Author: NPO Admin II

An Indian state has shut high schools and colleges for three days after a row over the hijab that has gained international attention after Nobel Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai weighed in. The government of Karnataka state in southern India took the decision after protests by students over Muslim women wearing headscarves in the classroom escalated into violence. On Wednesday, the state’s high court, which was hearing two petitions filed on behalf of some of the Muslim women, requested the chief justice to set up a larger bench to deliberate the matter. The developments occurred after protests by six teenage students at…

UK Health Minister Under Fire for Meetings After Being Told of Positive COVID Status A Health Minister in Britain has apologised for continuing with a face-to-face meeting in spite of being told that she had tested positive for COVID-19. Gillian Keegan said she was told her test was positive while meeting three men who had lost their daughters to suicide. She said she should have immediately ended the meeting, and described not doing so as a mistake and an error of judgment. The Chichester MP said she had told the men the result of the test but stayed on to…

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on Wednesday said Nigeria currently has 20 days sufficiency of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). The agency said there is no need for panic buying by the public. His assurance became germane after long queues appeared in major Nigerian cities including Abuja and Lagos. The downstream petroleum regulatory agency said it was also working round the clock with other stakeholders to address the issue of substandard PMS, also known as petrol, imported into the country. The Chief Executive NMDPRA, Mr. Farouk Ahmed, stated this during a meeting with downstream industry stakeholders on…

Embattled former Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Dibu Ojerinde, on Tuesday, requested for plea bargaining in the N5bn fraud charges brought against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission. Ojerinde pleaded with Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court Abuja to give him 24 hours to settle himself with ICPC through plea bargain instead of formal trial. Ojerinde’s counsel, Ibrahim Ishyaku (SAN), told the court that his client would want to go for plea bargaining instead of formal trial. He said, “My Lord, our plea is that we (should) be given 24…

Aare Ona-Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, has urged Yoruba in the Diaspora to approach the African Union Court or International Court of Justice over the continuous detention of Yoruba nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo. Adams made the appeal in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Aderemi, on Tuesday in Lagos. Counsel for the detained activist, Chief Yomi Aliyu (SAN) had confirmed the extended incarceration of Sunday Adeyemo popularly known as Sunday Igboho in Benin Republic by six months. Adams, who expressed disappointment at the manner the case was being handled by Beninese Government, described the continuous detention of…

The Presidential Enabling Business Environmental Council on Tuesday in Abuja launched an application “reportgov.ng” at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) to promote security and safety. Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, the Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business said the software would enable airport users to share their experiences within the airport. Oduwole said the application would enable the airport stakeholders to send information and to get feedbacks within 72 hours. She added that the application would be made available in other airports for the government to effctively manage and control various activities at the airports in the…

The National Universities Commission has given the nod to Lagos State Government to commence the operation of two new state universities in the state. The new institutions are the Lagos State University of Education (LASUED), Ijanikin and Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUST), Ikorodu. The approval is coming 39 years after the first State-owned University, Lagos State University was established. The certificates were handed over to Governor Sanwo-Olu by the NUC Executive Secretary, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, at the official recognition and collection of certificates for the two new Lagos universities held at the Commission headquarters in Federal Capital…

The second driver to the Edo state Chairman of the Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Abdul-Hamid Egele, has died. The first driver had died when Egele was attacked on Monday night. Command’s Spokesman, SP Kontongs Bello, while confirming the death said that the second driver died as a result of the serious bullet injuries he suffered during the attack. He said that Egele’s abductors had yet to contact his family, adding that the command had begun a rescue operation in the area. “I got the news that the driver of the second vehicle, who was severely injured in the…

An official of the Anambra Traffic Management Agency (ATMA) was on Tuesday in Awka, shot by yet to be identified gunmen. DSP Ikenga Tochukwu, Police Public Relations Officer, Anambra, in a statement confirmed the incident and identified the victim as one Mr Chinedu Onwuka. Tochukwu said that the hoodlums were sighted at Ekwulobia-Umunze road where they tried to disarm a team of police personnel but were fiercely resisted with superior fire power. He said that the gunmen shot sporadically in a bid to escape and their bullet hit the traffic official and killed him instantly. According to him, the police…

French President Emmanuel Macron has told reporters that President Vladimir Putin assured him that Russian forces would not ramp up the crisis near Ukraine’s borders. “I secured an assurance there would be no deterioration or escalation,” he said before meeting Ukraine’s leader. However, Russia said any suggestion of a guarantee was “not right”. Russia has denied any plans to invade Ukraine, but it has assembled more than 100,000 troops near its borders. US officials believe Russia has assembled 70% of military forces needed for a full-scale invasion. Is Russia preparing to invade Ukraine? The tensions between Russia, Ukraine and the West…