NEAP), organised to honour the overall best students at the 2023 West Africa Certificate Examination (WACE) and National Examination Certificate (NECO) in Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NEAP awards, which was co-organised by the Federal. Ministry of Education, has “Incentivising Learning and Reading Processes for Optimal Performance” as its theme. Ahmad said that education is a subject which empowers individuals to…
Safiu Kehinde Equatorial Guinea Supreme Court has acquitted and discharged Baltasar Egonga of charges filed against him, claiming the case lacks evidence. The apex court had, in the ruling held yesterday, acquitted the former Head of the country’s National Financial Investigation Agency, dismissing his case which brooded over his leaked 400 sex tapes. The case gained international attention after videos of Engonga surfaced online. While the court emphasized that medical tests proved he had not transmitted any sexually transmitted diseases to those involved, it also held that the women involved in the videos were all consenting adults. Meanwhile, Engonga has…
Prince Yormie Johnson, Liberian warlord-turned-politician, who became infamous for the 1990 footage of him sipping beer while the-then president was tortured nearby, has died at the age of 72. As one of the key figures in the two civil wars between 1989 and 2003, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission said he should be prosecuted for war crimes, though he was never brought to trial. But as a senator since 2005, he was highly influential in Liberian politics, backing the last three successful presidential candidates. While some have celebrated his political role, others viewed him as a symbol of the country’s…
A power cut plunged Zimbabwe’s parliament into darkness as Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube was finishing his budget speech. The lights flickered and died, leaving top officials like President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga and members of parliament sitting in the dark. The outage is a symptom of Zimbabwe’s ongoing crisis, with daily 12-hour blackouts driven by a prolonged drought that is crippling energy generation at the Kariba Dam, the country’s main power source. As the lights went out, opposition MPs shouted that the outage was an apt metaphor for the country’s state of affairs. George Manyaya, a spokesperson from Zimbabwe…
Safiu Kehinde The Nigerian Police Force has transferred the case of Priscilla Ocheme, who was found dead after leaving her boyfriend’s house, to the Special Intelligence Unit for further investigation. This was disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday by the Force spokeperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi. While confirming the detention of the deceased boyfriend, Ekhousuehi Elvis, and three others, the Police recounted how Priscilla had went missing after leaving Elvis house on the 22nd of September, 2024. Her lifeless body would later be found with fingers pointing at Elvis for knowing about her death. Preliminary investigation would, however, revealed that Priscilla…